Dishes. They have a life cycle. Clean, then dirty, then clean again. During these past few days I have been in complete control of the Niños del Sol dish life cycle. In the kitchen we retrieve these clean dishes from their solitary confinement and force them into everyday life. Chopping, soaking, cooking. We use them for what they are meant for. And then? They get tossed into the kitchen sink, yearning for a bath so they can go back to being clean and content. Dish after dirty dish I scrub and rinse and dry, guiding them back to their original place on the shelf. Boy do I hate dishes. But that's my job here, the human dishwasher, and I have come to terms with it. So much so that doing dishes now puts me in a state of tranquility. A state of safety. So it goes.
Monday:
*I washed dishes
*I peeled 334 snap peas for the soup that day
*I sorted through a 3 pound (rough estimate) bag of corn, separating the big kernels from the small kernels
*I temporarily lost sanity and sang a song to the little kernels of corn about how they were just little guys...
*I organized books (Children's books, young adult books, coloring books, science books etc.)
*I picked lettuce and kale for the kids lunch on Tuesday
Tuesday:
*I folded a weeks worth of clothes for 22 children
*I filled up the water filters
*I chopped Kale for the soup
*More dishes
*I helped serve lunch
*More dishes
*I went with the children and Avishai to an organic garden they are helping out at, run by three recent college graduates, and learned how to make compost (this was actually a lot of fun and the garden is breathtaking!)
*I got my hair braided
*I helped serve dinner
*Surprise! More dishes
*I watched some sort of Japanese anime translated into Spanish with English subtitles that turned into an anime porno...probably my strangest experience thus far
Wednesday:
Today I will go into detail. Not just about dishes don't worry. This morning when I woke up and went to join Avishai and Viviana for breakfast, Viviana wanted to speak with me. She feels it would be best if I look into other volunteer opportunities throughout the valley because having me at Niños del Sol is not turning out how she thought it would. She told me that if I want to take a Spanish immersion course in Urubamba (the next village over, 20 minute drive) we could reassess the situation in two weeks, when the course is over. Viviana told me the staff and the kids all really enjoy having me around but she feels it is too hard since my Spanish is not fluent. She also feels as if my coming here to volunteer was a bit pushed on her since I already had a plane ticket. I just want to say, thank you Viviana and Avishai for taking me under your wings and giving me a beautiful place to stay. May the force be with you and Niños del Sol.
I went to Urubamba today to inquire some information about the school that offers classes as well a host family to stay with during the two week course. Spanish class, 20 soles per hour. Minimal requirement, 2 or 3 hours 5 days a week, 10 days in total. Host family, 45 soles per day, 14 days. On my way back to Calca I pondered this. It is pretty expensive for two weeks of living when I am here on a tight budget so I looked into other options as well. So far, I have a job offer at the hostel I stayed at last weekend, there is an organic farm that takes in volunteers just up the road from where I am now or there is another orphanage in Cusco and Spanish is not a requirement. Decisions, decisions. Technically I have four options if you include Niños del Sol but I feel a bit unwanted and to put it bluntly, it seems as if I got fired. I will keep you up to date on my decision which should be finalized tomorrow.
I went back to the orphanage upon returning to Calca and had a spectacular rest of my evening. I had an English class with a few of the children (whose pronunciation and memorization is astounding) and helped prepared dinner. After dinner, dishes. After dishes, Soo Bahk Do! The kids LOVED this. I taught them all a few self defense moves and hopefully tomorrow, no one has broken wrists, gorged out eyes or swollen ball sacks...I don't want to leave on THAT bad of terms. They truly are a good group of kids and I wish them the best in their future endeavors. Come what may, I think they have a great support system and the ability to reach the stars.
The only thing I can do through all this is keep a smile on my face and try my very best each and every day. What more can I offer? Shit happens. So it goes. Life continues and the clock keeps ticking. A wise traveler said, "traveling isn't traveling if plans don't change." Every thing happens for a reason and whatever this one might be, I'm sure it will be worth it. Thank you everyone for all your support throughout my adventure, I truly appreciate it. So it goes right?
Peace and love for now,
Ayla
