Thursday, November 19, 2015

¿Dónde Està Abbi? And Some of Our Favorite Children


When we returned to Cusco after the villages, and we heard a baby crying. We joked, "It must be a white baby." But, it was a white baby! We had joked that because there were lots of littles in the village, and we didn't see any of them cry. They were either in their mama's pack, or nearby, doing their own thing. But, not once did we see a village baby cry. We met a few extra special children in the villages. Of course, Little Big Shoes, and Abbi's friend Juliana. I'm going to introduce you to a few more.

His shoes were heartbreaking. And, he only had one sock.

We didn't see babies cry, but one made Abbi cry. When we were in Quisicancha, looking for things to do, we saw this little guy all alone. There wasn't a mama within 100 yards or more. The ladies making potatoes and some ladies by the mud bricks were within eye shot of him, but he probably didn't know where his mom was, even if she could see him. When we first saw him, Abbi stopped to play peek-a-boo with him. We played for a few minutes, and then I made Abbi chase a pig. I could tell she was disturbed by something with him and she would've sat there all day to play with him. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but Abbi was asking, "Where is his mom? What is in his bottle?" (It actually looked like he was drinking a mud puddle and gravel. We decide instead that it was chocolate milk and quinoa.) I was afraid her questions would keep getting tougher.

 We came back a bit later and found him pushing the swing, still alone, packing his bottle and this time in wet pants. They don't use diapers in the villages. I saw one mom changing her baby and it appeared to be two pairs of underwear with straw in between them. She took out the straw and put new straw back in. So here he was, wet and alone. It was more than Abbi could stand. She picked him up and pushed him on the swing for a bit. But, we had been summoned to the ceremonies, so she put him back down and walked away, teary eyed.

He was standing by this pushing it alone when Abbi picked him up and give him a swing.
We got seated for the performance, but from where we were at, we could still see him. Just a moment or two later, his mom was there, changing his pants. It made Abbi feel better to see that someone was taking care of him.

We returned to Chacabamba in the evening from Quisicancha. Our group was in the second van to arrive back home. According to Tammy, when the first bus arrived, there was a small mob of children greeting the bus and asking, "¿Dónde està Abbi?" She had made an obvious impression on them and they were excited for her return.

We spent the evening around a bonfire with our village friends. For the most part, the kids sat with us and the parents watched from the upper level. The parents slowly went home, leaving many of the kids left with us. The kids knew when they were expected home. For one family, when they saw the sheep being brought in from pasture, it was time to go home. For another, when big sister came back to get them. I was worried about their curfew, but each child seemed to know when it was time to go home. I had talked to Navidad about the fact that all of the kids were allowed to play and wander by themselves. They walked the streets, but if they heard a horn, they knew to run out of the road. Although, I grew up allowed to do that in my neighborhood, I could not imagine letting my kids wander our neighborhood now. The peace of mind the villagers have is pretty special. They all take care of one another. Is it naive to think bad things don't happen there? Or do they just handle it in a different manner?

As we settled around the bonfire, the kids talked with Mackenzie and Abbi about how to say different colors, clothing and animals in English and in Spanish. Rhonda found a sweetheart to snuggle. Her name was Juajulieta. She was sitting on Rhonda's lap and telling her that she wants some books to color and some color crayons. Navidad was translating what she was telling Rhonda. Juajulieta didn't get any shoes either, because her feet were too small. Rhonda wanted to send her some shoes, coloring books, pretty dresses. A list of things she wanted to get to this sweetheart. Rhonda did find a coloring book and crayons in the school supplies reserved for the third village and tucked them away under her mattress. She didn't see her again after we had the book for her. Navidad brought the book back for his orphanage that he volunteers with, or possibly for his own young daughter. :)
Rhonda and the sweetest little thing, JuaJulieta
I tried to record the kids saying Abbi's name because they were chanting it at times, but I only got one little guy recorded. This recording does make me happy.


There was one other, very hyper little guy. He was around even when the other kids were in school. He was there from the first time that we saw the village and he was there to say goodbye to us when we left. Raul was his name and he taught Rhonda some Spanish! He walked up to her and said "Tu Gringa Loco!" and ran away. I started laughing. Rhonda said, "What did he say to me?" I told her, "He just called you a crazy white girl." We laughed quite a bit. When he came back Rhonda told him, "You're loco!" It became a fun game.
Mackenzie and Abbi and the boys and Juilana at the bonfire. And another ball cap! I just noticed that!
Loco Gringo/Raul and behind him sweet little JuaJulieta


When we went to bed our second night, after all of the kids were summoned home, we didn't realize we wouldn't be seeing them again. We left the third day while they were all still in school. I guess I'm glad I didn't get to say goodbye. Even if the language isn't perfect, I noticed many of the sentiments could still be understood. Goodbyes are always hard. Maybe my next hello I will have much better Spanish to back it up.   

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