When Peru closed its borders, I was trapped in the ancient city of Cusco due to travel and gained the warmth of human beings.

In the early morning of March 15, 2020, due to the new crown epidemic, the Peruvian government announced the closure of borders, airports, public transportation, tourist attractions and all entertainment venues. And this day happened to be the first day I flew from the capital Lima to the former Inca capital Cusco. I only planned this trip to Cusco for 3 days: after seeing Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and Rainbow Mountain, I returned to Washington. DC.

The prediction of the staff of the International Students Office was fulfilled (one week during the spring break, I went to the staff to sign the i20 to apply for leaving the country. He asked me seriously three times: Are you sure you want to take this risk? You are very good. Maybe I missed the next course because I couldn’t go back to the United States!) As a willful person like me, I hesitated for three seconds and decided to leave. So, I was really, really stuck. Early in the morning on the 16th, I ran non-stop to the airport, bus station, and contacted the Chinese Embassy... After a whole day of tossing, I broke my leg while running, my voice was so hoarse that I couldn't speak, and I looked at my boyfriend (the U.S. Embassy in Peru) in despair. Diplomats) were evacuated from Lima and could only help me carry my suitcase back to the United States. And I, with an 18-liter backpack, a pair of pants, a pair of running shoes, two T-shirts, a computer, and a mobile phone, have no choice but to live in this strange city. The most terrifying thing is that I don’t know how long I will live there. .

Fortunately, the school has changed all courses to online classes, and it doesn’t matter whether I go back to the United States or not. . The top priority was to find a stable place to live, because the hotel where I stayed for two days had posted a notice that it was about to close, and I had to leave. I found a youth hostel full of stranded travelers and stayed there for two weeks. As everyone returned to their own countries one after another, I moved to another youth hostel that was still open. It was deserted except for one who was flying back the next day. French uncle, no one else. After my repeated invitations, Lily (a Canadian international student), a Chinese girl who lived in the same youth hostel, moved in with me and generously lent me her new alpaca sweater to wear. In addition, Lily’s classmate loves to tell jokes. As a result, daily life outside of study becomes less lonely.

At that time, Cusco was no longer as prosperous as before, and the streets were so quiet that even dogs didn’t bother to stay. It seemed that apart from Lily and me, the only foreigners left were Venezuelan refugees. One afternoon, on my way to buy groceries at Wanchaq Market, I bumped into an aunt from Shanghai who had retired and started traveling around the world. As you can imagine, the three of us hit it off immediately. After chatting for a few words, Lily and I happily decided to move to Aunt Qi's youth hostel to join in the fun. I remember it was mid-May 2020. The final exam had just ended, and I was worried about finding more people to play with. After completing the check-out procedures with our youth hostel owner Fernando, he was very happy: "I can just close the business after seeing you two off!"

Aunt Qi is an out-and-out parent. , often tells us many things. The city of Cusco is located at an altitude of 3,100 meters, and in winter, it is extremely cold in the morning and evening. I was freezing in my only pair of pants (there was no way to buy clothes during the lockdown), so Aunt Qi took out the down pants from the box and asked me to keep wearing them. If a vicious theft hadn't happened, maybe we would have stayed there for a while longer.

The thief was a guest of the youth hostel. He was from Venezuela. His tactics were very old-fashioned. He wore clothes full of holes to gain sympathy for his family's poverty and the illness of his younger siblings. I was only a full-time student with no fixed income, so I didn't agree to his request for a loan, but I continued to provide him with food help until he took all my money and ran away. In order to occasionally enter our room and get acquainted with us, he took away all my cash and credit cards while we were out (the room had no door lock and the cabinet had no lock). When I realized that it had been stolen, I received a text message on my phone that my credit card had been stolen. I called my bank in China to report the loss of my credit card and hurried back to my residence. All the cash was gone! You know, that was all my cash and cards. Suddenly I was penniless. I didn’t know how to survive in Cusco, which was under lockdown.

When I went to the police station, the police just took notes. They even thought I was stupid for carrying so much cash with me. I went to the police station for three days and found nothing. The policemen started to hide away when they saw me again. In fact, from the first day I called the police, I knew everything was in vain. But when you are desperate, you unconsciously hope for even a glimmer of hope that is out of reach. Until the end, I was so hungry that I didn’t even have the strength to walk to the police station...

In desperation, I remembered the travel package I ordered in Lima. Since the trip was cancelled, I should refund the money. . After repeated calls and questioning, I informed the other party of my current situation. Finally agreed to refund half of my fee. The kind-hearted Lima travel agent Veronica asked me to contact her friend John in Cusco, saying that the friend was willing to help and had prepared a lot of food for me. John sent me his address soon after, chatted with me with great interest for a long time, and finally decided on a meeting time. I took Mario, who was also in a youth hostel, to go with me (the sudden theft incident made me learn to be a little more vigilant at that time), and we walked fifteen kilometers to the designated location. I contacted John and told him: I and Came here with a friend. The other party didn't respond anymore and blocked me directly. I still feel scared when I think about it now. If I had gone there alone, I don’t know what more terrifying things I would have encountered...

After traveling around the world for so many years, the first time For the first time, I experienced how helpless life can be. Generally, when a decline reaches the bottom, it will always bottom out and rebound. I believe: when bad luck is gone, good luck will come! As expected, good luck came one after another, which warmed my whole winter in Cusco. Every time I think about it now, I still get tears in my eyes. A friend said: Coco, you haven’t completely let go of this matter yet. "No, I have forgiven that thief a long time ago. Maybe he really needed money at that moment. But at this moment, I am just grateful for having gained so much human tenderness..." I answered with a smile.

Everything is a small thing, and every thing is worth recording. Now I am full of emotions. If you read it again later, you may have a new understanding:

Conclusion: I’m not sure if such an experience can be written into a script, but life is like this: occasionally ups and downs, mixed flavors, but I still Believe that most of life is beautiful. Those days that have made you sad will never be worth the bits and pieces that have moved you. Therefore, I am really grateful for this experience and all the encounters on the road... These will become stories that I can tell in the future while sitting on a small bench and basking in the sun.

About the author:

Coco, a native of Beijing, quit her job in a state-owned enterprise for many years and studied in the United States. During the epidemic, she lived in South America for two years. Now I return to the United States to continue studying. I love sports and life; I love learning and traveling; I love coding and sharing. I hope my words can warm everyone on the road.