Day 28

Today was my final day in Ccorao. I arrived to watch the students at the Artesan Workshop march in the independence day parade and wasn't planning on participating, but when I got there, everyone was all in a fit about how excited they were to have me lead the procession. WHAT?!

Yeah, so I arrived and Victoria says, "We want you to hold the sign for us!" I didn't think it would be a big deal, but then they pulled out this crazy outfit that they wanted me to wear. It's a native Quechuan outfit. I'm not kidding. There was a red vest with blue lining and neon colored piping. And two skirts and these black sandals that all the women wear. Can you believe my luck?! I also got to wear a hat that looked like a cookie tin, but made out of fabric.

So they dress me up and braid my hair and everyone else is wearing gray and blue suits and looking quite smart...and I look like one of Santa's happy little elves! It gets better.

So everyone has been practicing marching all week. Obviously I haven't because I didn't think I would need to. So they run me through a crash course on marching. And when I say "marching" I really mean goose-stepping. Yeah. So two hours and one picture with two alpaca later, I find myself literally goose-stepping by myself 20 feet in front of the students down a field. It was one of the more surreal moments I've had here. They even said my name over the loudspeaker. Weirdest day ever.

Besides all that, I took pictures with all the students, staff, and women I work with.

And as I sat on the bus riding away, I felt so sad I thought I would cry.