6 months to go

“Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.”

I counted down the days, and finally it came and went, swiftly and pleasantly.  My hat is tipped to the volunteers who manage a full two years without once making a trip to the land of Star Spangled Banner. 

There were so many things about America that I did not appreciate until returning there after a year and half in Peru. For instance, running water- never will I ever again take for granted having clean, hot, running water 24/7, I happily did my laundry WITH a dryer at any hour of the day that was convenient for me, did dishes by hand under wonderful hot water, and with much gusto drank water from the tap. I stood in the aisle at Walgreens for about 15 minutes just staring at the wall of face products searching for a face moisturizer, there were just soooo many kinds! Something about Peru completely and utterly blows my mind: costumer service, or lack of, I should say. Do you know why this boggles me? These people are among the kindest people I have ever met, they refuse a “no” when they offer you food in their home, they always greet each other on the street, “buenas días/tardes/noches/ como estas?” are things I here several times a day, you can’t walk into a room without kissing someone on the cheek to greet them politely but for some crazy frustrating reason, generally the customer service here is TERRIBLE! If I am in a restaurant I could easily wait 10-15 minutes before a waiter comes to my table, usually without a smile or greeting,  9 times out of 10 they will bring you 1 menu for the table, there are no free refills and just a list too long to revisit here but it’s so interesting to have such a kind hearted culture to have such bad service. So when I was at the Atlanta airport, getting my grub on, and received such pleasant service from the waitress, I was so happy! I left her a very merry tip.  I used to be a waitress so I was already grateful for good service at a restaurant but now I have a special place in my heart for the bartender who served me my first bloody mary on US soil after being away for 18 months and for the woman who brought me a delicious high calorie platter of fried food to my table at Buffalo Wild Wings, the first restaurant I stepped foot into at the Atlanta airport.  My mind boggled at all the flavors of vodka, Salty Watermelon, really?  I stood in the aisle in Hy-Vee and I counted 15 different types of bloody mary mix on the shelf. I could go on and on detailing all the things I will not take for granted when I return home for good but I’d like to end there with things and go on to people; my favorite part about my trip to the US was seeing my friends and family, getting to put my arms around my mom, dad, brother, sister, and nieces/nephews was incredible.

Christmas Day

 Spending time with my friends in Des Moines and especially Cedar Falls was like a dream.

these girls are like my sisters, first time all 5 of us were together in about 3 years, and the first time we were all at a bar together...legally

There were indeed aspects of my relationships that were different but those differences were such that did not affect our friendship; like they had grown up, gotten real jobs and acted like adults but we still shared the same inside jokes and felt so comfortable together. I consider these relationships, the ones I’ve really held onto the past 20 months to be really very special.  If you are one of those friends reading this (you know who you are) I am so incredibly thankful for you.  Some people are afraid to go home because they believe they would not be able to get on the return flight to Peru after seeing their friends and family but I felt the opposite, I felt like wow, my relationships rule, if we can make it 18 months apart then I can make it the next 7 months because I know that I have so much support and love from home-again, thank you.

Most things become easier with the passage of time. It is not so with Peace Corps. There is a quote from one of the many books I have read in my free time “I had proof that not all days are the same length, not all time has the same weight.” I have definitely found that proof here in my time as a Peace Corps volunteer; some days are fleeting, blinks of the eye other days are long, grueling, exhausting, especially boring days, those days are the hardest.  My first 6 months in Peru were filled with those miserable days but I convinced myself that if my language level improved everything else would eventually fall into place; eventually my language did improve and things did fall into place and I rode that wave for 6 months and I was genuinely happy to be here but unfortunately the past couple months have been rough. I made it through November because I knew that I would be going home to visit soon and I would get the reboot I needed. Now I’ve been back in Peru for a couple weeks and it has not been easy; I’m not saying I’m ready to jump onto a plane back to the comforts of the United States right now but it has been a thought that has crossed my mind. However I will be staying, not just because there is so little time left but because I really do think there are things I could still do here to benefit my community, I hope I am not eating my words. I also know that I will miss it here, when I am back home in my Queen sized bed and eating all the wonderful varities of cheese that exist in the USA, I will miss my sweet blessed host mother, I will miss going to Peruvian parties or holding children while their parents “joke” that I could take their baby back to the US with me, I will miss the beach, I will miss the other amazing volunteers I serve with, nonetheless I’ll be needing lots of love from back home and from my awesome fellow volunteers for the next 6 months and I do not doubt on your delivery. Abrazo fuerte.