September 13, 2007
From SATA-Peru-2007
My journal entry begins with roshashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year. After Papacito formerly known as Professor Lizarralde did some synagogue investigation in Cusco, Erich and I found ourselves outside a small blue painted wooden door. It was roshashanah and we were about to enter an Orthodox service. After handing our admission tickets to the Peruvian guard standing outside the synagogue, who, as we entered whispered “shalom,” we entered a decent sized courtyard decorated with long plastic tables, chairs and plates. Thinking that most people who signed up for the dinner were also attending the services, Erich and I mosey on up to the synagogue, which ended up being a room with a bed sheet strung across the middle separating the men from the women. Erich and I said our goodbyes and with no knowledge of Orthodox Judaism, placed ourselves on either side of the sheet. There was only one woman on the female side of the sheet and she immediately started speaking to me in Hebrew. As I looked at her and shrugged my shoulders she said “English” with a thick Israeli accent. It turned out that she was from Brooklyn and after stating something I didn’t really catch; she somehow ended up in Cusco with her husband. She was Orthodox, and explained how the service would be conducted, where I needed to stand and when I needed to dovin.
After the service, which seemed more like a study session, Erich and I reunited, surprised that we both had made it out alive. We then entered the original courtyard to find about 300 Israeli’s chatting, yelling, and embracing one another. Clearly, the highlight of the night was the dinner, not the service. We randomly chose two seats and to our pleasant surprise sat next to a friendly Israeli girl who had just graduated from Maryland College and across from an Australian and Israeli couple. The night consisted of waiting for food, eating too much food, and freezing in the open courtyard. All in all, a great experience. Who knew there were so many Jews in Cusco?
Today was an ordinary school day, 2 hours of Spanish in the morning and then Lizarralde’s class to follow. For the past week we have been taking Quechua classes at night for 1 ½ hours, which has turned out to be harder than I thought, but still enjoyable. For all those people who don’t know what Quechua is or think it’s like Spanish, I will give you an example:
English: My mom is working in the market
Spanish: Mi mama está trabajando en el mercado.
Quechua: Mamay Qhatupin llank’ashan
