It was Sunday already, where had the time gone? Was there anything left to do? Every time we asked that questions it was answered with another flurry of activity. Sunday was no exception. It turns out Sunday is the major market day in Andahuaylas, they turn the entire main street into a market with stalls selling almost anything imaginable, except for tourist stuff, which I assume isn't around because Andahuaylas doesn't get a lot of tourists, especially this time of the year. We also needed to get to Andahuaylas to buy our plane tickets back to Lima. We left Huinchos mid morning and got down to town to find the airline office closed, everything else in town seemed to be open on the market day, but not the airline office. So, after some coffee we walked down to the market and spent a few hours walking around, buying little but groceries for the house, but enjoying the experience. After that Ali and Victor decided that we should try a local drink called Chicha, which is made from blue corn and seems to be lightly alcoholic, though I'm told it is not - not sure what I believe - but it was tasty and refreshing. By mid afternoon we were again on a Combi headed back to Huinchos. We arrived and rested a bit, but soon were visited by a primary school English teacher who some family member had asked to visit us to help with our talking to each other. It was great - she made it so easy for us to communicate, and both sides were able to tell longer, more complicated stories and have them understood. She stayed for several hours and then left to go back to town before she missed the last Combi.
Meanwhile, an extended family football (soccer) game was in the works. It turns out that the largest building in Huinchos is a covered football pitch and the way you got your time on the field was to get there, put in your name and wait. The game, featuring David as the visiting, low altitude player, started at 8 PM and went for an hour. David did well despite the altitude, but had to drop out about 10 minutes before the game ended and waking back to the house wasn't easy on his cramping legs. We got back to the house, ate a little and were soon in bed.
Monday was a quiet day, this time really. We went back into Andahuaylas to get the airline tickets in the morning, walked around a bit, used the Internet at the hotel we had stayed in a few days earlier and headed back fairly early. We had the usual houseful of visitors at meal time and until going to bed but, all in all it was one of our quietest days in Huinchos, which was good because the next day, Tuesday, Dec. 15 was David's birthday and quite a celebration was planned.
All seemed calm when we got up for breakfast but soon after the preparations began. Huge kettles of potatoes were cleaned and prepared for cooking, veggies were cleaned and cut, pots of water were put on to begin the preparation of the soups and the meat was prepared. We helped when they would let us but unless it was pretty clear what was going on we weren't much help. I'm always in awe of level of organization that goes into such preparations and how those that have done it before just know what needs to be done, even if they have not worked together before. Soon there were four cooking fires going and four huge pots on those fires. A little after noon people started to show up, it started with a trickle but soon there was a crowd of thirty or forty. David was told to go into his room before the ceremonies started and after a short while he was introduced as the birthday celebrant with speeches by his father, stepmother and brother. He was presented with some presents, local weaving and a wall hanging. Then the food began and it seemed like it would never stop, everyone ate way beyond satiation. During and after eating, as usual, the talking and asking questions about life began and continued into the afternoon. A lot of time was spent trying to explain to David how everyone was related, some progress was made but, like everywhere, family trees are difficult. Then when people had wandered away to walk or just digest lunch a young American and two Peruvians showed up, the American and one of the Peruvians were dressed in white shirt and tie, a sure sign they were Mormon missionaries. I thought, how ironic, that another American would show up unannounced in such a remote place. However, as I learned as I talked to them, it wasn't accidental, someone from the extended family had contacted them and asked them to help us translate. They had just neglected to tell David or me. As soon as everyone realized what they were there for, they could hardly finish their lunch for all the translation they were providing. The whole history of David's early life and the events that led to his adoption were explained from many different angles. These guys were great - they kept at it for almost four hours and because one was American and one Peruvian, one or the other understood the cultural contexts. At times they had tears in their eyes translating heartfelt statements that had been waiting almost 35 years to be said. Finally, it was almost 6 PM, and they didn't want to miss the last Combi back to Andahuaylas, so after group pictures they left. While they were translating, the primary school English teacher who had translated for the immediate family on Sunday arrived. She and one of her former students, a family member, had prepared a family tree for David, which helped immensely in understand the family. We never finished the count but David has between 80 and 100 first cousins!
Shortly the dancing and beer drinking began - the short of it is that at 1 AM the music and drinking finally stopped. It had been a long and heartfelt celebration, but needless to say the next day would be quiet - nursing hangovers and sore legs from hours of dancing.
It was a good thing that we didn't decide to return to Lima on Wednesday, the next day. No one would have made the plane. Things were quiet, with lots of naps.
The next day, Thursday, we were all up very early, some of us at 4:30 AM to get packed and ready of the flight. Fortunately, the airport was walking distance from the village, there was no space flat enough closer to Andahuaylas for an airport. So by 6 AM we were walking to the airport with our bags and packs. There were 5 of us leaving: Victor and Mama, David, Alejandro and me. Ali would come with us to spend Christmas in Lima with his brother. It was a bit sad to leave a place that seemed strange to us when we arrived but which, by the time we left had become a home. As we boarded the plane I looked around at the beautiful Huanchos landscape and felt that I must come back to this special place again. I'm sure David felt a similar, and I'm sure stronger emotion - if not for his adoption, this might have been his home.
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