After an amazing, and filling
lunch with our families of the Luquina community, we set off on our service
work for the community. The Aymara people of the Luquina community needed a new
path in their neighborhood, and so that became our project. The local community had a set goal of
where they wanted to end after our 2 day visit. But, before we could get started, we had to
complete an Ayumara ritual, which involved making a wish and blowing coca
leaves towards “Mother Earth” and “Mother Lake” , thanking them for what they
have given us. of hard work tomorrow.
To fully complete the ritual, we dipped our coca leaves in chicha (a fermented corn alcoholic drink), and placed it in a box, which was placed inside a hole in the path dug by the locals. Ms. Maggio then broke a bottle of alcohol over the site with a hammer, which simmered down to the hole as well.
After the ritual, we separated into different groups for the service work. Some of us made an assembly line to carry the rocks from the lake shore to the top of the hill. The villagers quickly joined in the work, young and old alike.
Another group also dug sand from beach area to be used in the cement.
After working until about 4pm, we played an exciting soccer game at the school. At first, we had two mixed teams of Stuy students and locals. The last game, however, we played students versus locals; we lost 3 to 1 and now we owe the villagers a two liter bottle of Coke!
After the game, we had dinner with our families, which consisted of vegetable soup and vegetable curry over rice. There was no hot water running, so most of us had to shower with the icy cold water. After dinner, most of us were completely exhausted from the service work and turned in early to prepare for another day
No comments:
Post a Comment