Funerals and Fiestas

What a week it has been!  I am sitting in Starbucks for the day just to escape the craziness of my town for a few hours!

On my way back to site this past Monday after a weekend of spanish class and celebrating, I got a text from my site mate BJ who was a few hours ahead of me on the trip.  He was in a taxi heading into our valley with relatives of my host family, they were in town because the sick uncle in my house had passed away the previous day.  I wasn't surprised to get the news because  the past couple weeks had been pretty rough for him.  He had been suffering from some kind of cancer for a long time.  I can't be exactly sure because he NEVER went to the doctor's, but it was pretty evident he was very sick with something.  I believe everyone knew we were in his last days because each day was getting increasingly worse.

So although the news wasn't surprising, I instantly became sick to my stomach.  I knew a little bit about the mourning process in my site, and I think for so long I had been dreading that experience that I became incredibly nervous.  I called up a friend of mine to get advice on escaping, I was really scared to go to my house.  I was almost really sure that I was going to go back and instantly turn around and leave for a few days.  However the closer and closer I got the more disappointed I became with myself.  I am not that type of person.  A dead person is not that scary to me after having worked at the hospital for so long, and I would be a huge jerk to walk away from my family.  So I decided I was going to stick it out.

So from what I do know, normally the body of the deceased lies on a table in the living room for a number of days so people can come and observe.  The part that made me nervous is that the body would be untreated, and right now it is pretty hot during the day and it just kind of grossed me out.  Also, I knew that Peruivans can be very dramatic when faced with a death and I was afraid I was going to be really uncomfortable seeing my family like that.

Well when I got to the house, the body was on our dining room table in the living room.  He was dressed in a traditional blue and white robe, very similar to what a priest wears in church, and there were flowers and candles surrounding him.  There were many people in the living room, but fortunately no one was reacting too crazy, just sitting around chatting.  But as I got closer to my room, I realized there was a ridiculous amount of people in my house, my host family has family all over the country, and they ALL came!!!!!!!  I went to find my host Mom first and she was a little teary, but really more interested in borrowing my air mattresses to accomodate all of the people.  The uncle's children were there.  I have to admit I am a little bitter towards them.  Because the uncle has been living with us for a very long time, and I have only seen his son on 2 occasions totaling a week at the most, and when he is there he does nothing.  And the daughter has been in the house for a few weeks, but she often didn't feel like doing anything for her father and would ask that no one would say her name so he wouldn't know she was there at times. That always made me mad, because my host mom waits on him night and day without ever complaining and I thought having his daughter there would give her a break a little, apparently not.

But of course the 2 children played the biggest victim cards, walking around moping very dramatically, while my poor host mom held herself together and continued to run circles around everyone trying to make sure everything was just right.

Fortunately I got home the evening of the second night, so when I woke up the next morning the body had been chemically treated and put away in the casket. Around noon many people came to the house from all over for the first mass.  My host Mom asked me to take pictures.  Afterwards the casket was carried through the town to the church for a second mass and everyone follows along in the procession.  After a short mass in the church, we paraded back through the town where the school band had joined us and made our way to the cementary.  From the day the uncle died my host Dad had been there trying to prepare a cement tomb, so we worked our  way there.  There was another short mass, and different people said words.  The most touching part was a teacher from the school had come, and remember a time when he was at my host sister's cantina drinking and playing his guitar and the uncle went outside to listen and sang along.  I remember that day when he was out there, and I remembered the song because it was a song he sang everyday many many times, ALWAYS, so it was really sweet.

There was a little window in the casket over his face, so the window was opened and many people came up to pay their final respects and the casket was placed into the tomb and was sealed off and we all went home.  Part of the tradition is that the family prepares meals for the days that the body is in observance and the day of the funeral for all.  So a make-shift kitchen had been set up in our back yard and the neighbors helped my host mom cook in gigantic pots over fire for everyone.  After the funeral the entire town was invited for lunch and I feel like practically the entire town showed up.  I was helping serve food and it felt like it was never ending.

One convienient part of the entire funeral was that the uncle died the sunday before the anniversay of chipillico was taking place.  So all the people who had come to town for the funeral also decided to stay for the party.  And more continued to show up throughout the week.  I believe there were close to 20 people alone staying in my house and then more family spread out between my 2 host sister's houses and one more of our close neighbors.

The town was completely transformed into a huge market, where people came from neighboring cities to sell clothes and stuff.  There were toys for the kids to play on and games.  There were lots of food vendors.  It was just packed full of stuff and people!    I took the kids a few nights and played lots of games.  The loved it!  I also got some really really good grilled chicken which always makes me really excited.

It wasn't really a week of much work because everyone was pretty invested in the party.  Yesterday the last day of the party there was a parade where they had a figure of the patron saint of Piura they paraded through the town. And a huge dance that went on all night long!  I have had little sleep this week, not because I was partying but I could hear everyone else partying.  And when you live in a house made of mud and there are 20 people sleeping there, there isn't much quiet time.

So that has been my week, and why I believed I deserved to escape to some Starbucks today.