Rosalia, the "nana" who works in my house, is returning home to Lima, Peru this Friday. She has been living in Chile illegally for the past four months. Throughout the past two weeks, she has gone through an extensive process trying to apply to work here legally. She visited office after office, tirelessly filled out paperwork, and paid a huge fine for being here illegally ($100 US dollars...a huge sum for her).
She was approaching the final steps in becoming legal. All she needed to do was make an appointment with the government office of immigration within five days of receiving this one document. The only time she was allowed to call the office to make the appointment was Monday through Friday, from 1 PM until 2 PM. Just one wretched hour. It was difficult for her to call because she had to prepare the family's lunch during this time. And, to make matters worse, the line was always busy. The past week, I tried to help her call. I called over and over again. 373412. I have the number memorized I called it so much. But every time I tried, it
was busy.
Because she wasn't able to make an appointment within five days (which wasn't her fault), she has to return home, and she will never be able to return to Chile again.
I am heartbroken. Rosalia has been my saving grace in Chile. I truly feel like God put her in my life for a reason. She was my strength, my joy, and at times my only real friend. The richest part of my Chilean experience is leaving me. My little Peruvian diamond is going home.
In other news, my illness escalated yesterday. I won't go into details, but I experienced "stomach issues" that I had never before experienced in my life. I ended up going to a clinic today to get some tests done. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll know what's wrong with me. As for now, I'm under a microscope with my family. Every person is carefully monitoring everything that I eat. "Only soup and crackers, Kristen." "Make sure you don't drink water from the tap." "Remember to not eat any milk or cheese products." "Don't eat any raw vegetables. Everything must be cooked!" It's very nice that everyone wants to take care of me, but I feel like I'm being treated like I'm five. Every time I walked into the kitchen today, every move I made was tracked. But don't worry, I know how to take care of myself thank you very much.
I hope to return to school tomorrow, but I heard something today in mumbled high-speed Chilean Spanish that alluded to me having to return to the clinic tomorrow for more tests? I'm not sure.
**BREAKING NEWS**
While I was writing this post, Rosalia came into my room and told me that the other nana, Esperanza, quit! She told my host mom that she is no longer working for her, and her last day is Friday. For the record, there have been a total of five different nanas that have worked here in a three month span. Just a symptom of this dysfunctional household.
I just exchanged email addresses and phone numbers with Rosalia so we can stay in contact when she leaves. It doesn't even feel real that my best friend is leaving me. But it's good for her. She hasn't seen her husband and two children for four months. Although they desperately need her to work here to make money for their family, I pray that they can find other ways to get by with her in Peru. I'll miss her. Her smile. Her helpful words of encouragement. Our late night talks about God and the bible, and life, and family, and marriage. Our exercise at 6:30 AM, walking on the beach...exercise that eventually turns into a gossip session. I'll miss her singing along with the radio in the kitchen. Singing so loudly and just loving the life God gave her in that moment. So faithful and loving. I'll never forget her. She was my guardian angel. My dear, sweet Rosalia.
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