It had been
a while, but last week we organized a new series of reading classes. This time,
they were about Hansel y Gretel. We
organized them with Suri, Keila and Jhon, some of the youngest children of Urpi
Sonqocha. Together, we read the book, watched the movie and played some games.
We even created our own “cookie house”!
On Sunday, we had a barbecue in Romel’s garden. We even had to put up a tent to protect us from the sun!
From the 31st
until the 2nd, we stayed in a nice hotel in Cuzco and, on New Year’s
Eve, we had an unbelievably nice 8 course dinner at Chicha’s and enjoyed the
fireworks all over Cuzco. The next day, we spent one hour in an “inca bath”, a
hot bath with a lot of foam and spices. It was really relaxing!
We would
like to end this entry with a small New Year’s message. The last few months, we
have come to realize some very important things that we hadn’t even thought of
before. They make us appreciate our lives in Belgium more, and we hope that
they will do the same for you.
How many times have you heard someone say “if only I had some more money, I would be able to do this, buy that, go there...”? Or how many times have you said it yourself? Well, here in Peru, we have decided that we will never say that again. Because, in comparison with 90% of the people we see here, we – and all of you – are unimaginably rich. We can buy everything we need and a thousand things we don’t, without even realizing it. We all live in warm and safe houses, sleep on soft beds, wear clean clothes, eat fresh and varied food… and don’t even realize that a lot of people on this planet wouldn’t even dare to dream of it.
How many times have you heard someone say “if only I didn’t have to work or study that much”? Or how many times have you said it yourself? This, too, is something we will try never to say again. We once had a conversation with a six-year-old boy of Urpi Sonqocha. He asked us what kind of work the children do in Belgium. When we answered that children aren’t even allowed to work in our country, he just couldn’t understand. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to study and, afterwards, to have a nice job. It is devastating to think of the children of Urpi Sonqocha within, say, ten years: probably none of them will have had the opportunity to develop their capacities and surely half of them will be street venders, shoe shiners and mothers and fathers of too many children to take care of.
We could go on like this for some time, but we don’t want to depress you. What we do want is that you start 2013 realizing how incredibly lucky you are. That is what we will do too. Happy New Year!
How many times have you heard someone say “if only I had some more money, I would be able to do this, buy that, go there...”? Or how many times have you said it yourself? Well, here in Peru, we have decided that we will never say that again. Because, in comparison with 90% of the people we see here, we – and all of you – are unimaginably rich. We can buy everything we need and a thousand things we don’t, without even realizing it. We all live in warm and safe houses, sleep on soft beds, wear clean clothes, eat fresh and varied food… and don’t even realize that a lot of people on this planet wouldn’t even dare to dream of it.
How many times have you heard someone say “if only I didn’t have to work or study that much”? Or how many times have you said it yourself? This, too, is something we will try never to say again. We once had a conversation with a six-year-old boy of Urpi Sonqocha. He asked us what kind of work the children do in Belgium. When we answered that children aren’t even allowed to work in our country, he just couldn’t understand. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to study and, afterwards, to have a nice job. It is devastating to think of the children of Urpi Sonqocha within, say, ten years: probably none of them will have had the opportunity to develop their capacities and surely half of them will be street venders, shoe shiners and mothers and fathers of too many children to take care of.
We could go on like this for some time, but we don’t want to depress you. What we do want is that you start 2013 realizing how incredibly lucky you are. That is what we will do too. Happy New Year!
Gelukkig nieuwjaar, Véronique en Jasper!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenDat is echt een hele mooie nieuwjaarsboodschap en ik zal er zoveel mogelijk aan denken! :)
Hele mooie foto's zijn het, geweldig om die blije kindergezichtjes te zien!
Voor jou en Jeroen ook! Ja, we hebben hier heel wat levensinzichten gekregen... En in het echt zijn die kindergezichtjes nog 1000 keer schattiger :) Kus!
VerwijderenIk ben het helemaal eens met Hannelore! Een zeer wijze nieuwjaarsboodschap! Eentje waaruit ik meteen ook moed put tijdens deze blok als ik binnensmonds weer eens vloek: "waarom in godsnaam studeer ik nog een jaar verder?!" Het antwoord is simpel: omdat ik die kans krijg, de mogelijkheid heb en omdat ik er zelf voor kan kiezen. En dat is niet iedereen gegund. Niet daar in Peru en zelfs niet hier in België.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIk vond het fijn om jullie even na middernacht Belgische tijd even een gelukkig nieuwjaar te kunnen wensen! Al was de communicatie niet optimaal ;-) Dus bij deze wil ik jullie nogmaals een geweldig 2013 wensen! Jullie hebben 2012 alvast kunnen afsluiten met een onvergetelijke ervaring die zich ook begin 2013 nog mag verder zetten! En eens jullie terug zijn wens ik jullie tal van mooie, onvergetelijke ervaringen dichter bij huis toe!
Veel liefs en een knuffel,
x
Het was inderdaad ook een beetje bedoeld om onze blokkende vrienden wat moed in te spreken :)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenWij hoorden jullie via Skype eigenlijk heel goed. Het was inderdaad heel fijn! Heb je goed gevierd? Alleen met Ellen en Daria?
Veel moed met het studeren! We duimen!
xxx
Oh, fijn dat jij ons goed hoorde! Ik kon jou niet zo goed horen.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenNee, ik was niet alleen met Ellen en Darya :) We waren met 10 in totaal en op het moment dat ik belde, zaten we bij Siemon thuis. We hebben eerst daar gegeten en nadien zijn we nog op stap geweest. Het was een fijne oudejaarsavond en nieuwjaarsnacht! :)
Dank je voor het duimen! xx
Ah, ok, dat dacht ik al. Maar je mama zei tegen mij dat ik de groeten kreeg van jou, Darya en Ellen. Dat klinkt allemaal heel fijn, ja! Ik zal blij zijn iederen terug te zien.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenVeel moed met de examens! De blok is toch al voorbij! xx