What's funny is looking on the whole experience..which has been AMAZING..and seeing how the group's dynamics have changed. From the first few weeks, through the end of Buenos Aires, to our time in Peru. We (there are 16 in our program) have spent so much time with one another that we, to put it bluntly, are really quite sick of one another. But, at the same time we love each other's company because we are all each other has and we have all been on this rollercoaster, that we refer to as "Fake Life"..because really how can this life I am living possibly be real? Somebody pinch me!..together for the past four months. So while we may be looking forward to being home for the holidays, this last week is still hard because it really will never EVER be the same EVER again. And no matter whether you are best friends with someone or not, this group collectively has made this trip what it has been, so the End, well.. it's sad.
But, regardless of how I'm feeling now, of how I will feel tomorrow or later this week, I know how incredibly blessed I am to have had this opportunity, to study here, to travel to the most amazing places, to have met so many unique and incredible individuals. I have absolutely nothing to complain about.
Last Friday, we had our ISA Farewell Dinner at the Sheraton here in Lima and it included a Peruvian dance show. It was awesome! Great food (a full Peruvian Cuisine Buffet) and great entertainment!
But, even though my program is coming to a close, my time abroad is not! This has been a once in a lifetime experience and now, it's time to pay it forward! Last week, I went to my first meeting with a volunteer organization called Minkando to meet fellow volunteers that I will be working with on the weekend of the 19th and 20th in a town called Chincha about 3 hours away from Lima. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone. I was one of five ISA students amongst about 25 Peruvians. No big deal to just go and sit at a meeting right? Wrong! The meeting began with an icebreaker (rompehielo) to introduce ourselves! We were instructed to write a question on a piece of paper, put it in the jar, stand in a circle, and go one by one introducing ourselves and selecting a random question from the bucket, reading it aloud, and then answering it. A little bit intimidating to stand in front of that many native speakers and rely on your "almost fluent, but not quite yet, so let's hope you know how to say what you need to" Spanish. Hannah, another ISA student goes right before me. Her question is "What is your favorite color?" Super easy one word answer. I go next. My question is "Why do you want to be a volunteer with Minkando?" Not quite as super easy and definitely not a one word answer. Not sure what my exact words were in Spanish but the message I tried to convey was that because I am here because of a scholarship and someone else's generosity, I want to do something to give back. To pay it forward. The rest of the meeting went smoothly. I am in the "Primaria" group and will be working with four other Peruvians as a team leader for a group of 7-10 year olds. I have another meeting this Tuesday. I have also started volunteering here in Lima at a school in La Molina, which is a neighborhood on the south side of Lima, about an hour by bus. The school is a Catholic School for underpriveleged children (usually from the shanty towns) of all ages with physical disabilities. I went a few weeks ago to meet with a lady named Veronica (a nun and the first one I have ever met!) to tour the school. This past Thursday, I went back to actually volunteer for the first time and I spent a wonderful day with a class of six 3rd graders. One of which actually surprised me and spoke some English! He told me in Spanish that his grandma gives him ten cents every time he learns something new in English! There are three boys in the class and three girls. Of the six, five are in wheelchairs, and one can walk but she needs help doing so. Also out of the six, three can write for themselves, and three can't. My job for the day was to write their notes in their notebooks for them. I also helped at breakfast and lunch with the ones that could not feed themselves. The teacher was very friendly as was everyone in the school. At the end of the day all of the children in the class came up and gave me hugs! :) It was a great day, rewarding, eye-opening, blessed. One of those days that makes you realize how incredibly lucky we are; all of those children, despite their disabilities just seemed so happy. Content with the world. Our lives are so different from theirs and yet we let the little things from day to day sometimes get us down, we complain about the most insignificant things, rather than just being thankful for all that we have. Those children don't have half of what most of the children in the United States have and on top of that they are physically handicapped and still thay are just so full of joy. Why can't we all be like that?
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