I got to school excited to say bye to everyone and not surprisingly everyone was practically missing, haha. I did get to say bye to Tara and Kelsey, Tess, and a few others but for the most part I didn’t really get to see the group. My assumption was that they were hungover out their minds and needed a day off to breathe. I wasn’t sure also at the time but there was a rumor that a few had gone ahead and done the Inca trail so that might have been part of it.
When class came into session I made my way to the Plaza to find a cab and go back home to fix up any last minute things. I got in and was greeted by the maid and my mom who both expressed their sadness that I was leaving early, especially before Inti Rimi. I went to our room, still panicking about what the deal was with the airport. I knew Monica mentioned that Henry would be taking me but we hadn’t gone over the finer details and I just had no clue where she was. I took a nap since I was exhausted from the night before, hoping to wake up to some lunch and perhaps a phone call or contact.
Luckily Monica called and told me that Henry would be at the house around 1:30pm and I should have my things packed and ready by then. I woke up and went downstairs to kind of hint that I needed to eat lunch a little early. Lunch was already prepared and Nat and Rach were stuck in traffic but my mom did go ahead and bring me my food. I was in the middle of eating when they walked in and after about 10 minutes Henry and a cab driver were at the door to take me to the airport.
I said my goodbyes and thank yous and got settled in the car. Henry asked if I was sad about leaving and at that point I realized just how sad I really was to be leaving all the great people I met and the memories I have.
We got to the airport and Henry guided me up until the gate. He told me he’d miss me and said thanks for everything and that he’d be emailing soon once he got a list of our emails from Monica. I thanked him and prepared for my long commute home.
I left the Cuzco airport on June 15 and got into Lima about 5pm that same day. My flight out of Lima to Miami wasn’t until the next day so I had to stay in the airport for the night. Luckily my Spanish speaking skills and quick thinking had me pay to have my luggage stored for a couple of hours so that I could eat and wander around the airport and sleep without worrying about anyone robbing me. The airport was freezing that night and out of the entire trip the one time I did get sick was on my way home (just my luck). Anyway, I grabbed my luggage out of storage around 2 or 3am that morning and just tried my best to sleep. It was awkward and uncomfortable but I did finally make until check in at about 6am. The rest of my flight was pretty smooth sailing and when I met my family at the gate in Boston my mom said I looked straight Peruvian with my new tan.
They were happy to see me and I had a bunch of gifts to unload. My mom especially loved the earrings I bought her in Ica and I’m sure all my friends and family appreciated the souvenirs I brought back as well. It was a nice day or so at home that I had to unwind and really tell stories about my travels before I was off to D.C. to start my scholarship/internship.
The experience of this Dialogue was definitely life changing. Before I had left I was a very different person, attached to some of the same routines and same people that had always dominated my life. Fortunately, I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and sign up for this and being newly single and just on my own, this was a great opportunity to kind of find and discover myself. I love that I’m practically fluent in Spanish now and that I can read and watch the news in Spanish. I love that I know the depths of Peruvian culture and that I monitored a foreign election. I was in Peru during a historical time period. I met so many wonderful friends and have family in South America that I grew close to. I have a Professor that acted as my mother while I was away and I hadn’t even taken a single one of her classes while in Boston. Altogether, this trip was amazing and I’m glad that through my blogs I inspired my best friend to go out and explore the world on her own. She’s currently in Puerto Rico now and I can only hope her experience is half as amazing as mine was during my entire month in Peru. I love the “Peru Crew” and I definitely will look into more dialogues in the future, perhaps even Spain next summer. Anyway, if you’re reading this, gracias, Monica y Henry por todos y Bueno suerte en todas sus proximos proyectos. Por Henry especialmente, por favor seguir in contacto por correo electronico! Mucho mucho mucho amor!
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| BEFORE @ Northeastern |
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| AFTER "la Monica" |
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