Starting 4-day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu tomorrow

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We're going on the four-day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu tomorrow, so we'll be out of touch. We'll return to Cusco on Wednesday evening, spend a rest day in Cusco, and then fly to Puerto Maldonado (Peruvian Amazon) for four days.

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Quick Mombasa Update

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40km bike ride Since the kids were off today, Suzzy and I decided to take a 40km bike ride through the countryside and villages with a guide. It was a fantastic and really, really, really hot experience. I enjoyed shouting momba/boa to the kids in the villages. I also really liked learning about the various trees (cashew, mango, etc). The creek, beaches, forests, fields were all beautiful. Near the end, we biked to the top of a mountain for a panoramic view of the area. School The "Destiny" school is located in Motonga, a poor village outside of Mombasa. I've been helping out in the primary 2 class; kids range from 4-9 years old. Suzzy is helping in primary 3. What exactly am I doing? I'm administering reading tests (eg. the kid reads a list of words and sentences), grading 6 different tests, handing back papers, and recording scores. Suzzy and I also get to play with them, which is really fun. I introduced hopscotch to them and they really love it. They enjoyed p...
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Beginner ballet class was great

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Inspired by the Alvin Ailey dance performances I've been seeing, I took a beginner ballet class yesterday. It was great. I can't believe how much complexity can be in the simple lifting and lowering of a leg. We were mostly doing leg movements holding on to a horizontal bar. We did a plié, in which we squeeze our heels together and toes apart to make a V, and then we bend at the knee to go down and straighten to come up. Lots of stuff to think about even in that simple movement. The teacher, a Chinese-looking man named Finis Jhung, was excellent. He emphasized balance and "equal and opposing forces", like pulling up on the ground to go down and then pushing down to go up. The class was free, because the school, Ailey Extension, is connected to the Alvin Ailey dance company. I saw a performance of the dance company and I brought my ticket stub for a free first class. I was hoping to get an appreciation for ballet and dance in general at the class, and I got that. I...
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3 musicals on Sunday: In the Heights, West Side Story, Next to Normal

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I saw three shows on Sunday: In The Heights, West Side Story, and Next to Normal. In The Heights matinee let out during West Side Story's intermission, so I joined my parents for the second half of West Side Story, and then we saw Next to Normal in the evening. All musicals. In The Heights My sister really liked this one but I only kind of liked it. I found the "Piragua" singer the strongest. I liked the musical Spring Awakening better. West Side Story I like this revival. This version has a lot more Spanish than the original. Entire conversations and many parts of songs are in Spanish. The lead woman, Maria, is from Argentina, so she sounds authentic to me. I'll go see this again. Next to Normal I liked one song in this musical (Superboy and the Invisible Girl) and I enjoyed watching the cellist (part of the on-stage band) rock out as she played. Other than those highlights, I didn't care for the show. It's about a housewife who becomes mentally ill...
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