last day in Oropesa

Matthew, Matthew and Matthew painting the Ocean (Matthew 1 failed to get the memo of blue shirt grey pants)

Today was our last day in Oropesa. It feels sad to know that our time here is over, mainly because now that I have finally started on my mural projects, I feel useful here and part of a community. I love the feeling when I walk into school, paint brushes at the ready, and nearly every kid who walks by says "Hola Mateo, ¿Que estas haciendo?" They all know my name and are throughly interested in what I am painting. I feel the mural of the world (now labeled with every country) is the most useful and touching painting I have ever created. Nearly every kid walked by after school, stared at the map, and wanted a geography lesson. Many times I walked back to the mural after cleaning my brushes and found Sara or one of the Matts (we met 2 volunteers from England, both named Matt, and they have helped greatly with the two murals) with their arms stretched out telling the students where one country or another was located.

Sara giving a geography lesson.

My idea for painting a map of the world as accurate as possible, with labels for every country, came from seeing that there was not a single current map in the school, and very few extremely outdated maps. And also some kids were unaware of which country they lived in. They now have a 11ish feet (I measured the map in centimeters) by 9 ft map of the world painted on the wall as they enter and leave school. With another mural facing it on the opposite side with the theme of cleaning the earth.

Our World completed. (Though I now hear its missing a few minor countries)

A week has passed since I wrote these first two paragraphs. Blogging is a bit difficult at times because keeping the mood and feelings of a week ago is so difficult now that I am in a setting so very different. I am now sitting in Glenview Illinois, in an air conditioned house, wearing shorts and using a very sluggish internet that barely works. (I have also taken three hot showers and brewed my own coffee) A week ago we were saying our tear filled good-byes to teachers and students at our school and to our Peruvian family in Oropesa. We were also lucky enough to talk to them on the phone before our flight. I knew this trip was time well spent when I heard the voice of Dana our niece say very cheerfully "Hola tio Mateo!" It is odd to think that right now on this same earth, the same land mass (though now split by the Panama canal) is a landscape 12,000ish feet high containing a lifestyle so very different than mine now.

Our Peru family. Yes I am wearing a cowboy hat, it was a departing gift. 

A quick game to play as my internet connection is so poor I might loose it at any moment. Can anyone guess what was the first thing I noticed upon arriving to the States? No it was not diversity (though there is quite a lot when compared to Peru), it wasn't the lightness of peoples hair. It was the obesity of Americans that I noticed first. My goodness our younger population is LARGE.

And a brief note, just because we are now home, does not mean the blog updates are going to stop. They might be a bit more infrequent, but we still have a lot of writing about cultural exchange, differences and grievances to do. As well as talking about how a simple trip to volunteer in a foreign culture can change your views for life.