May 23rd, 2018 - James Vogel

It’s okay to not be okay.

Today is May 23^rd. It’s the day after my 21^st birthday.  I was woken up by Chris telling me that breakfast is done and we got to go soon. I stood up found some acceptable clothes for the day and shuffled myself down stairs. We hurry to Papa Jesus’ car and sit in the normal seating arrangements, one in shotgun, four in the back, and one in the trunk. Everyone in the car was worried that this would be the first day that we are late, I was worried that the bumps might get the best of me. Fortunately, we arrive on time. The class proceeds with that last guest lecture of the program, he talked about current culture in Peru including Chicha music, which is mixture of traditional Peruvian music and modern pop music. Our professor played a remix of “Baby” by Justin Bieber being sung by a popular singer from Peru in Quechua.

We had our last debrief together and it was powerful. I’ll be willing to say that everyone got a little teary-eyed. I know I felt red in my face. Everyone talked and shared how they were feeling. The phrase I took from the debrief today was “Its okay not to be okay”. Not everyone is just going to roll through life without being changed by each’s own unique story. Sometimes things are tough and life doesn’t go your way. That is okay though. It’s alright to get knocked down and its definitely alright to ask for help to get back up. This group we have here is special. It won’t the same once classes start again in fall. I appreciate what we have here and know that there is nothing else quite like it.

Right after debrief, I was surprised. Vivian came through the door with cake! She lit the candles and the class sung me happy birthday. Peruvian tradition says I had to bite the cake after the wish. So, I did my neck-breaking dubstep head first dance. I bit the cake and it tasted like coffee cake. It was muy bien.

I continued to enjoy the rest of the day with a much needed nap. I had already been to the market that the rest of my classmates went to check out. I remembered all the colors of the textiles there. I even got gifts for my mom and cousin. I ended up sleeping a lot and when I woke up it was already night time. I love the view from my porch. At night all the lights from homes and the airport illuminate the mountain. It’s a beautiful sight that I will miss once we leave.