One of my favorite memories in Patacancha was when Sarah and I headed home after building a greenhouse. As we began to head up the mountain to our home, we saw our host brothers and sister waving wildly and yelling "Hola" from our porch. This is the moment when I realized there was no longer a barrier between us Americans and the Peruvians. The fact that we spoke different languages didn´t mean a thing because a smile is the same in every language.That whole afternoon we taught Alberto and Rolando how to play football americano and cards, and we showed Medalee how to jumprope and blow bubbles. When our games were interrupted by a dinner of potatoes and tea, the whole family (including ceil, virginia, and their grandmother) connected by telling jokes. Despite the freezing weather, lack of showers, sleep, and variety of food....Patacancha is a place I will never forget!
-Alyssa
YOPO (s/o to Maggie Hayes)
-Alyssa
YOPO (s/o to Maggie Hayes)
I can honestly say this has been the greatest experience of my life and I think many of the other girl would agree with me. Being in Patacancha made all of us realize how truly blessed we are in America. I can honestly say I never saw a person cry in Patacancha even while they are going through the hardest times. We take every little thing we have for granted and it is easy to see when the people in Patacancha are smiling every second of the day regardless of how rough their lives are. Char and I spent lots of time sitting in the kitchen with our family in the freezing cold, but every time we looked up there was atleast one person in their family smiling at us. We all got alot more out of this trip than we were expecting and have grown closer to one another through the huge changes in our lifestyle the past days.
- Bridget
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