I forgot to mention that yesterday Joel cracked my back. It
was the scariest thing ever. He also cracked my neck. Good grief, that was
scary!
As for today, the volunteers and I went up to Pachacutec.
Allison and I worked with one of the Wa Wa Wasis. We played with Karla, Nicole,
Kiara, Angel, Duran, and Rodrigo. I brought my parachute that I bought in California and the toddlers loved it. We sang songs with it. We moved around in a circle with it. We learned our colors with it. We learned prepositions. I also used it to pull the toddlers from one side of the small Wa Wa Wasi to the other side. It was so much fun! Then, the toddlers all tackled
me and tried to tickle me. But I managed to escape :). I find that the
children’s only weakness is tickling. They also tried to suffocate me with a
blanket (LOL). Yeah…
Kiara really liked me and normally she doesn’t like anyone.
Whenever she cried, I would sing and she would want me to hold her. She liked
me a lot! She really did. I was glad she liked me because I was able to work
with her while the Mama (all the women in the orphanages are called Mamas, they
are not the biological mothers of the children) took care of the other
children. She smiled and did not cry when I held her. I must have done
something right. She especially liked the Baby Bumble Bee song.
Then there is Duran. He has the cutest (but mischievous)
face ever. He wanted to play doctor with me. So he would put the stethoscope
near my heart and I would make “bum bum bum” sounds. I watched him explore the
toys and noticed that although he looked well taken care of, in actuality he
was not. The poor guy’s ears were full of dirt and he reeked of sweat.
Of course, the poor Wa Wa Wasis do the best they can with
the little resources that they have, but it was painful to see such scarcity.
There was no running water system and at the back of the house, the toilet is
essentially a bin full of urine and other bodily wastes. The entire Wa Wa Wasi
is equivalent to half the size of my room (and my room is quite small). I
really want to finish school and get a good paying job so that I can give more
to poor towns like Pachacutec.
There’s so much to be done and it kind of makes me upset
when I see people my age only consumed with ideas of partying and not giving a
care in the world about those who are suffering. It really makes me mad. I mean
you don’t have to travel to another country to help people. You can do
something like give a homeless man some of your food. It really doesn’t take
much to help those who really do need help. I feel like cussing right now
thinking about some people I know who are preoccupied with the most ridiculous
things.
There I go again, off on a tangent. On another note, I
wanted to reassure everyone of my safety. Lidia has always told everyone in the
neighborhood that the volunteers are missionaries. Since Peruvians are very
religious, no one dares to rob from people who are believed to be missionaries
:).
I just thought I should mention something about my bed. I
usually sleep on one side of the bed so now, there is an imprint of my body on
the mattress that is not going away even though I try to sleep on the other
side of the bed -___-.
In the afternoon, the volunteers and I went down to La Punta
to visit the girls. On Tuesday, when we went down there, I was able to sit next
to a nice Peruvian woman with her two children (one little boy and a toddler girl).
She had difficulty talking so her children talked to me for her. Her little
daughter asked me, “Senora, como te llamas?” It was very cute! The little family
and I talked all the way to La Punta. Today, I sat near the aisle and one of
the passengers (this huge and rude woman) stood where I was sitting and rubbed
her breasts on the right side of my head. I shimmied over to my left to avoid
her. I felt violated! Then, I also saw drug dealers dealing drugs right in
front of the police. They did it in a way that most people would not even
notice. I just happened to notice because I was right in front of them
(probably only 5-7 feet away from them).
When we got to La Punta, I played Connect-Four with Lan, Rosa, and Gracie. Aw,
they are so sweet. All the girls always hug us and give us kisses. They are
just so desperate for affection and love. Let me remind you that these girls
were taken from their homes due to abuse, drugs, and/or sexual exploitation. No
men are allowed in the vicinity because many of the girls are still traumatized
by the things that happened to them.
At night, the volunteers and I went to a water park. It’s
kind of similar to Disneyland’s World of Color thing. It was beautiful; cold,
but beautiful. It was quite romantic too. It made me think of the location of
my room and how whenever I hear the other volunteers, I would go to my window
and say hello. Honestly, it feels like I’m Juliet at my window and I need a
Romeo at the foot of my window :). Gosh, I’m such a hopeless romantic…
On another note, I was talking to one of the volunteers and
she was telling me she does not anyone who is a morning person (with the
exception of me). She said that in general, college students are not morning
people. I don’t know if that’s true. But I do know that I am a morning person.
Love the morning! Mornings are when I feel most rejuvenated and happy. By the
end of the night, though, all the joy and happiness are gone. Unless, there’s
something or someone special then I might still be overly happy. Other than
that, I just want to rest at night and look forward to the morning.
Honestly, I’ve been feeling homesick lately. Although I
really love Peru and I absolutely enjoy working here, I miss home. I miss my
friends, family, and school (I love school!). I miss the Californian air. Don’t
get me wrong, I have learned and grown so much by volunteering in Peru, but
sometimes, I feel exhausted always caring for others with no time for myself.
Back home, I could do so many things and know that I will be able to have Kim
time. Here, not so much. I liked being able to go to the beach at night and
just sit there. The volunteers here, in their free time, like to shop and do
touristy things which are okay with me the first couple of times. But after
that, I just want to be somewhere peaceful and alone. I can’t get out of the
house and be alone (due to safety precautions). Being alone inside the house can
be very boring. I just start to miss the other volunteers.
There are lots for me to look forward to back home. I have
so much to give and I really want to give to someone who’s truly worth something.
Sure, I have flaws and I have made my share of mistakes when it comes to
relationships, but there is no doubt in mind of how to properly love someone. I
just feel a lot of people like the idea of being with someone but when it comes
down to it, they have absolutely no idea of how to properly love the person
they’re with. Why is that? People like the notion of being in love but do not
know how to love. That’s odd to me. If you know how to love people and care for
others, shouldn’t the same method be used with people you are in a relationship
with? Maybe, it’s not that simple. Maybe everything is just trial and error and
acceptance of the other person. Maybe everything is a big ball of complexity
and it is useless to try to figure things out. Maybe I need to stop over thinking
things and learn to listen to my heart more. Maybe I need to be more courageous
and allow people that truly, truly care about me a chance to show me what real
love is supposed to feel like. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do… I’ll take a risk and,
hopefully, it’ll be worth it.
