Zoe's last blog from Peru!

LAST BLOG - short but sweet... hopefully

When we first arrived in Cusco some 3 months ago many new doors were opened to us. We have seen the saltlines in Nazca, surfed sand dunes in Ica and soared over the sacred valley with only a parachute. We have been able to see things no-one could even imagine, like our school kids falling over purely for our entertainment, a truckful of cabeza de vaca (severed cow heads) and our family´s outrageous ability to eat every food with just a spoon.

Being able to be housed with the same family in the same place has been a blessing, giving us the opportunity to become not gringos, but gringos with at least a little idea of what we are doing and what we should pay. I love that we have come from asking every bus that goes past if they stop at Graci Laso to rushing for the `Wimpillay Chocco´ because we know that, although slower than `Satelite´ and `Pegasus´, it always has the most seats available, or being able to watch the eggs in our back garden hatch and become fully grown, ready to eat ducks. I also love that I have spent enought time with the kids to realise that the disruptive kid, Luis-Angel, is just very intelligent and if you give him enough to do he will not only stop fighting but will also start hugging you when you get to school. More than everything else, however, I love that when I talk about my mother at home I call her my `Australian Mother´ because we all know that my real mother is downstairs cooking cow´s heart and worrying that her strange gringa-daughters will end up in the clinic.

I have realised that it is not the events that have shaped my experience in this beautiful, busy, panpipe-playing, tongue-eating, gringo-teasing country but rather it´s the people, from the sweet, loving terrors at the school to Arlich, our Peruvian in country agent, who delights in giving us advice, like `watch out for the poisonous snakes on the hills´ (we only found out 8 terrifying hours later he was joking). The wonderful Doctor in the clinic is no different. When I was admitted recently he walked in, pointed at my IV and shouted `Oh my God!´. He waited until I was white with fear before laughing hysterically, assuring me everything was okay and asking how I `felt today´. These things made me feel better about having my camera stolen the other week because I was able to see that the best parts of this country were never caught on camera and all of these people and places are so vivid and awe-inspiring that, even without the photos, I can´t imagine forgetting one second of the time I´ve spent here.

With The Wall finally completed and the kids knowing a couple more words of English (and each owning their very own animal made out of balloons or having drawn yet another dream-house on Paint) it is time for us to part ways and travel the remaining world. Three amazing months have passed and although, in the beginning, everything may have seemed strange and exotic, just today I ate a thin steak of beef with nothing but a table spoon and a lot of concentration. This trip has changed each and every one of us. Whether we have become happier, stronger, more confident or just more prone to Amoeba doesn´t really matter because we have all had experiences here that can only ever be understated, even by the most immense hyperboles or flowery words. I´m sure when i return home the time will come where it will be expected of me, but to be honest, I hope I never go back to using a fork.
Over and out
Zoe