with these tears comes new beginnings
today is my last whole day in Pariachi before departing for Cuzco for the next seven. We will be trekking the Inca trail by day and camping by night. Peru boasts the breathtaking ruins of Machu Picchu, which i will soon lay eyes on.people say it will change you. the trip; the experience. but when they say this i don´t think they are referring to the same change as i am feeling. the last three days have been a blur of sand, sun, picnicing, and family. we were joined each day by Raul´s sister and her family of three daughters - as sincere and compassionate as Angela´s. we spent all day Wednesday at the beach, and Thursday at a public sports facility. both were pretty much the same. good company combined with good food and good fun. Tia Ilda´s family is quite athletic, so each day we played volleyball - the 10 of us. it was so the most fun i´ve had playing volleyball. i even bruised my hand serving for four straight sets. but it was worth it.
i don´t know about my mom, but i feel like i have melted right into the family tree, because of the way they treat me. so welcoming and accepting. they get a kick out of asking me to sing some English songs and then laughing at my goofy performance. their favourites so far have been: I´m a Little Tea Pot, Head and Shoulders, and the Canadian national anthem (complete with my hand-slapping-thigh drums). for me they sing my favourite: Bailer Bamba (plus assorted others, all of which i can´t remember titles for). and together we sing Feliz Navidad.
and at the end of the day when we come home we dance. oh how we dance! the latin music is cranked and we all bust out. they try teaching me some traditional salsan, meringue, and Waican moves, and i make them laugh doing the robot, the running man, and my own arms and butt wiggle dance. we dance until we are so out of breath we can´t possibly dance anymore. then we drink some inca kola and go for another round.
today was special however. the children told me to take a half hour walk with my mom and Angela because they had a surprise for me. when we returned and they finally let us in the house, they flicked on the lights.
SURPRISE!
they had bought streamers and balloons and decorated the entire living room. they had my favourite Peruvian song playing. they had cups on the table and a fresh bottle of Inca Kola (my fav pop here). they had plates out with Chizitos (like Cheetos) and Princesa chocolates (my fav munchies here). and on the wall in the centre of the room was a big piece of paper, which read:
Dear Jessica- Do not forget that you have a Peruvian family and many friends. We may be far away, but we love you with all our hearts. We hope that you can come back soon. Most importantly, remember that you have a sister here in Peru who needs you. (roughly translated...i´m still learning)
they were all standing, smiling at me. i melted. if i were an emotional person, i would have been bawling. but i was crying on the inside and smiling the widest possible grin on the out. we ate the food. we drank the kola. and we danced like there was no tomorrow. it was beautiful. i would attempt to put into words how i felt, but i fear none, in all of both languages, would be suffice.
i will be back in Pariachi on the 13th for the afternoon, and then i fly back to Toronto at 1am. it will be so hard to leave all this behind. but i will take as much of it as i can with me, wherever i go. and hopefully, if i am so-blessed, i will be able to return one day. to my second family. mi familia Peruana.
ñp
posted by crooked girl @ 11:01 PM
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