Cheeze-its, Sriracha, and Starbucks

What? A blog entry less than a month later? Crazy I know. I really want to make it a habit of updating my blog, for your sake of course.

So as I had mentioned in my previous blog I have started running daily and I am proud of myself I’m on my 3^rd week of running every day minus 3 days this last weekend because I was really sick on Friday and decided it was best to wait a couple days to make sure it passed before running again. I feel pretty lucky my sickness only kept me bed ridden for 1 day, I remember the last time I was bed ridden was Thanksgiving last year and that was for about a week! Even though it’ll be the second year in a row I won’t be with my family during Thanksgiving, I will be hanging out with one of my best fellow volunteers and we will be going to see LADY GAGA!!! I’m so excited. Our plan is for me to travel down to Trujilo (capital city of La Libertad, a neighboring department) and spend Thanksgiving day with Ms. Brittany; that night we will travel to Lima on the overnight bus (probably going to spring for Super VIP- those chairs recline all the way back!) and then arrive Friday morning in Lima and head to see Gaga later at night!

I feel like I have been more productive lately so I’m not mentally kicking myself in the gonads. I started handing out surveys to the students at school and have begun conducting surveys with people in my neighborhood. From my observations I can see there is a huge need for prevention of adolescent mothers and mejorar-ing (that’s Spanglish for bettering) sexual education. I have a huge interest in doing projects in these areas so I’m excited for these opportunities. However I have also learned from just talking to people and from some surveys that there is also problem with delinquency in Pimentel. This is a problem that makes me weary due to my previous experience with delinquency when I worked at LSI. I don’t have any huge ideas yet about what to do about this particular problem however I figure that if I create fun programs for the youth to participate in, hopefully that in itself will deter some youth from going down the wrong path. That may be too optimistic but I’ll go with that for now.

On Sunday night I had the pleasure of skyping with some of my favorite book club ladies and Danny. Before we started chatting, Sommer asked me to open my email first and there in my inbox was an email from Amazon.com announcing my $100 gift card!!!!!! Sommer had gone around threatening to stab people at Soho to chip in for a gift card so I could buy books for my Kindle! Sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, I nearly cried!!!! Made me really miss you my Soho friends, love you guys <3

On Monday I went to Chiclayo to see if I had anything for me at the post office and alas! I had two packages from my sweet mother. Not really a surprise I’ve been nagging her since I arrived from Peru to send me a bottle of siracha :p She also sent me some baggies of cheeze-its; it seriously took ALL the will power I have in my body to not eat all three Ziploc baggies right there in Starbucks. (I hung out in Starbucks for a bit and opened my packages there while I waited for a fellow volunteer.)  Peace Corps has a changed my friends. If you thought I was going to be living in a grass hut in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity, and complete isolation-then you would be mistaken. There are definitely volunteers that live in these kinds of conditions but less than there were in the past. That being said, when I say things like” I was hanging out at Starbucks”- I hope that doesn’t change your view of the meaning and importance of Peace Corps. Even though I live pretty comfortably it doesn’t make my experience that much easier. I am away from my home, my family, my friends. I struggle every day with communicating with every person I encounter.  I still cry at night because I miss people from home. I cry when none of the kids in my class seem interested in all in what I am trying to teach them. Sometimes I feel a little lost and useless but I’m pushing through. They say Peace Corps is the hardest job you’ll ever love-and even though I’m a newb I believe in it whole-heartedly. Peru is a great country; I love my host family and the people here are generally caring. Yes it’s going to be a hard two years but I’m very exciting for what is to come and I hope you will continue to read these blogs to help share these experiences. 

Words of Wisdom

·  On the morning of swearing in we all sat in a circle and wrote down "words of wisdom" on a piece of paper tossed it into a hat; then we went around the circle drew one from the hat and we all had to guess who wrote each one. Here are the words of wisdom from Peru Group 19. Love you guys, training was an amazing 10 weeks!  

--When you have the D, just go – Kaeli

 -Be happy and enjoy the adventure! – Samuel

· -Between something happening to you and the reaction you have, there is space for you to choose your own

    perceptions. Choose wisely – Mike

·      -Allow the simple things to bring you joy and laughter which you can spread to others. Laugh like you mean it J - Kendra

·       -  “The best way to find yourself…is to lose it  in the service of others” - Gandhi  - Connor

     -No one expects you to be 100% all the time – Jaime

·         -When you are feeling down on yourself and feel like you are not being a good volunteer, remember that when you talk to you family, socios, and Peruvian friends you are fulfilling goals 2 & 3. Stay happy & Stay strong! J  - Heidi

·        - Stay calm & rock on… you all are beautiful people!!! J - Emily

·         -Think of the people you admire most in life & when you run into difficult times, just imagine what they would do – Kyle

·       - Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough baby, if you need me, call me, no matter where you are no matter how far – me 

·      -  “The utility of a vase is in its emptiness”, “Don’t fear silence”, “Don’t fear inactivity” – Lao Tzu – Niko

·       -  Stay calm and enjoy the ride – Brad

·         -You are dynamite, don’t mess with dynamite, cuz when you mess with dynamite it goes tic tic tic tic tic BOOM! dynamite ba boom dynamite! Good luck! I’ll miss you! – Brittany

·        - Every one of us is fully capable to be an excellent Peace Corps Volunteer. If you are ever feeling down remember why you wanted to join Peace Corps and nothing worth having in life comes easy. I love you – Andrea

·         -As we embark on this new adventure, let remember the important things in life, wahtever that may be for you. Change is an awkward turtle so take time to step back and breath.  “Hang loose and let the ocean worry about being blue” – Carlhey

·       -  Be real, don’t get boogie and be nice - Michelle

·         -Through the ups and downs, remember to find joy, and of course, keep it good. – Esteban

·       -  When it can’t any worse… remember: At least you’re not in Africa! – Mandy

·      -  Take a little trip to the east every seven or so months and treat yourself to a day or two in a hammock reading short stories, sipping something exotic, eating something spicy and listening to Matown. Relax man! – Zach

·        - Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky- forces you to have first hand encounters wth the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of human kind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. --This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black and white – Mark Jenkins – KG

·       -  Keep your bracelet on always (the one the doctors gave you). Lindsey

·        - Be proud of yourself everyday – Liz

·        - When things start to get weird just remember that time is always the thing. Be patient with yourself, there is a reason you’re there - Kim

·         -Don’t take life too seriously – Tyler

·         -We are all in this together – Zac Effron, Hogh School Musical – Christopher

·         -Dress for success – Jesse

·         -I LOVE YOU – Casey

·        - Smile – Brad

·        - Giggle at it – Leland

·        - Love and accept yourself – Nanda

·         -You guys are extreme! – Roberto

·         -When you feel down, or you’re having a difficult day: call me. & I will be there to listen. J - Morgan

·        - Don’t hold back… act with your whole heart – Starla

·        - If there is no happy ending, make one out of cookie dough – Tekela

·         -Be patient and “Just keep swimming” – Meghan

·         -Vulgar is good Smart is sexy – Anel

·         -Embrace how awkward everything is. Just laugh! – Betty

·         -When reflecting upon the past dwell only on the things and memories that show you how great your life was, is and can be. – Kallan

·         -Keep seeking until you find the Truth – Jackie

·       - You cannot know joy without also knowing pain – Erin

·        - “Be the change in the world that you wish to see” - Mahatma Gandhi - Sandy