The last Thursday of training, we threw a party for all of the host families who accepted us into their homes for our first 11 weeks in Peru. These families introduced us to Peruvian culture, made us our first Peruvian meals, were patient with our Spanish and took us in as one of their own.
It could not have been a better fusion of the Peruvian and US cultures, hitting both Peace Corps goals 2 and 3.
As our guests walked in, they were greeted by their soon-to-be-official volunteer and chalk art.
They then were asked to take a photo at the photo booth, with homemade accessories.
And then were invited to partake in a variety of food—pulled pork sandwiches, tamales, meatballs, and limonada. After eating and socializing, we began the talent show. The talent show featured four acts- Bollywood dancers, a musical group with an unplanned group song, the Chacrasana volunteers plus host siblings/nieces dancing to a popular Columbian song, and finally a flash mob group dance to some of the more well-known American dances.
We concluded the event with a “thank you” speech, given by one of the Peru 23 volunteers and then gave our families flowers.
While the event went well and was fun, there was a looming sense of sadness. We were all about to leave our new families—both our Peruvian one and our Peru 23 one. Somehow, in 11 weeks, we became a close-knit group, supporting each other through emotional highs and hardships. We knew that our time together was rapidly coming to a close and that once we left for our sites on Saturday, some of us wouldn’t see each other for months, maybe even a year. On the positive side, I know that when things get tough or when I just need to speak English, I have 37 people I can call.
Brittany McGee 