For the first six months of my mission in Arequipa (Peru), I lived in the house of the Combonian Fathers close to the parish church. With the arrival of Rossie – Comboni Lay Missionary from the United States, we were able to move to our new home in Villa Ecologica – the parish “district”, where we are to implement all our projects. During the pandemic, the owner of the house made a makeover, thanks to which each of us has her own room. Apart from that, we have a living room where we can have guests, a bathroom, a kitchen and … a garage. We don’t have a car, so we don’t use it, but it can be turned into an extra room at any time in case our community grows. When we go out to the street, we immediately notice the snow-capped peak of the Chachani volcano and the ubiquitous dust here 🙂
Due to the relatively short stay on the mission, we decided not to take a dog to defend the house, even though it is a very popular practice here. However, three neighborly mongrels decided that we looked quite nice and in exchange for additional food they offered their help as guards of the household. After a few weeks together, they even let themselves be petted and want to play with us. The only problem is their huge appetite, no matter how much food they have already received on a given day, they are always open to more. Our relocation coincided with the celebration of Independence Day in Peru.
On that day, practically every house had a red and white Peruvian flag. Father Conrado – the local parish priest asked us if we had put up a flag in our new apartment and explained that it was a civil duty and that people could get a fine for not having a flag. However, he laughed that when the mayor saw that a Pole and an American lived in the house, he would rather forbid us to hang the Peru flag 🙂
Ewelina, CLM Peru
