Written on Monday 12/17
What a great last two days in Pisac! On Friday I had a party in my class for my last day. I brought in fruit to make fruit salad that the kids helped to make. I also brought in cake and soda for an unhealthy treat. I am not sure that the kids actually realized it was my last day - despite Vanessa and me telling them several times and them thanking me for my time with them. It was fun to give the kids treats and just spend a stress free day with them. I had brought a lot of stickers with me to Peru and never ended up using them, so I brought them all with me to school on Friday and gave them out to the kids. The kids loved them! And were in shock when I told them they could do whatever they wanted with them - even put them on their hands and forehead. They were so happy. When it was time to go, Vanessa told all the kids to give me a hug goodbye. I was swarmed by my 18 students hugging and kissing me and telling me to take care of myself. I couldn’t have asked for a better send off.
Friday afternoon, I went on a trip to Awana Kancha, a llama and alpaca farm 20 minutes from Pisac, with my Spanish teacher, Shaarda, and another volunteer, Cristiana. Because I took so many hours of Spanish, a trip with my teacher was included with my lessons, but we never had time to go, so I was glad when Shaarda asked me if Friday would work! It was fun to see the alpacas and llamas, but especially fun because we spoke Spanish the entire time. I was proud of myself and surprised by how much I was able to say, even if the grammar and vocabulary wasn’t the best.
When we got back to Pisac, the three of us walked around the Pisac market and Cristiana and I bought earrings. Then Shaarda left and Cristiana and I walked around Pisac for more than an hour. It was a nice way to say goodbye to my village.
On Saturday we decorated for Christmas. Chaska and I put together three plastic Christmas trees - two white and one green. All the branches were separated and put away in boxes, so we had to build the trees and then decorate them. We took a break for lunch of Aji de Gallina (my special request) and homemade Chicha Morada. Chicha Morada is the non fermented version of Chicha and is made by boiling purple corn, the peel of a pineapple, and cinnamon. (By the way, I think Peru may have cured my cinnamon allergy?) Usually we have Chicha Morada made from a powder, but the homemade version is much better. At the end of lunch, Chaska’s father came to the house. This is the first time I have met him - he is from Puno and I don’t think he comes here very often. Chaska seemed surprised to see him. After lunch Chaska, Norma, and I put together a nativity seen. This seemed to consist of every plastic animal and doll that they own, complete with flamingos and three baby Jesuses.
We had a two course dinner - the first was paneton and hot chocolate, as a special treat for my going away and the second was an egg, cheese, and vegetable fried pancake, fried potatoes, rice, and tea. Chaska’s father Carlos, Judith, Chaska, Fortunata, Ricardo, and I were all there and it was nice to have a big family dinner for my last night. It was also nice because Carlos asked questions about my time here which was a nice way to wrap things up. My favorite was Fortunata’s explanation that I couldn’t speak any Spanish when I first got here but that I have improved a lot - my Spanish is not perfect, but I can really communicate.
The house is now a Christmas wonderland. All three trees have blinking lights and the big 7 foot white tree sits on a rotating stand that spins the tree while playing Christmas carols. To say it is annoying is an understatement. There is a huge nativity seen, tinsel everywhere, and bows and bells hanging from the doorways.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early to finish packing. It is a good thing I did not buy anything more than I did because my suitcase was bursting at the seams. I joined the family for breakfast and then sat around with Judith and Ricardo for an hour talking about my time in Peru - where I had gotten to travel and what I need to come back to see. Twenty minutes before I had to leave, Fortunata and Chaska came back from the market with fruit I had never seen before. They made me try everything.
When it was time to go, everyone helped me bring my stuff to the taxi and I gave everyone big hugs goodbye as I started tearing up. When I got into the taxi I started really crying. I had to pull it together because the taxi driver started speaking to me in Spanish, but I was a little surprised that I was crying so much and felt so sad to leave. And now that I am in the jungle, I feel homesick for Pisac!
No comments:
Post a Comment