La Mesa del Amuerzo
By Ellen Rolfes-Hughes – Film, Television and Theatre major
During my nine weeks working in schools in Callao, Peru, many of my most interesting conversations occurred over a lunch table. Schools provided a lunch for the students and so, between English classes and drama rehearsals, I decided to join in.
Each grade was required to wait until it was their turn to eat before they were allowed to leave their classroom and form two lines in the courtyard, one line of girls and the other of boys. They would wait patiently and then file into the kitchen where a long table would have many tin plates prepared with the “menu” of the day, along with a glass of chicha (a sweet juice drink made from blue corn) or limonada. The food was simple but hearty. There was usually some sort of potatoes, squash, pumpkin or rice along with a side of beef, chicken or fish. On a special day there would be spaghetti. And many days there were clementines which were served as a dessert.
Eating lunch with these young girls and boys was one of my favorite parts of the day and of my entire time in Peru. It was at the lunch table that the children felt free to express their hopes, dreams, interests, favorite things. They told me about their favorite music and movies, their favorite foods, the places they wanted to visit.
They also wanted to know about my life. (Especially if I knew Zac Efron or anyone else who was in High School Musical, one of their favorite movies.) Lunchtime was an opportunity to practice my Spanish. The students would help me and they never judged me whenever I said something incorrectly.
One day, I sat with students from the 2nd grade of secondary school and we talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up. I received responses like teacher, doctor, government official. One of my students, Charlie, said that he desired to be a singer. I became excited as I had studied music in high school and at the university level. Tiffany, my site partner, and I had sung songs many times at the lunch table and in classes. The students loved American singers and bands. So I asked Charlie to sing a song for us and he did. He sang a serenade and had the voice of an angel. The smile upon his face was so wide it was infectious. He was a natural performer.
The students’ frankness, generosity, and energy for life struck me throughout my time, but it was most apparent at the lunch table. I could see a hunger for life and for the possibilities for their dreams to come true, despite the adversity and challenges that they face every day. It is these conversations which made me wake up in the morning and look forward to a hard day of teaching. They reminded me of why I had come to Peru in the first place. The relationships with the students were priceless to me. Without them, I could not have worked as a volunteer. Their stories are what I have brought back with me from Peru and what I love to tell others about when asked about my summer.
