Tomorrow around 3 in the afternoon I will swear in and become an official Peace Corps volunteer. A dream a long time in the making will finally be actualized. While I´m admittedly terrified to ship off to site and begin a new life unlike I´ve ever experienced, I am also ECSTATIC. Training has taken me as far as it will; now it is time to become more independent, more self sufficient, more brave than i have ever had to be. I´m ready. There will most certainly be bumps along the road and moments when I question what I´m doing here, but if all fails, I have to admit that I´m pretty stinkin proud to have given it a shot. In just three months I have adjusted to a simpler, more austere way of life. I have immersed myself in a new culture. I have achieved a quasi-advanced level of Spanish. I have learned to depend on myself. I have made new and lasting friendships with both gringos and Peruvians alike. Most importantly, I have been really happy (But I don´t mean to brag). I know this is where I am supposed to be right now at this point in my life.
Tonight is my last night with my host family in Yanacoto. It is bittersweet. I am eager to move on despite the beautiful times I shared with Jesusa and Alfredo. I will miss them dearly but take comfort in knowing that my next family is equally amazing and that I will always be welcomed back. Thanks for all the mail, emails and encouraging words. I appreciate your support.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Grass is Actually Greener on My Side
How do I love my site? Let me count the ways.
1. It is in a valley: This means hot but not scorching weather all year long.
2. It is very green. Everything is pristine. We have a beautiful river and all around are fruit trees abounding with mango, papaya, platano, etc.
3. Life is very simple and slow paced. This suits me. During the three days of visiting La Grama everything was tranquilo. Every night at sunset (a sunset like I´ve never seen before) I went to the chacra (or field) to chop alfalfa for our guinea pigs. On my second day, I enjoyed a picnic lunch with my host family under a mango tree before skipping stones at the river. After, I painted some of those river stones with my host brother. We had no appointments, no schedule. It was wonderful.
4. The food. As mentioned in number 2, the valley is teeming with fresh fruits and vegetables. We also have a lot of cows which makes for great dairy products. My family has 3 of its own cows (yes, I did try my hand at milking them. I´d say I´m still a novice but poco a poco). My host mom makes and sells homemade yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and cakes. What´s more, the last volunteer who was at my site three years ago trained my host mom in vegetarian cooking. She knows how to make hummus, lentil burgers, salads, and pretty much anything you can imagine. I think I will be eating better than I did in the States. As you can imagine, this makes me pretty miserable. Ha!
5. My family!! I will be living with a host mom, Naty, and her 9 year old son, Diego. They are very sweet, educated, and generous. When I arrived they greeted me with hand-picked flowers from their garden and a huge hug. I cannot even begin to describe how attentive, generous and
caring they were to me during site visit. Naty gave me a new pair of slippers so I would be comfortable in the house, Diego gave me some of his glow in the dark pokemon toys so I wouldn´t be afraid of the dark, they went out their way to cook foods I would like, etc. Also, Diego is a little entrepreneur. He makes and sells jewelry and was able to buy his own cell phone with the money he earned. I was the lucky recipient of a beautiful bracelet and two pairs of earrings. I think we will be very happy together.
I cannot believe there is just one week of training to go. Next Friday I will swear in and become an official volunteer. The following day I will move to site. Everything is moving very fast, and while it can be overwhelming, I am very excited for what´s to come. My life will slow down drastically when I get to site, so hopefully I can be better about blogging.
1. It is in a valley: This means hot but not scorching weather all year long.
2. It is very green. Everything is pristine. We have a beautiful river and all around are fruit trees abounding with mango, papaya, platano, etc.
3. Life is very simple and slow paced. This suits me. During the three days of visiting La Grama everything was tranquilo. Every night at sunset (a sunset like I´ve never seen before) I went to the chacra (or field) to chop alfalfa for our guinea pigs. On my second day, I enjoyed a picnic lunch with my host family under a mango tree before skipping stones at the river. After, I painted some of those river stones with my host brother. We had no appointments, no schedule. It was wonderful.
4. The food. As mentioned in number 2, the valley is teeming with fresh fruits and vegetables. We also have a lot of cows which makes for great dairy products. My family has 3 of its own cows (yes, I did try my hand at milking them. I´d say I´m still a novice but poco a poco). My host mom makes and sells homemade yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and cakes. What´s more, the last volunteer who was at my site three years ago trained my host mom in vegetarian cooking. She knows how to make hummus, lentil burgers, salads, and pretty much anything you can imagine. I think I will be eating better than I did in the States. As you can imagine, this makes me pretty miserable. Ha!
5. My family!! I will be living with a host mom, Naty, and her 9 year old son, Diego. They are very sweet, educated, and generous. When I arrived they greeted me with hand-picked flowers from their garden and a huge hug. I cannot even begin to describe how attentive, generous and
caring they were to me during site visit. Naty gave me a new pair of slippers so I would be comfortable in the house, Diego gave me some of his glow in the dark pokemon toys so I wouldn´t be afraid of the dark, they went out their way to cook foods I would like, etc. Also, Diego is a little entrepreneur. He makes and sells jewelry and was able to buy his own cell phone with the money he earned. I was the lucky recipient of a beautiful bracelet and two pairs of earrings. I think we will be very happy together.
I cannot believe there is just one week of training to go. Next Friday I will swear in and become an official volunteer. The following day I will move to site. Everything is moving very fast, and while it can be overwhelming, I am very excited for what´s to come. My life will slow down drastically when I get to site, so hopefully I can be better about blogging.
Friday, August 1, 2008
dun dun dun
I have been absolutely terrible about posting. I have much to catch everyone up on but big news takes precedence. Today I found out my site for the next two years.....La Grama, Cajamarca!!! The town is situated in a valley (which makes for warm weather during the day) and boasts a population of 1500 people. The last volunteer, who left three years ago and who is often referred to as ¨Patty Peace Corps¨--no joke--, started up organic farming projects, yoga, etc and so as you can imagine I am more than thrilled. There is a
farmers market every weekend, and oh yeah my host mom knows how to make veggie burgers!! This might mean that I can get through my two years consuming more than just potatoes and guinea pig. I am ecstatic. Still not sure what the bathroom and electricity situation will be like but I will be leaving Sunday for a week long visit to meet my future host family and community partners.
More news to come (photo is from my hiking trip to markahuasi with zach. we got up to watch the sunrise)
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