La Despedida: Saying Good-Bye

For one night anyway, Goshen students did the serving.

At the end of five weeks of living and studying in Lima, and on the eve of leaving for a week in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, and then moving on to service assignments, students welcomed their host families to the salon of the Anglican Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (Buen Pastor).

More than 50 family members filled tables around the room. Acting in the role of waitstaff, students carried in plates of tortilla chips and homemade salsa; vegetables and homemade bean dip; corn and cheese nuggets; grapes, mango and melon on skewers; mango and maracuyá juice; and a selection of cakes, including chocolate and tres leches, a student favorite.

Soon enough, the program began, as Celia Vasquez, our study coordinator, welcomed the guests. Students presented two plays, one drawing from members of the Spanish-language class, and the other from the Peruvian sign-language class (the latter, presented an ‘ABC’ story, delivered as if in pantomime).

Both plays drew heavily on student experiences this fall, colored in part by trials of transportation, as Lima rolled out a new “Blue Corridor” exclusive bus line on Arequipa Avenue and banned microbuses from the route, creating what Peruvians routinely referred to as the “caos.” Longtime commuters and newcomers to the city shared survivor stories.

Midway through the evening, children took a bat to a colorful star-shaped piñata, filled with treats.

Later, lined up across the stage, students took turns sharing what they would miss most about life with these wonderful Lima families.

Tributes followed, to the language teachers, Moises Arce, Ana Bracamonte and Laura Montes; to Alicia Taipe Tello, the chief cook, who had labored in the kitchen before the despedida, much as she did all semester; to Celia, the study coordinator, whose most intense engagement with the group was coming to an end; and to Willy Villavicencio, the service coordinator, whose most intense engagement was about to begin.

Rev. Jorge Zamudio, the rector of Buen Pastor, offered a closing benediction, asking for safekeeping for this group of 15 students, soon bound for Ayacucho, Chiclayo, Cusco, Oxapampa and San Ramon.

Following many photos and hugs, parents left with their student and a mug filled with flowers, arranged by the students, along with small bags of handmade soap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to Trevor’s host mother, Blanca Aguirre Wilson, for sharing some of her photos!