First Visit From Home

Last week my Grandma and Aunt Karey came to see me! It was so nice having them here. They were traveling in Cusco seeing Machu Picchu while I was in Training and then we met up north in Tarapoto. We all cried at the airport a bit and the guy from the hotel who came to pick us up was very concerned… We spent the afternoon in the jungle town eating Chinese food, seeing a waterfall, and hanging out. They got to experience first hand the brutal honestly of Peruvians as our moto-taxi driver commented that I’m much fatter then them. I’m used to it, but it was fun to see them crack up. The next day at 6am we boarded a “combi,” the minivan sized cars that I’ve gotten used to traveling in, and headed to Chachapoyas. I knew it wouldn’t be the most comfortable ride, as I knew this week wouldn’t be a relaxing vacay but rather an exciting adventure! I also knew Grams and Aunt Karey could handle it. And they did, with just a few comments that almost, but didn’t quite, brake their rule of “no complaining.”

In Chachapoyas we walked around and shopped a bit. They got to meet another volunteer, Pari, who’s also from the Bay Area and happened to be in the same hotel as us. We had dinner in a restaurant/bakery next to our hotel that I knew had decent food with a menu translated in English. We ended up eating all three of our dinners there! After long days, it’s nice to go to a place we knew we’d like. The second day in Chachapoyas Grams’ cold/cough was pretty bad so she decided to join us for breakfast (at my favorite spot) but skip the excursion to Kuelap. Aunt Karey and I hopped on the tour bus as the only foreigners tagging along with a big Peruvian family. Although that meant a lot of speaking in Spanish, it also meant an invitation to homemade tamales. They didn’t know I spoke Spanish at first until I overheard one asking “do you think the gringas want a tamale?” Then I introduced myself and told them I am living here in Amazonas and they warmed up to us! However we split up from them when we got to the ruins to go with an English speaking tour guide who had a group of Europeans and a couple from the USA with him. This tour guide recognized me from when he passes through my community, Chocta, to get to Karajia, another touristic site. He even observed that on Sundays I like to play volleyball! (I was only slightly creeped out and actually a little flattered). He took a liking to Aunt Karey and me, always making sure we were paying attention and offering to take our picture. It was nice. By the time we got back to Chachapoyas it was dark and we discovered Grams had survived the day quenching her hunger with water and cough drops! SO we headed to our trusty restaurant and showed her the pictures from our day.

The next morning we all went to breakfast at my second favorite breakfast spot where I got my waffle and they got scrambled eggs. Our breakfasts and dinners in Chachapoyas were pleasant times in an otherwise crazy few days! After breakfast we headed to the bus stop to get a car to Luya, the bigger town I spend a lot of time in. I was reminded of how scary that car ride is! I remember thinking it was a crazy road when I first got to site, but honestly I had become so used to it I didn’t even think to warn Aunt Karey and Grandma. I chuckled as Aunt Karey took Grandma’s advice to “just close your eyes and it’ll be over soon.” They were such troopers. We walked around Luya a bit to know where I go to get internet and groceries. Then we got back into a car to head up to Chocta. Of course it wasn’t a straight shot to Chocta. The driver circled around Luya a bit looking for passengers; on the way we stopped twice to pile in more people, including a women with a ton of chickens. It was fun seeing my Grandma’s eyes get wider every time more people managed to squeeze in. Then we took a detour up to another community for a passenger. I kinda wanted an uneventful ride up the mountain but was kinda happy they got to see what I have to deal with.

Finally we arrived in Chocta! As we got out of the car my host nephew and god-daughter Marlleli ran up to us. I hadn’t been back in 2 weeks so it was exciting to see them but especially exciting to see them meet my family. Marlleli was shy at first but by the end of the day was chatting with Aunt Karey and holding my grandma’s hand. We walked down to my house taking pictures. We found my host mom and sister-in-law Bremie in the kitchen and my host mom greeted them with her adorable bear hug and Bremie with a shy hand shake. The kitchen was of course filled with smoke because they don’t use their improved cook stove if they’re cooking a lot of food. So I gave Grams and Aunt Karey a tour of the house while we waited for dinner to be ready and the smoke to calm down. Lunch was what I expected. Soup (that would’ve been fine by itself) followed by a heaping plate of potatoes, noodles, rice, and a piece of chicken. I warned my host mom multiple times that they don’t eat very much so just a small plate is good. But we discovered they don’t listen very well. Food is love and no matter what I said, they were going to feed us with an insane amount or else it’d seem like they didn’t like us at all. They were also crushed at that fact that Grams and Aunt Karey didn’t stay the night. But we were tired from the traveling and Grandma’s cold wasn’t any better. So before leaving, we did a brief walk around town to show them where I work and spend my time. As we were heading back to the house, one of my favorite families started waving and calling me over. One lady pulled out a bench for us to sit on as I introduced my family members and said I’m sorry we’re on our way out we can’t stay. They were so friendly and chatty calling my grandma and aunt señoritas because of how young they looked. I jokingly said they’re leaving in the morning and I’ll be alone again. One of the moms said “no you won’t, you’ll have us. Come over tomorrow, we’ll make Chicha (alcoholic bev.) and you can cry with us.” It was so sweet. I remember first being here and how shy everyone was: we’ve come such a long way! I’m sure it was nice for my family to see that I’m welcomed and taken care of here. I’m glad they got to see that in case there was any doubt!

That night we had dinner at the same place in Chacha and watched some US news Grams managed to find. Hours and hours on a white woman who claims to identify as black. I was amazed at the air time a story like that got, and figured the US must be doing well if that’s the only news there was! In the morning we went to the terminal together and I left them at the bus stop for Tarapoto as I went over to the bus stop for Luya. I wiped my teary eyes and chuckled to myself as Javier, the craziest combi driver we have, greeted me. Thank god he wasn’t driving yesterday, Grams or Aunt Karey would’ve had a panic attack for sure.

Thinking back, it’s bizarre to think they were here with me in my room, but in that moment it wasn’t weird at all. It felt totally normal to have people I love be here with me. I thought it’d be strange to have my two worlds collide but it wasn’t. Because in the end I’m the same person who has family and friends that love me and will always be a part of this experience no matter if they’re here with me or not. I’m not living a different life, Peru isn’t a different world, it’s just a slightly different living circumstance for a while.