Feliz Cumpleaños, Freseney!

The following post was written by United Planet volunteer Shannon Foster during her Volunteer Abroad Quest in Peru.

My taxi arrives at the orphanage. It is near the Plaza San Sebastian across from the Collegio de Virgen de Fatima. Some of the older kids who we have not met yet go to Collegio and do not arrive home until later. Immediately there are Holas and hugs and smiling faces. Everyone is downstairs eating lunch at a proper table this time. Jon is already there and holding baby Jessica. At 21 this young student of Micro Biology is one of several impressive fellow volunteers. As soon as you meet him you sense his compassion and good heartedness. The kids are amazed at him because he is blonde and about 6,3 in height. He asks me to teach him about babies since he has not worked with them, and since he plans to be a pediatric doctor he wants to gain more firsthand experience. I assure him I would be happy to help, and my concern with Jessica is she is at about a 6 month developmental stage. In fact my friend’s baby, Keir is more interactive at 3 months then she is at one year. I take baby Jessica into my arms, and I am happy to say she has a clean diaper and has been fed. I really want to work with her to make eye contact, smile, make sounds, and try to walk. Ironically the kids break out this drink that is like a Pepsi with vitamins. It is their after lunch treat, and little Jessica comes alive….

The older girls start asking me if I like babies, if I want to have another, etc. They then tell me that Freseney, who is at the Collegio, is turning 13 today. They ask if we would buy her and the others something sweet so they could have a fiesta. You see nothing as far as I can tell has been planned. I tell them I will confer with Jon. After Jessica finishes her cola I bring out the ball. She really likes it!! She hits it with her hands, and I roll it to her and she sort of rolls it to me. I tickle her and I get a smile. My day is already a thousand times better than yesterday; yet unbelievably, it continues to improve.

I go upstairs with baby Jessica to join Jon in the play room, and the kids have ripped into the paper and pencils. They are drawing and making pinwheels. The boys help the girls make their pinwheels that they then hold out of the window in order to watch them spin in the cool mountain air. I am drawing hearts on cards that the girls are making and everyone is having fun. Jon and I decide indeed we will go get a cake for Freseney’s birthday, and I also determine that I will get milk, a bottle, and some baby food for Jessica….

When we get back to the orphanage there is excitement in the air. The director’s husband who just came into town helps us set up. We fix up a table with a table cloth, set benches enough for everyone around the perimeter of the room, and put out the cake. The husband fixes the stereo so there will be music, baby Jessica has been redressed in pink and now everyone is wanting to hold her, and Jon replaces the burnt out lightbulbs. The mood was contagiously exciting!!

The older kids get home from Collegio and immediately begin to ask Jon and I questions. The directors are in the kitchen making popcorn and some kind of chocolate drink, and Freseney is excited because she is going to have a great party! Unfortunately for Juan (as we call Jon) and I we have to leave for our cooking lesson. We keep pushing the time limit though, helping the girls with their English homework and playing with the kids. Finally at seven we have to leave because we are already late. We say good evening and leave feeling hopeful and even helpful after a much improved day.

Our cooking lesson was a short taxi ride from San Blas, and was held in the home of another host family. Dina a woman in her 50s was not only exceptionally beautiful and kind but an amazing cook. We made a dish that takes mashed potato which you stuff like a giant ostrich egg with sauteed chicken, onion, bell pepper, and spices. Roll it in flour and then fry it until golden. Serve with a side of steamed broccoli and a vegetable medley of beets, green beans, carrots, mixed in mayonnaise. Add a little cocoa tea (not addictive but helps with altitude sickness) and Coca Cola to drink it was a delicious home cooked meal.…

As we said our goodbyes and headed to catch our respective taxis home I began to think how much this is a place of extremes (at least from my perspective). Sometimes the only way to cope with them is through half a measure of common sense followed with hard work, and half a measure of humor and laughter. However, upon further reflection, I find that all this seems to be the case at home as well, now doesn’t it?

To read more about Shannon’s time abroad, visit her blog! Want to plan your own Quest to Peru? Visit our website and start planning your own journey.