Started writing this on the 29th of May, before a 3000km trip around Peru:
Time flies! I am sitting in an Internet café in the humid city of Tumbes, in the Northern part of Peru, 35 km from the border with Ecuador. Waiting for my friend Anna to land so we can go back to Los Organos, a peaceful beach resort in the region of Piura.
I have one month left in South America. It feels like yesterday that David showed up punctually late to pick me up at the airport. My time in Trujillo has been simply amazing. It was way above my expectations: working as a volunteer was one of the most fulfilling things I have done in my life, I met fantastic people and had the priviliege of discovering some of the secrets of Peruvian culture.
Teaching the kids at the USDA school and the Simon Bolivar government school was a unique, heart warming, learning experience. Their energy, exuberance and enthusiasm were contagious and I feel that they taught me more about myself than I ever dreamed. Mind boggling to see kids that don't have running water, sewage in their homes come to school in clean clothes and eager to learn. Wonderful to see their parents walking the kids to school and encouraging them to study. Peru is not considered a rich country, but it has a big warm heart, combine it with the survival instincts and the fact that Peruvians are keen on education and I have no doubt that the country has a bright future.
The last week at school was really hard for me. I grew very attached to the children and will miss them a lot. The kids wrote us goodbye notes plastered with disney and barney the dinosaur stickers. At the USDA school, my friend and school director Guillermo, held a little goodbye speach in every class and the kids were asked if they wanted to say goodbye, we were handed diplomas and a picture of each class. These pictures and the goodbye notes mean so much to me. Everyone was very emotional and there was a fair amount of crying involved.
We had a great goodbye party, that involved a Mariachi band. Almost all our friends made it to the party. I met many wonderful people in Trujillo, Peruvians, volunteers and even tourists from all over the world. I will remember all of them fondly and hope that I will get many chances to see them again.
It is hard to think that Trujillo will no longer be my home, that I won't ride for hours on beat-up combis playing loud reggaeton music on dusty roads. That I won't be able to go for my midday surf in Huanchaco. That I won't wake up with the sound of Tia Carmen sweeping the floor in front of my bedroom at 6am, that I won't see the guys from USDA with their blue vests on a friday night helping underprivileged children create a colorful pencil holder out of an empty milk box. That I won't have those endless lunches (partly due to the poor standard of service, but primarily to the good company) talking philosophy or bulls..t with all the volunteers that I had the pleasure of working with.
In the next episode I will tell you about:
-The Peruvian way: how to speak on a cell phone, how to behave if you work in the service industry, how to attract the attention of anyone working in the service industry.
-My 3000km journey across Peru, which will include advice on how to climb Macchu Picchu and where not to go when you get to the top of Wayna Picchu...
