It's funny that walking to work used to scare me, it's crazy to think how unfamiliar and strange this place used to be. Now it's so normal and familiar, the stands of fruit and black market books, the dirty streets packed with honking taxis, the crazy intersections. But even though it is dirty and loud, I don't want to leave! Can I just stay forever? I don't want to get nostalgic too soon though, I do still have two days left.
Hunter facebooked me to say that she had made it back to the U.S. safely but had woken up disoriented, still thinking she was in Peru at first, but then sadly realised she wasn't. It was really sad for me too, to go to work alone!
Work was good but I started to get nostalgic again, I'm going to miss all the kids so much!
The last boy is Dairon
Here's another picture of them, un-confusingly their mother decided to dress them the same today. Great. Also love the look on Alejandro's face, haha!
Marcella and Nataly
I came back at one, and was excited to go to my other job at the local high school in the afternoon, it was going to be my last day there! However I never got the chance to go.After I quickly ate lunch, my host mom María asked innocently enough if she could check in with me about how I was doing. Little could I imagine that this would turn into a three hour long intense conversation that bordered on almost being an argument, and her ranting about all the other volunteers. If I had known how awful this would be I would have escaped at the start.
It all started with Lara, who wanted to come to my work with me again. Lara only works mornings in the orphanage and so had the whole afternoon free, it was also the last day the local school had class. However María was extremely mad at her when she asked if she could go. I tried to reason with María too but she just stated a bunch of really weird reasons back, she couldn't go because it wasn't her official job (even though the director of the school was fine with her helping me), she couldn't go because María wasn't her official ABV coordinator, or because the world wasn't as simple as I wanted it to be! Eventually we got down to the real reason, she was actually mad at U.S. Caroline and had just been expressing it toward Lara.
Apparently U.S. Caroline had taken both Tommy and Hunter to her work without telling María. María was very upset by this because both Tommy and Hunter had agreed to go to U.S. Caroline's work because they had been unhappy in their work, and so María thinks that it was very wrong of them to just go to another person's work instead of coming to her and letting her help. This lead to a rant about Tommy, how he was evil and manipulative and so on. They had got into a fight a couple of days before he left so it is no wonder that she used such personal, emotionally charged adjectives but I personally have a very different impression of Tommy, as a calm, easy going guy who would never do anything that mean, I mean he did come half way around the world to volunteer which says something, but I wasn't there so I can't say.
Then the Tommy rant lead to a Hunter rant, how she hadn't told her she was unhappy with her work, how she hadn't filled out the feedback survey at the end of her stay (I'm not sure María would have really wanted her review!) and how she had given the supplies she had brought for underprivileged kids to the kids at U.S. Caroline's work who were much more in need than the ones at the kindergarten. It was very weird, I didn't really understand any of the points she laid against Hunter and it just made her sound like a control freak, and super sensitive which she isn't most of the time.
The rant cumulated in a huge attack on Caroline who I have never seen speak one bad word or do one bad thing to María. However in her mind Caroline is a backstabbing, sneaky, conniving person who has poisoned the minds of the other volunteers against her and she was unspeakably mad at her. This was just super weird and kind of scary. She sounded paranoid. Which again is very out of character for her. The things she said just made no logical sense, she blamed Caroline for neglecting her work by staying home with a cold, but she works at a hospital! She blamed Caroline for not being more of a mom to me and Hunter, but that wasn't what Caroline signed up for in the volunteer agreement! I felt so bad for Caroline!
Needless to say Caroline is now moving houses. I'm worried about María though, she's managed to turn almost every volunteer in the house against her, and now I'm not sure what to think of her! The most ironic part of the conversation was that she was talking to me a lot about how Caroline neglected her work but she talked so long I missed my work!
Then we all went out to dinner, me, U.S. Caroline, German Caroline and her husband Tómas, Lara, and María. U.S. Caroline and María sat at opposite ends of the table. It was a pretty fun night, but a little tense.
I was nostalgic again walking home, not many of these beautiful Peruvian nights left! Hopefully María doesn't turn against me too in that time!
When we returned to the house I had to say goodbye to all three Germans! German Caroline and her husband are leaving for a four day backpacking trip tomorrow called the Incan Trail that ends at Macchu Picchu, and Lara is leaving to go see her boyfriend in Aerequipa a different region of Peru. I won't get a chance to see any of them again before I leave!
You always joked that you were old enough to be me and Hunter's mom but you really did take care of us and keep us out of trouble, thank you so much for that! You're awesome and so much fun :)
Here's Lara in Macchu Picchu, although we didn't go together. She's really nice!
You always joked that you were old enough to be me and Hunter's mom but you really did take care of us and keep us out of trouble, thank you so much for that! You're awesome and so much fun :)Here's Lara in Macchu Picchu, although we didn't go together. She's really nice!