Final Hours at La Molina...

Friday, January 28, 2011

** La Molina **

Written by: Volunteer Greg

We arrived at La Moilina and were greeted as always by Gorki. We went to the teacher room where he gave each of us a box of candy from his hometown of Arequipa. We also found sweet notes from Claudia, who made our time at La Molina very enjoyable. She is a very special young woman. We next went to the luckuma orchard with Giovanni. It was fun to see the fruits that we have so enjoyed in the ice cream. On our way back to our rooms we observed a group attempting to collect semen from a stallion. It was pretty funny as the horse attempted to have some fun and the handlers kept interfering. It did not appear that they were having much success.

Once we got back to school we headed almost immediately to lunch. We were joined by most of the staff at Idiomas including the gardener and the custodial staff. We were pleased that the rector and two vice-rectors of the University also joined us. The food was pretty amazing as we tried goat, trout and beef dishes. The meal began with toasts of Pisco Sour by Gorki and Arturo and continued with much discussion. It was a delightful way to spend part of our last day.

Upon return to the school we gathered our last classes and spent some time working on our English. We also talked about what the students gained from the classes and what else they would like to see in the classes. We exchanged farewells and received small gifts from several of the students. It was very rewarding, but also sad as we started the process of separating from these very special people.

The final hour was spent with Gorki, Martha and Mari Carmen. We were toasted with Pisco Sours and given certificates, lapel pins and small note pads from the school. We also received personal gifts from Martha. We said our goodbyes and headed out to the van with Gorki at his post and Claudia accompanying us for one last hug and goodbye. It has been two wonderful weeks and as always with GV, I feel that I have received much more than I gave.

Our final drive took 42 minutes, the longest commute in two weeks, but it did not seem long because Jorge talked politics. It has been so good to have Arturo in the van as we have learned a lot from his interaction with Jorge.