Adiós Cajamarca

We have one more day left here in beautiful Cajamarca. Our impending departure still hasn’t sunk in, and I have to remind myself multiple times a day that “oh, this is our last visit to this school or village” or “oh, this might be my last pollo a la brasa or trip in the back of the pick-up truck.” I guess it will only truely, finally compute with my brain when I’m sat at my kitchen table back in the UK, minus 6 best friends. And even then maybe not.

It’s going to take me a long time to process all I have seen, experienced and learnt since 1st February. I’m not going to be able to just arrive home to the UK, and be fine and back to ‘normal’ (i.e. pre-Peru life, so my ‘normal’ no longer). Culture-shock will be real. Not being the only white people you ever see will be strange. Being able to understand what everyone says and have others understand me speaking English will be overwhelming. Sitting in a car without a person sat on me will be downright weird. Not eating rice at every meal will be odd. Being without the six girls who have become my family and some of my closest friends and encouragers will be painful.

In preparation for some of this we’ve been doing our own ‘in-country de-brief’ together over the past few weeks, so that has at least started the re-entry process, but I’m seeing plenty of writing, praying and thinking ahead of me this summer. And I’m absolutely okay with all of the above – I’m not the same girl who got on that plane in February, and I don’t want to shrink back into the safe, comfortable shell that she used to live in when I go home.

At the same time as not wanting to return to the UK, I’m also ready to go home. I always knew that this was a 6 month trip, and that the end would come (I just didn’t quite realise how quickly the months would disappear). This season of challenge and change is drawing to a close, and it’s time for new challenges, new opportunities and new places. I’m ready to step into my life as a university student, to enjoy studying again (man, has this Gap Year break from the sausage-machine of the education system refreshed my view of studying and academic learning! I’m actually looking forward to it!). I am very keen to return to Peru and to Cajamarca in the future, but right now I know that there are things for me to be doing and people for me to be loving and serving back in England – it seems that that is where I am called to be for at least the next 3 years. So it’s goodbye for now Cajamarca, and only God knows what the future holds.

A few things we’ve been up to in our last few weeks (+ photos of those things):

Gringa girl-band at the annual Warmis recital for children from 18 local churches

At the recital: Casa de Madera kids belting out ‘Todopoderoso’

School trip to Granja Porcon (the zoo), with 2 schools we teach English in – such a fun and successful day out!

Beautiful spectacled bear at Granja Porcon

Parachute games after lunch at Granja Porcon

A morning spent watching and learning from these dear women (and man) how they process and produce sheep wool into wool, dye it, and then weave it into beautiful traditional Cajamarcan material

Weaving the material

Joel and I in front of the incredible mural that Susanna and Julia painted in Casa de Madera.

The before (top) and after (bottom) of our trip! Crazy how un-different we look! (and yes, we purposely wore the same clothes and stood in the same positions…)

And now, on to the Amazon rainforest for a week’s holiday meeting monkeys, caiman and (hopefully) pink river dolphins, before we leave our beloved Peru…