Ya Se Fueron?

This is a little late and out of order, but I wanted to give my own account of my family’s trip to Peru.  If you read my Dad’s rather lengthy account of the trip, you got all the details on what we did and when.  This will be less of an itinerary and more of a personal account of their too-little time here.

My flight from Piura landed in Lima at 10:00pm, about 15 minutes later than planned.  My family’s flight was due to arrive at 10:22pm.  I was hoping to grab a Subway sandwich (which I hadn’t had in over a year) with my friend Brielle, but I pulled my backpack off the belt at exactly 10:22 so I rushed over to arrivals.  Brielle and I said a hasty goodbye (she was heading back to the States for vacation), and I marked my spot outside the ropes at the customs entrance.  I kept glancing at the arrivals screen, making sure that their flight had indeed landed.  It had.  “Only a few minutes until I will be reunited with my family!  Just a few more minutes.  Surely they’ll be arriving shortly.  Aaaaanytime now.  10:45pm- they’ll be walking around that corner so soon.  Oooook, where are they?  Did their flight actually land?  Do I have the right flight number?  Oh no, what if something happened?  I’ll ask the security guard.  Ok, he said it landed and the passengers are going through customs- phew!  Okay, that means they’ll be here in just a couple minutes.  11:00pm- what the hell! I don’t remember customs taking us this long when we first landed over a year ago.  11:15pm- okay, seriously, WHERE ARE THEY?!  Did they stop to get something to eat inside? Are there even restaurants?  What is going on?  11:30pm- alright, it’s been an hour, I know they’ll be here soon.  OH! Someone is rounding the corner- is that them?  Dang it, not them.  Okay, at least people are starting to filter through, that means they must be on their way.”

The whole time I’m having this internal conversation, I’m hopping from foot to foot, biting my nails, glancing around, watching everyone.  As I glance behind me I see a big sign with GOERING written on it- our PFL representative.  I introduce myself and we make small talk, all the while I’m still bouncing around, not taking my eyes off that entrance.  Our driver shows up and I hear him tell our representative that it looks like I’m on crack because of the anxious way I’m behaving.  I snap around and quickly tell him that I speak Spanish and that I’m waiting to see my family, whom I haven’t seen in over a year.  He immediately laughs and apologizes.  My eyes are still glued to the corner.  Finally, FINALLY I see Joel’s Newton Railers shirt round that corner and I’m off.  I hardly see the numerous people I checked, and I completely disregard the ropes.  Nothing is coming between me and my family.  In a matter of seconds I am practically tackling Joel in what I can only describe as one of the biggest hugs ever.  The security guard tells us we need to move along, but I’m not having it.  I WILL give each of them a hug before we go anywhere.  I make my way through Scott, Mom, and Dad, all the while crying and laughing.  Finally I’ve hugged everyone to satisfaction and we can make our way out of the roped-off section.  We find our PFL representative and head to the car. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my life.  I can’t even describe the feelings that were racing through me- excitement, elation, happiness, relief, joy, all rolled into one.  I had been looking forward to this moment for weeks, months even.  And finally, I was reunited with the four people I love most in this world.  To put it simply, I was on Cloud Nine.  It had been over a year since I’d seen any of them, yet it was like no time had passed.  We immediately fell into the old routine- Dad making bad jokes; Scott, Joel, and I making fun of each other; and Mom rolling her eyes and laughing at all of it.  It was perfect.  At that point, we could have holed up in a hotel in Lima for the remainder of the trip and I would have been just as happy.

Aside from the awe-inspiring Machu Picchu and all the fun moments we had during the rest of our tour of Peru, my absolute favorite part was sharing Piura with my family.  They were able to see Piura city, eat at my favorite restaurants, stay in our hostel, and walk the same streets that I walk.  The day that we spent in my site was the most memorable day of the entire trip for me.  They saw my schools, met the teachers I work with, met some of my students, saw my health post and municipality, met my socios, walked around town, and spent time with my host family.  The four of them even got to experience my cement slab!  Watching them laugh at something Edson said (even though they didn’t understand him); seeing their reactions to my schools; introducing them to my host family; drinking 7UP with them everywhere we went; walking around town with them; showing them my favorite hangouts; these are all moments that I will never forget, as long as I live.  I’m so happy and blessed that I was able to share my Peruvian life with my family.

Saying goodbye was, obviously, the worst part of their trip.  When the cleaning lady at the hostel asked me, “Ya se fueron?” (Have they left?), I burst into tears on the stairs.  I holed myself up in my room and didn’t speak to anyone for the rest of the night.  I needed time to get used to a life without them around 24/7.  It was a hard adjustment, harder than I had expected, but eventually I got back in the swing of things and became comfortable once again with my Peruvian lifestyle.  Now I’m looking forward to being reunited again in a mere 51 days!!

My family with some of the teachers I work with.

 My two families.

 

Different angle.

On a tour of a nearby town.

My two brothers and my sister.

"If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'"
                        -- Jeff Foxworthy

No Te Vaaaaayas

Roberto: “Miss Kelsey, cuando te vas?”  (Miss Kelsey, when do you leave?)
Me:  “No me voy.  Estoy aca, mirando la celebracion pues.”  (I’m not going. I’m here, watching the celebrations, duh.)
Roberto: “Noooo, cuando te vas? A los Estados Unidos?”  (Noooo, when do you leave? Back to the USA?)
Me:  “Ohhh, el otro ano que viene. En Julio o agosto.”  (Ohhh, next year.  In July or August.)
Roberto:  “Noooo, no te vaaaayas. Te voy a extrañar muchisimo.”  (Noooo, don’t leave.  I am going to miss you soooo much.)
Me:  “Awwww, te voy a extranar tambien, Roberto!”  (Awww, I’m going to miss you, too, Roberto!)
Roberto:  “Miss Kelsey, te quiero.”  (Miss Kelsey, I love you.)
Me:  “Roberto Jesus, mi vida, te quiero tambien!”  (Roberto Jesus, darling, I love you, too!)

Roberto is a 7-year-old bundle of joy, energy, and love.  He is a trouble-maker in school and is always getting in time-out.  He is loud, silly, rambunctious, and funny.  And I love him.  He is, by far, my favorite person in site, and possibly even in all of Peru.  Every time he sees me, without fail, no matter where we are, he runs to me, jumps in my arms, and gives me a giant hug.  He is so full of affection, and always tells me how much he loves me and how much he will miss me when I leave.  I don’t live with Roberto, but he calls me his sister, and I call him my brother.  I love that little boy.  He brings joy to my life every time I see his goofy smile.

I have that conversation at least twice a week, where somebody asks me when I’m leaving and then begs me to stay.  Usually I just giggle and say something like, “Oh, I have to go back. My family and friends are in the States, and I have to get a job. I’ll come back and visit.”  But that time, with Roberto, I almost started crying.  I realized that I’m not ready to leave Peru.  I’m not ready to say goodbye to my host family, my socios, my friends, my Roberto. 

There were times when I couldn’t fathom making it two whole years in this tiny little site of mine.  When I dreamt of taking hot showers, having fast internet, drinking real beer, eating anything but rice.  And I still sometimes dream of those things, but not as often, and they don’t mean as much to me as they used to.  Now I can’t fathom leaving this place in a year.  Leaving behind my Pepto-Bismol pink room, not waking up to the sound of cats fighting on my roof, not having hours upon hours with nothing to do but just be.  The past year seemed too long, and the upcoming year doesn’t seem long enough.  There is still so much I need to do, places I want to see, things I need to say, people I want to hang out with, classes I need to teach, books I want to read.  In the words of Willy Wonka, “So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.”

Sitting there, watching the Fiestas Patrias celebrations with Roberto on my lap, I realized that I really do love my life here and I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to it.  I have a year left.  It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t.  July 2013 is looming in the distance; I can’t wait to be home, back in the comfort of the United States, speaking English and surrounding myself with friends and family.  But I’m not looking forward to the day when I have to say goodbye to my life here, and everything that it means to me.  I don’t know if I’m prepared to deal with the mixed emotions that leaving this place brings.  I do know one thing for sure, and that is that I am ready for the next year to take its sweet, precious time.  Bobby D’s bbq ranch and pulled pork sandwiches can wait- I’ve got work to do, relationships to build, books to read, and tons of trashy Peruvian television to watch.  Here’s to a long and fulfilling next year.

“Travel deep inside yourself without the baggage of conditioning. Be an explorer, have patience, and eventually your true nature will surface. You will return from your journey with fresh skin and you will approach each day with a wonderful sense of wonder and bliss.”

                        -- Marco R. Capristo