VOLUNTEER WORK IN CUSCO - PERU
Amy Smith from Mount Saint Mary´s College - Washington D.C.
Peru-Reflection
October 11th - October 18th, 2003

October 11, 2003

            Welcome to Peru!  After seven hours of flying, we arrived at our first hotel in Lima and there was no hot water!  Although I don’t have much to reflect on today, I got my first dose of simplicity and it has, without a doubt, set precedence for the rest of the week.

 

October 12, 2003

            At first, today, I thought that life couldn’t get any better.  We had tours, saw the beautiful country side and bought things super cheap!  But I then realized that these people are not selling things so cheap to be generous.  They’re willing to take as much or as little as you’re willing to give for what they’re selling…many of the products are hand-made.  And, it’s all so beautiful, but I still found myself bargaining.  It just shows my United States mentality because I want to get as much as I can for as little as possible.  Ultimately, I felt guilty because I can afford to pay more than I am and I know that the vendors would be appreciative.

 

October 13, 2003

            Today was our first day of work.  I am going to sleep very well tonight.  All of us did a great job working.  Today I was part of the crew that dug the trench.  It was so disheartening, however, when it started to rain and water began to fill the trench.  I had dug my heart out and I was even surprised at the amount I and others accomplished.  Hopefully there won’t be too much of a mess tomorrow morning when we go back.

 

October 14, 2003

            We finished digging the trench and laying the sewer line after a lot of difficulty.  At one point, when water was squirting all over the place, I thought to myself, “Why don’t we just hire some one to do this work.”  Then, I realized that this is another part of the culture I would have to experience.  At home, in the states, if I can’t do something, I find some one who can.  But here, everyone can do everything.  When the parents brought the tools, I couldn’t see how they could possibly use the.  And yet, those may have been their best equipment.  Also, when Gladys was looking for the water shut off valve, she didn’t go fin a guy to do it.  Rather, she and four other women started digging out front in search of it.  This has shown me that I do not always need to depend on other people.  I can at least try whatever it is on my own with the tools at hand rather than immediately getting some one else to do it.

 

October 15, 2003

            Today I stated in the general vicinity of where I was doing work the past couple of days and this time I helped with laying cement.  Although the task was challenging, I had more of a focus on the children.  As I lifted each child over the rocks and away from danger, I finally took notice of how many kids there actually are here at this very small primary school.  There are so many students with only three classrooms and not nearly enough teachers.  Unfortunately, many of these children will never have the opportunities that I have had, have, or will have solely based on the fact that they were born in a different place than I was.  I am blessed to have been born in a country of opportunities.  I have never had to worry about my education and personally I have never worried about whether or not I was going to be able to eat a meal on any given day.  The families here in Cusco go through, daily, what I don’t expect to ever have to go through.  In a way I’m thankful, but at the same time I wish more Americans had to experience such drawbacks, if only for a short period of time, so that they would be more humble and more generous to people in such situations. 

 

October 16, 2003

            Today was “Cry fest 2003”!  It was by far the most touching day of all.  We finished our first school and began to paint and plaster the second during our fourth and final day of work.  Afterwards, we had the celebration.  Seeing those kids perform touched me so deeply.  The three, four and five year olds in traditional garb again reminded me of the fact that they will never have as many opportunities as I.  Also, seeing the parents be so supportive of their children was amazing.  At schools in the states, teachers are constantly asking for parental support.  But in Cusco, that didn’t seem to be a problem.  Unfortunately, support will not make these kids any richer.  And finally, I was touched by the generosity of all those present.  The teachers gave each student a soda and a slice of cake made by one of the teachers.  In the states students would probably complain “Is that all?” but here no one had to say anything because we knew that this was as much as they could give us and we were all so grateful!  In fact, mostly the kids sitting on our laps ate our cake.  My new four-year-old friend Shelene ate my cake until there were only crumbs remaining. And then she ate those too.  Today was a great day for searching our heart and reflecting. 

 

October 17, 2003

            Today was a great deal more upbeat.  We took a train ride to Machu Pichu and experienced its wonder.  It was amazing!  Diego and Gabby came along too which was nice.  I really liked getting to know Diego.  He has inspired me to do more volunteer work similar to this.  He may have the biggest heart in the world!  He acts like his job is nothing special and yet he devotes so much of his time to helping others.  He is truly an angel. 

 

October 18, 2003

            Today is our last day in Peru.  I’m so glad to have experienced it, but I’m also ready to go home.  Such a dramatic lifestyle difference is hard to get adjusted to.  However, I sincerely wish to go back to Peru.  I also want to do work similar to what we did here, but extend it to other countries.  I don’t think the Mount could have brought a more wonderful group.  We all developed bonds that can never be broken and these bonds were reinforced by experiences that will never be forgotten!