The last week in Peru has been somewhat of a whirlwind. We’ve seen Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, and returned to Pisac all in the matter of a few days and nights. We’ve taken 2 Don Abelino transports, our very own diesel-scented PeruRail car, a behemoth tourist bus careening around switchbacks at 7am, our own two feet (and two hands at some points), and yet another PeruRail (this time with more gen pop). It’s been a lot of seeing, moving, and even a little bit of shaking (gracias amigo Carlos). And it’s not even over yet, we’re headed in another convoy back to Cusco for a quick Inti Raymi jaunt.
We’ve gotten to the point in the trip where we’re coming back to places. Driving into Pisac yesterday afternoon and arriving to Roxana awaiting us in the lobby of the Pisac Inn, doling out the same oddly phallic room keys, felt like coming home. I remember when I was a kid and I had the pattern of turns to get home from the main highway memorized. I knew it so well that I’d wake up from my car nap right around the same curve nearly every time. There was no excuse for not helping unload the car…
It’s interesting how fast a place becomes home when you’re away from what you’re used to. I’ve gotten familiar with the walk from my room to the Mercado, I know exactly how late I can leave for class at the Florencio, you start seeing and snickering at the same NATs around town. We have a dog. Esteban and Henry know I’m not ordering food at breakfast until I’ve had a coffee and orange juice. Roxanna gave me muña tea to take with us to Calca when she heard we were having a parrillada. Dina knows our orders and I will make mine with extra veggies instead of French fries (she does make great fries too though, no shade).
My trip won’t be ending when LAST315 concludes in a couple weeks (cry). I still have at least till the end of August to explore around. I miss my friends. I miss all the routines that make Vancouver home. I miss my favorite beers and I miss my little balcony BBQ. To my surprise, I even miss my home home. I rarely feel nostalgic for Oregon and my parents house when I’m in Vancouver but I just miss it. I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the summer rituals from before I moved away. Maybe it’s just due to where I’m at in life. Everything is changing and maybe I’m looking for grounding in all that.
All this is to say, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be home. And I feel amazed at how quickly I’ve adapted to consider a new place home. I think it’s a testament to the flexibility of the concept, but the longing I feel for what I feel really connected to also exemplifies the grounding effect of place. We’ve been talking a lot in the course about displacement and I think it’s fitting we ourselves have been moving around, constantly not knowing the plan or having things change out of our control.
I think the sense of home is an important facet to Indigeneity. How does the balance between human adaptability and innate sense of place play into creation of identity?
3 replies on “Oh Dina. My heart sings for your chaufa.”
Another great post, Morgan! It really, in a way, has become like home while being here. Sometimes, I think of going back home, and I can hardly imagine being in the same routine that I had prior to this trip. It, for some reason, seems foreign, yet something I do long for at the same time. I want to sit on the couch eating chicken wings with my partner beside me and our two cats and dog snuggled up in any of the spare spots.
Hi Morgan:)
Loved your post! “I think the sense of home is an important facet to Indigeneity. How does the balance between human adaptability and innate sense of place play into creation of identity?” In response to this, my experience is that ‘home’ or what is miss is directly tied to the experience that I prioritize in my life. At this stage its my partner and 2 sons. I could be anywhere for a long period of time without missing a place if they are with me. For indigenous communities, I imagine that place played a more important role due to the spiritual and functional role that the land played in their lives.
Great question. Perhaps in classes we have not reflected enough on the importance of mobility in the definition of the Indigenous. I think about it because all groups had migratory tides where they coexisted, and often clashed, with other groups that were already there. On other occasions, as John from Ollantaytambo told us, they appropriated their science and technology. We have talked about the displacements of Indigenous peoples by European conquerors, but little about those who helped shape Indigenous communities before that. (It is as if without realizing it we had forgotten the rich diversity before the encounter with the invaders).