Cajabamba love

Today I made my final presentation to my community - mostly the people I've worked with and some friends - about all the projects I've done during my service. It was your typical meeting, with the addition of my PC program director, and things were going well. Then, once my presentation was over, we opened up the floor to questions or comments from the attendees, and the meeting took a very special turn. One after the other, representatives from each of the groups, schools, and organizations I've worked with got up and gave some palabras (a short speech) thanking me. I was thanked for my work, for my support, for being a nice person, for helping the community, for sharing these years of my life - you name it, I was thanked for it. The most special words came from my host mom, the ladies of my community banks (who've become my honorary grandmothers), and the teachers I've worked most closely with: "you're leaving your mark on Cajabamba;" "we will always remember you;" "you have made such a difference here;" "this is your home, you can always come back;" "we care about you so much, and we will miss you." My semi-boring meeting had all of a sudden become a tear-jerking time for sharing the love! It was a bit overwhelming, but in a good way of course, and certainly a high note to officially wrap up my two years of work.

Sporting the typical Cajabamba farmer's hat, with Lourdes and Javi