A Meaningful Encounter with an Andean Farm Woman, Peru

Before I left for my trip, talking to one of my best friends about the blog, he suggested I do a section on stories about noteworthy people who I meet along the way. This is the first of my “Travel Stories” posts.

When I boarded my bus to Huaraz, Peru, my first trip out of Lima, I had mixed feelings when I got to my seat and saw who I would be sitting next to; a small, very traditional Andean woman with her very cute and happy baby boy. The woman looked much too old to have such a young child, but he definitely seemed to treat her like his mother. She flashed me a smile when I sat down next to her and asked me to help her put her bags in the overhead compartment. The first thing I noticed when I sat down next to her was a smell characteristic of work with animals and scant opportunity for bathing. This is the type of woman who works in the field with her baby wrapped in a blanket slung around her back; a strong Andean woman. I wasn’t sure how she was going to take to somebody like me.

Our initial conversation gave me the impression that an enjoyable ride together was not promising. She explained to me that she is from Huaraz but she was in Lima to go to the hospital because of intense pain in her hands. “Arthritis they tell me,” she said with an inquisitive tone, as if to say that she had never heard of it before. She then told me that the doctors were recommending that she stay in the hospital for a month, a 6,000 soles charge (around $2,000). “How am I going to pay that?” She asked me. I quickly made an unfair assumption, as the sound of her voice immediately made me think of someone begging for money. “Oh great,” I thought to myself, 8 hour drive, here we come. After telling her how sad I was to hear about her arthritis and how sorry I was, the conversation turned to me. Her first mark of approval from me came when she asked me if I was from Lima, a nice confidence boost for my Spanish. She was also very interested in knowing about airplanes, travel and my family. How does an airplane feel? Do you have to fly to the U.S. or can you take a bus? Which is closer to Peru, the U.S., Canada or Sweden? What do you do on a plane if you need water or food? Planes don’t make stops so people can eat, do they? What about the bathroom?

But her biggest concern was how my mother could possibly be okay with me traveling so far from home for such a long time. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she tried to imagine even just weeks without her children. A very proud mother of two daughters, 18 and 19, and the man of the house, her one-year-old son that by now was laying down staring at my unfamiliarly white face with his head in my lap, it was unbearable for her to think of the smallest amount of time away from her children. She began to cry more when she told me that her nephew took a trip to Spain 11 years ago and still has not returned. This woman definitely had a lot of pent-up sadness. When she asked me about my father, I didn’t hesitate to tell her about his death. I told her that I hope with everything that I’ve got that I do not have to experience something so difficult again in my whole life. Again she began to tear up and gave me her condolences, saying she cannot imagine what it must be like to lose somebody so unexpectedly. She was such a kind, compassionate woman, but obviously full of sadness.

Although this is quite an extreme example, I cannot imagine anything more limiting to one’s life than fear of travel. I don’t think there’s a better teacher in the world. Not only does travel open so many opportunities for amazing experiences, it provides you with a bird’s eye view into your own self. It sets you free.

Well, at least for this woman, if she is going to be so afraid to travel, she is lucky that she lives in such an amazing place as Huaraz, Peru, a small but culturally rich town surrounded by immense mountains of the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Negra.

Experiences like this make me so grateful that I have learned Spanish. Knowing the native language of an area opens you up to experiences that would be impossible without it. If you truly want to travel like a local and live among the locals, learning some of the local language is your greatest key to success.