Final Good Byes

      Today was both cathartic and sad. It was our final day volunteering at the Quinones Air Force school, and both its students and ours showed how much the past week has been treasured. After our El Sol classes, we went to Quinones, and were instructed on the finer points of drumming and dancing in the traditional Lima fashion - with little else then some wood boxes, horse jaws, and our own two hands. As we grew more coordinated, we came to produce better and better music as the session went on.
     Next, we headed to the auditorium, where we received a demonstration of colonial dancing techniques from two female students who had previously shown them at Lima's art museum. Next, we received our honorary diplomas from the school, and danced with our guides to "Taxi" and at least a dozen other Peruvian pop songs. Finally, we concluded with games of basketball before we left on our bus.
     Today left me feeling  genuinely happy, and eager to learn more about American culture. In return, I felt like I had gained some insight into how Peru works by observing its newest generation in action. Hopefully, more dialogues like this will occur later on between our countries.