Time After Time

Life is so funny. Sometimes it feels like it goes by way too slowly. You feel like nothing changes- everything is consistently boring (or boringly consistent...or both). And then there are times where you turn around and notice another year has gone by, another month has escaped from your fingers, or the fuzzy feeling you once had when you turned over in your snuggly bed cocoon to discover you still had an hour to sleep has suddenly been overwhelmed with grief when the dreaded "timba" beats all-too-soon (okay, that part may just be me projecting). But there are also those wonderful days, weeks, or even just minutes where time doesn't matter. Everything is happening around you, and it's okay. You take it all in willingly and are just simply enjoying everything that God has given you. And that is exactly how I have been mostly feeling these past four weeks. And yet now I am staring at my schedule to find that I will be teaching my last lessons in Spanish in just two days. I will have played my last notes with my fantastic Peruvian orchestra family in 48 hours. I will be leaving Trujillo Thursday night, and God only knows if, or when I will be coming back (although I'm really hoping to next year! ;)). So for me, time here has been like the classic middle school orchestra playing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: always either a beat behind in the boring parts or a measure ahead when playing the most delightful melodies. But I do still have a full week left in the beautiful country of Peru, so that eases my nostalgia a bit. I will be taking a nine-hour bus ride with all my fellow VivePeruvians to Lima Thursday night, will spend the day in Lima Friday and will fly out to Cusco to explore Machu Picchu, take pictures, and hopefully pet some llamas- all before I fly home to the States next Wednesday morning at precisely 1:25 am (ouchy).
So as redundant as it is to declare this again, I love it here. I have seen so many beautiful, mind-blowing things both in nature and in humans, I have met so many different people and learned much about the Peruvian music system and the culture it embraces. Some other things I have learned since I've been here: how to tell a taxi driver where I live ("La Merced (my neighborhood) por favor!"), how to french braid (finally!), how to maintain my uncontrollable laughter when random people on the street ask for a picture with me because I'm a foreigner, and how to put my foot down when little children all want the same coloring page you only have 1 more copy of. That was a tough one. I've also learned that wearing slippers outside the house and around the city by accident is a common sickness that has plagued almost every girl (including my host mother!) in my house...except me! Maybe tomorrow. I do love my red slippers from Grandma. ;)
So I have been able to once again experience some great new things this past week. Last Thursday, I helped participate in VivePeru's medical campaign, a 7am- 5pm event held in one of the poorest districts of Trujillo, La Esperanza. All the volunteers with the medical program of VivePeru were put straight to work doing triage, helping fill out patient histories, and doing whatever else was needed to be done in order to help the 150 people lined up to receive free medical care. I was in a group with the awesome volunteers from the social work, teaching English, and engineering sections of our organization. The small group of us set up little stations in a playroom with hearts and various cute drawings all over the walls and welcomed in all the children of the medical patients and any other child who happened to curiously stumble in. We had an arts and crafts station, a coloring table, and a little build-a-skyscraper-out-of-straws area. I'm not sure what else to call that, nor did I know how on earth the adorable triplet girls who were half my age could build better straw establishments than I could, so I quickly abandoned the attempt at a career in engineering small plastic objects and relaxed into my rightful place as a colorer of spiderman and rhinos. I sat and talked with the kids who came in and out, and the other volunteers often came and colored a few of their own pictures. We shared some great laughs together and even took pride in our own works of art as we bragged about them to one another. Honestly, it was mostly me; my rhino was pretty stellar. Let's just say a little girl totally asked me if she could have it: Win. We also blew up red and green balloons with the VivePeru logo on them and splayed them throughout the room, and I was happy to see how much the little children loved playing with them. In Spanish, balloons are "globos", which sounds even cuter. Watching the kids running around with their balloons, each holding onto their own one for dear life to ensure they did not fall onto the floor, made me think about how much I continually learn from children. They take as simple an object as a piece of latex filled with air, this globe, and they hold it in their hands as if it is their whole world in that moment. They don't need or want anything else, and they will do anything to not let it slip away. It was pretty fantastic to watch. And, of course, we 20-something year-old gringos love globos as well. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and I feel like we helped brighten these kids days in the process. That was fantastic. And I also have to give a shout out to Grandpa and thank him for teaching me his infamous duck noise all those years ago- it continues to be a hit wherever I use it! It was put to good use that day.
Friday night brought another fun memory in the form of a very familiar experience: I was able to travel with the Trujillo Symphony on a coach bus to a smaller town an hour away from Trujillo to play a concert for the locals. I loved playing in the concert and seeing another part of Peru, but I especially loved the bus ride! Growing up in orchestra, we "orchadorks" always looked forward to road trips to festivals and the fun, long vacations together. There is just something about lugging a cello onto a bus... and to then see a bunch of musicians dressed in tuxedos and concert black clothes, nestled with their own metal/ wooden instruments- it is like finding your long-lost clan. It is great. So I sat next to one of my good friends I've made here who has pretty decent English, and we would go back and forth between English and Spanish. One interesting thing I noticed when we arrived was the serious lack of women players in the Trujillo Symphony. I hadn't realized how many more men there were than women until I was directed to go into a room separate from the men of the ensemble as we warmed up for the concert. I think we were segregated into different rooms in case people needed to change, but it still boggled my mind a bit when the director told me to go join the other girls. I walked out of the room full of the men players, booming and blowing into their instruments, to a much quieter atmosphere that was being maintained by only 4 women. Yes, there are 4 women out of probably 40 players in the Trujillo Symphony. I had never encountered that before! But after a second of awkward silence, the girls began to ask me questions and we all talked and laughed and had a great time. It was great talking to them! I even found out that one of the girls had gone to Interlochen for camp one summer (where I went to music camp for two years and to boarding school also for two years!), so that was fantastic. So after playing a fun concert, we all ate a lovely dinner together (that may have been the cause of my demise later, but I'll never know for sure!), piled back onto the bus, and cackled to The Three Stooges in Spanish (with English subtitles- SCORE!) the whole way home. I know each culture has its humor and tendencies, but it's great how universal laughter is. It was awesome that both I and every Peruvian on that bus could comprehend what was going on completely because we could all laugh together. And oh, do Peruvians express every emotion dramatically. Love it. Aside from making music with the orchestra and worshipping with the people in church that first week, that was one of the most special times I've had here because I felt like I was connected with these people from a different world once again. Three Stooges- who knew? I'm so sappy.
After the med campaign and the concert ended and the week came to a close, I welcomed my relaxing weekend in Trujillo with open arms. On Saturday, I slept in. Will I say until what time? Yes. 12. I never sleep that late unless I'm super tired, but I did it, and I was very proud of myself, yet slightly shocked I was capable of being that lazy. But I still enjoyed spending the afternoon going around the markets of Trujillo with one of my roommates, Julia, and another friend. Saturday night was another one full of music and great times. Julia, Bre (another friend), and I performed a trio for two flutes and cello at the opening of the concert of the UCV orchestra (the college-age/ youth orchestra we have been working with and teaching lessons through) in a beautiful old church. Before I walked on stage, one of my adorable students marched straight up to me and whispered, "Miss, I ask you one thing tonight. Play for me. Please, miss!". That made my night. I told her I would, and I then marched out to perform with my two fantastic colleagues. After that, Julia, Bre, and I were humbly surprised to receive certificates of recognition for our help with the orchestra. It was so sweet! Bre and I then joined the orchestra under Julia's baton and played two cute, intermediate-level pieces with the kids. It was super fun to sit in and help out, and I was very proud of the kids. They did a great job, despite some bumpy rehearsals along the way. I am also glad I played in that concert because only ONE other cellist out of four cellists showed up to the concert. So we had fun! The cellist girl next to me is one of my students who is great to work with and also giggles a lot. She asked me as I sat down if I could just play everything really loudly so she wouldn't have to be heard. Oh, I remember the days when I would secretly want my stand partner to do the same for me. After I exclaimed, "NO! Esto es TU concierto! Necesitas tocar!" I realized what every teacher wants: for their student to try. To try and to share their music with no shame or self-consciousness about how they sound. I couldn't have been prouder of her for actually playing, and it was an honor to share the stand with her. Once the final cadence of our last piece ended, the clapping subsided and the entire audience cleared out faster than I have ever seen. Maybe it was dinner time. Whatever it was, it was impressive. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that there had been a local news station broadcasting the concert, and the anchorwoman asked us orchestra participants to stand in a crowd behind her as she interviewed the program's main director. I kept shouting, "Soy famosa!" (I'm famous!) to make the kids laugh, and it was great. We had fun. Or maybe only I did, but the kids definitely got a good laugh from hearing the crazy gringa excitedly shouting. After my time to shine came to a close, I went out to dinner with my host family and Julia to celebrate the concert. Julia and I split a nice, rare steak (warning- also a possible "demise" factor!) and enjoyed chatting with the family.
And then Sunday morning happened. Let's just say when I woke up feeling slightly nauseated, I had no idea that I would be sick to my stomach for the following two days straight and that I would therefore become intensely dehydrated and almost pass out in my roommate's arms during that wonderful time in Sickville as well. It was an active weekend. After being sick all day Sunday, I concluded (with the help of my fabulous parents through facebook messaging) that I must have gotten food poisoning, and I am thinking it was either from the dinner I ate with the Trujillo Symphony Friday night or from the rather-rare steak I ate the following night. Either way, it was not good, nor fun. But I am incredibly thankful for my family for constantly messaging me, asking if I was okay, giving me advice, and googling symptoms to make sure it wasn't something worse (Oh Mom, you will forever be my googling queen). I am even more happy that my wonderful roommate, Julia used her awesome "mama bear complex"- as she calls it- to take care of me. She brought me many delicious cups of tea, bought me an electrolyte drink, brought me crackers, caught me when I was shaking uncontrollably and blacking out after losing too many fluids, and even dragged my mattress and stuffed turtle onto her floor so I didn't have to sleep alone. Yes, she was amazing, and I am eternally grateful. I took naps and watched great movies- I strongly recommend Into the Wild, by the way...it was so beautifully-made!- and finally progressed to eating normal meals and walking around for extended amounts of times by today. It all sounds so dramatic, but once I made it up the stairs to my room after lunch, I felt like Rocky Balboa when he was sprinting up the infamous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I would have sung along to my shaky footing, but I don't think I had the breath for it at the time. Nonetheless, I recovered quickly with the help of friends, family, Netflix, and sleep.
I was slightly sad because I felt I had "wasted" two of my handful of days left in this city, but there was nothing I could do about it, and I still think it was meant to be. So I am okay with that. When I woke up feeling 99% better this morning, I was eager to get back to business and was very excited to be back in rehearsal with the Symphony once again. Even though I won't be playing with them in any more concerts, I did not want to miss out on any of the fun times, so I'm still waking up to go to the rehearsals. Today I was able to talk with the guest conductor who had conducted the concert I played on the 4th of July with the orchestra, and that was fantastic. He is from England, so we chatted about Kate Middleton producing an heir today, which now leaves the throne solidified for another 100 years. It was so fun to talk to an actual citizen of England about their leaders and local news. It's hilarious because I'm pretty sure he thinks it's so weird how obsessed some Americans can get with watching everything that involves Kate and Prince William. The irony. The other amazing thing I experienced today was the funeral Mass of my host father. Here, they have a funeral Mass service for someone immediately following their death, a week after their death, and then a month later. This was the Mass service that marked a month since my host father's death, which is hard to believe. My three roommates and I dressed up and joined the family for the service, and we were all touched in different ways, which is incredible because we are all from such different faith backgrounds. Some of us are very involved in our faith, others of us have just been to religious services growing up, and others have never stepped inside a church for an actual service. Yet we all felt the connection of love, a celebration of family, and the pain of great loss through that hour in the service, and it was powerful to share. Afterward, my host mother and her family welcomed many friends, coworkers, and other family members into their house for a time of refreshments and talking. My host mother was wonderful enough to ask me and Julia if we could whip something up and perform for the large group of loved ones there. We eagerly agreed, printed out and sightread some hymns, and were deeply thanked by the entire audience and by Elsa. I also had some Bach movements (pieces for unaccompanied cello) I had been practicing, so I volunteered to play more once everyone asked for, "Más! Más!" And I loved it. I loved sitting and playing, watching people's expressions and nods out of the corner of my eyes. They just appreciated settling down and listening. Putting the delicious treats aside, stopping conversation, closing their eyes or looking straight at me to hear the music and take the time in the moment to do whatever they needed to do. It was a special moment. And yes, I did not play perfectly. I still wish my bow strokes could be more connected and my shifts were less audible at parts, but they didn't notice that. These lovely people burst with applause every time I took a pause in the music or needed to turn a page! And that was perfect and all any of us needed.
So I have two more nights and two more days in Trujillo, and I look back realizing I have had some fantastic times here. And I have heard so many great things about Cusco, so I'm looking forward to that as well. Being around the loving families here also makes me miss my own, so I'm pretty excited to run into a big Hogle huddle once I land. But for now, here I am, trying to soak up the moment and not miss a thing- here we go!!