Days 12-15: Whirlwind

The last few days here in Peru have been a whirlwind that I better start writing about now, so that I don’t forget everything that I want to say. When I last wrote, I spoke about Independence Day and its meaning here in Peru. It is certainly a festive time of year, and even now, on Sunday, there is still a feeling of excitement in the air. There is no doubt that Peruvians love their country.

Thursday, July 29th, was the second day of Independence Day celebrations in Peru. However, the folks at Mother Teresa’s Home had something else to celebrate that day. It happened to be the birthday of one of the children, Marco. Marco was turning 13. According to American standards, Marco became a teenager that day. While still a child, he was quickly growing up into a young man. Certainly, turning 13 is usually a huge event, a milestone, in the States. Every child looks forward to turning 13, so that they can call themselves a teenager. It is a time when many parents give their children more “grown up” responsibilities, as well as giving them some more freedom, like going to hang out with friends at the movies or the park on your own. I know I was excited when I reached that age. But even though we had a birthday celebration for Marco that left everyone happy and smiling, it didn’t feel complete - not for me, at least.

During the entire party, all I could think of was what this child’s life would be like if he weren’t sick, if he had the same opportunities that I had when I was growing up. Marco is in a wheelchair full time because he cannot walk. He has a form of mental retardation that has stripped him of the ability to speak. Just like the other children at the home, he was abandoned by his mother after he was born. His entire life has been spent in a state of complete dependence on the nuns, staff, and volunteers at the home. He has never gone to school because there are no resources in Peru for children who suffer from mental retardation like he does. He has no parents to give him gifts or hugs and kisses on his birthday. He has no siblings to share experiences with. He has no friends to laugh and play with. Even further, he has no family to sing him Feliz Cumpleanos on his special day. Thank goodness for the people at Mother Teresa’s Home, or he would have nothing at all.

I know that I have hit on this theme before in a few of my blog posts. But I feel it bears repeating just because the “state of affairs” for these children is so dire and unfortunate. I constantly wish that there was something more that I could do for the kids that I work with. The 20 hours a week that I spend volunteering just isn’t enough. We need more time, more resources, to multiply our impact here.

Here is a picture of the celebrations for Marco’s birthday on Thursday. I was the pinata “bearer” and I was encouraged by the simple fact that Marco was smiling:

On a separate note, I wanted to get out of the city in order to explore another part of this country. Lima is a beautiful city with many sites to see. However, it is covered, for the vast majority of the time, in gray skies. The sun rarely peeks through the clouds, so it gets a little bit dreary if you spend enough time here. So, Carol (a fellow volunteer from Chicago) and I, decided to go to Huacachina. Huacachina is a town in the middle of the desert, about five hours south of Lima. This town is an oasis (literally) that is surrounded by sand dunes. These dunes are absolutely enormous. When I first laid my eyes on them, I could hardly believe it. It was a spectacular site. All I could see was sand topped by blue sky. And the blue sky was certainly a welcome site, with the sun shining on us. The sand dunes are the second highest in the world, right behind the dunes in the desert of Namibia, in Africa. (There is some controversy here though. Each country claims that their dunes are the highest. I’m tempted to side with the Peruvians.) Here are two pictures from the oasis and the surrounding dunes:

Huacachina is a Quechua word for “beautiful crying woman”. Quechua is the language spoken by the natives of the Andes. These are the people whose ancestry date back to the Inca civilization that lasted from the twelfth century to the middle of the sixteenth century, when the Incas were conquered by Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors. According to legend, the beautiful woman cries in the desert. Her tears form the lagoon that is now the oasis in the center of town.

Carol and I had a great time exploring Huacachina. First, we went on a tour of the sand dunes in a dune buggy. The ride was almost like a roller coaster ride - up, down, and side to side. It was an exhilarating ride marked by high speeds of the buggy and feelings of butterflies in my stomach. The driver stopped several times so that we could go sand boarding. For those of you who don’t know, sand boarding is just like snowboarding, except - well - on sand. Before strapping my legs to the board, I was extremely nervous. I have never actually snowboarded. I have always been afraid of having both of my feet attached to one board. It just isn’t natural, not to me, at least. But in the spirit of the experience, I did it. I certainly fell a lot on the way down the dune, but it was so much fun. After I started, I was no longer nervous.
The second sand boarding dune was much higher and even more steep. I decided that I would try something else that some of the others on the tour were also giving a shot - riding down the dune on our bellies. I laid down on the board, face first, and launched myself down the dune. This was definitely very scary, but also a very freeing experience. There was no way for me to control the speed of the board. I was just there for the ride. I don’t think I have ever gone so fast before. If I ever come back to Peru, sand boarding is first on my “to do” list.

After the sand boarding, Carol and I took some time to take pictures as we both love photography. And then we went on a wine tour in the surrounding countryside. Apparently,Peru makes great wine. That was news to me. It was my first wine tour ever, and I was surprised by how beautiful the vineyards lying at the foot of the Andes were.

After our day long excursion, we headed back to Lima. It was a great excursion, but also pretty tiring.

Fast forward to Sunday. I wanted to go to Mass Downtown, but decided to stay in Surco, the community where our house is. Another volunteer had heard of an outdoor Mass in the community, so we both headed over for that. It was a beautiful Mass held by the Order of Our Lady of the Reconciliation. During the homily, which was in Spanish (as was the rest of the Mass), I was able to pick up a few sentences that struck me. The priest said, “None of are alone. We are all protected and watched over. And for those of us who have more, we should watch over those who have less.” And my mind returned to the residents at Mother Teresa’s Home. For me, it was an affirmation of the work that my fellow volunteers and I have been doing here in Lima. We are all human and are all connected by the same underlying forces of community. It is important to work for the common good, especially those of us who have more.

I have been having an absolutely life-changing experience in Lima. I have a new perspective on many things, and I now know that volunteering, whether nationally or internationally, will always be an important priority for me. I find it hard to believe that half of my time here is already over. As much as I miss my family and friends back home, I’m needed here. I guess I will just have to bring them with me on my next volunteer trip...