Global Education

Father's Day in Ollantaytambo- Day 9

6/18/2024

We started our day today with a religious service, a "misa", as they call it here, at our local church in the main plaza of Ollantaytambo. We discovered the differences between local services and services in the United States – while people here are equally, if not more, devout Catholics, there were vast differences in the music and decorations, with more innovation and nature.

After the service, we returned to our host families to celebrate Father's Day, enjoying a feast with extended members of the family. We discovered that Father's Day means vastly different things for the families in Ollantaytambo – while it's a day of celebration, it's also a day of honoring the paternal figures who have passed. Next, we played a thrilling soccer match that is traditional to the Peru GEO. With a final score of 7-6, this match was the closest we had ever been to a World Cup match, with lots of incredible shots that brought out the Messi's in all of us. We had lots of fun playing with our friends and family with the rest of our host families cheering us on on the sidelines. At the end, we took some photos to commemorate the moment, with one of the dads of the families creating a cinematic masterpiece solely with their phone, rivaling George's drone shots. At five o'clock, we met at Tumy House and called our parents to wish them a Happy Father's Day. After talking with our families, we reflected on the day and wrote in our journals about our amazing memories from the day. Following the reunion, we had dinner at our host families' houses and spent the rest of the night playing games and spending time with them, enjoying the kindness and warmth that they exhibit everyday to us.

-George and Joy

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