like WOAH.
One year ago, three hundred and sixty five days prior to today, I flew from the history enriched soils of Washington D.C. (or wherever the airport is around there) and landed in the culturally steeped lands of Peru.
HOLY CRAP. That is mad cray cray.
I have a little over a year left of my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer and there are still a JABILLION things I want to do in my site!! I'll be talking to another volunteer to discuss how to bring hydroponic gardening to my lovely little town, I'm hoping to convert this weird empty space in the comedor poluar into a garden with my youth, I'm still teaching english but I kind of want to stop that now cause it's boring as ffffffffffuuuuuuuuuzzballs, I want my grant to go through so I can start pushing my women's nutrition group to start moving, and I need to go yell at my socia some more to get this youth health promoters group up and running cause I want that shiz going NOW. I also just met an english teacher at one of the schools and I'm helping her translate some documents (by documents, I mean research papers that are super interesting but I can understand why she'd get tripped up by the technical language) but she's also expressed interest in incorporating nutritional charlas into her classes so I'm going to be working with her on a curriculum and hopefully I can help her with some teaching practices that expand outside of the usual "copy and paste" method that teachers have going on. Speaking of english teachers, I'm hoping that in 2 or 3 months, I'll be working on a provincial wide english 2 day workshop for teachers to reinforce grammar and pronunciation, as well as teach more dynamic methods of teaching.
Lots of plans, we'll see how they go!
But for one year in service, I'm really happy with what I have done so far! I've made so many connections and I've learned to give up on a few things, like trying to convert my jail into a youth center... that's just not a one person movement but at least I'm working with a man to try and get a youth council in the municipality! Hopefully that gets up and running by the end of this year, and we get some provincial wide youth activities and what nots going.
On top of work, there are even more things that are hardcore FUN.
Liiiiike, I'm still running the half marathon in a month's time (I laughed at myself, a little, when I said 'run'.... more like dance and walk my way across that finish line. Yea, I'm not gonna win and I'm not taking any of this that seriously, but who cares? I'll live the rest of my life knowing I at least completed a half!), I'm going to be rafting down the Amazon River in 3 months time (in Iquitos, where I will also hopefully spot a pink dolphin and do some pirrhana fishing), I'm hoping to traverse through Ecuador sometime around Christmas, and my beautiful friend from back home should hopefully be visiting me next year so we can run around Cuzco and have a mini dance party in Machu Picchu after hiking some of that Incan trail :D
Man.
I love my life.
Seriously. These have got to be some of the greatest years of my life EVER and I'm only 24! Can you imagine what the rest of my life is going to be like?
SO PUMPED FOR MY FUTURE.
AWWWWMAAAAAAAAAAAAN! LIFE IS AWESOME.
Here's to hoping your lives are going as fantastically as my own, and if not? You hold all the power to go ahead and change it, cause life should be a party and you should be loving it. If the party's starting to feel a little stale, get out of there and go get yourself to the next party! I'm already there, dancing on a table top and screaming for another rouuund for the whooooole bar!!
PEACE AND LOVE, ladies and gents, and may the odds be EVER in your favor <3 <3 <3
Friday, June 8, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
day 354: long time, no update like woah
For serious y'all.
Sup.
Sorry about that- It's been nearly a month since my last update, but it's sort of been a cray cray kind of few days. Not like I've been doing much, mind, but just things have been happening!
So, I didn't get the VAC position and losing makes me rather cross, but I did get to go to PSN training where I found out that they actually decided PSN members are not allowed to hold other positions so in reality, things turned out for the best there. (Note: As I wrote that sentence, I just took my shirt off because holy moly christ on a cracker, it's getting weirdly warm again. Weird cause the mornings are much cooler and clouded over, which makes for glorious morning runs but I'll talk about that in a bit).
PSN training was pretty much fanfreakintastic. First and foremost, I got to go to Lima for training and hang out with some of the most amazing people to exist ever. Secondly, PSN (Peer Support Network for those out of the loop) is an organization that exists in maybe 50% of all Peace Corps countries. The idea is to offer a peer to peer support network for volunteers through various means, but it's something that didn't really work in Peru. Our training was a combination of legit training-training (counselor stuff and what not) and recreating the bylaws, basically razing down the old and building up the new. I'm super pumped about the new PSN members and our new goals- they're not this froo froo "love yourself" hippie nonsense that remains on this idealistic intangible plane, but concrete and hands on that require PSN representatives who are actually willing to put in effort and time and energy in this work.
Pumped.
Plus, I got voted as Orientation Leader (lost the position of Coordinator and yea, bitter about that because I seriously HATE losing, but the volunteer who got it was suited way better for the position than I and I am totally going to rock as an O.L.)
On top of that, we just had camp ALMA - an all girls camp focused on leadership and future goal planning for girls who come from sites all over my department. Each volunteer brings a few girls and we spent 3 days visiting universities, getting charlas on women's health, vocational planning, team building, doing arts and crafts, playing fun games, and all in all having a blast. It turned out really great and the girls I brought are still talking about it! Coming up is the all boy's camp VALOR and another volunteer and I have volunteered to spearhead this project. I'm super pumped, even though I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, but if it's anything like the girls camp, it's going to be a blast!
This weekend is our regional meeting to discuss camp VALOR things and I'm trying to get a few things done before then. This weekend actually also marks my 1 year in Peru! Not in site, but the day I flew from Washington D.C. to Peru to start my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The other volunteers in my 17er group and I are going to get together this weekend to celebrate but wow... I can't believe I've been in Peru for a year now.
Insanity.
I'm going to hit the beaches of Mancora in 2 weeks time, up in Piura, just cause I've never been and a few people I know are planning to go. Mancora is infamous. For everything. It's going to be a really great weekend. I don't plan on getting sue crazy but it'll be fun to see some Piura volunteers who happen to be in then! Plus Mancora is beautiful from what I hear.
Whaaat elssssssse... Oh! Running!
So I'm not doing too great. The half marathon is coming up in about a month and I'm still nowhere near able to run 13.1 miles. I still can't figure out how many miles I'm running now, but it's definitely less than 6... I also got really sick when I left Lima and hacking up my insides while running next to giant semis carrying wtf and giant buses definitely going over 90km/h to pass said semis.... I find myself severely demotivated.
On the plus side, I've finished books 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones and am diving right into book 3, even though I'm still stuck on Season 2, episode 6 of the show. Gotta finish that show.
Or rather, I gotta get to work. Some of my projects haven't started yet and they make me want to scream bloody murder at my socios while I chuck things at the wall. But I am a civilized lady and will not do that.
Anywho, gotta get myself motivated and moving forward.
Always forward.
Love and Peace <3
Sup.
Sorry about that- It's been nearly a month since my last update, but it's sort of been a cray cray kind of few days. Not like I've been doing much, mind, but just things have been happening!
So, I didn't get the VAC position and losing makes me rather cross, but I did get to go to PSN training where I found out that they actually decided PSN members are not allowed to hold other positions so in reality, things turned out for the best there. (Note: As I wrote that sentence, I just took my shirt off because holy moly christ on a cracker, it's getting weirdly warm again. Weird cause the mornings are much cooler and clouded over, which makes for glorious morning runs but I'll talk about that in a bit).
PSN training was pretty much fanfreakintastic. First and foremost, I got to go to Lima for training and hang out with some of the most amazing people to exist ever. Secondly, PSN (Peer Support Network for those out of the loop) is an organization that exists in maybe 50% of all Peace Corps countries. The idea is to offer a peer to peer support network for volunteers through various means, but it's something that didn't really work in Peru. Our training was a combination of legit training-training (counselor stuff and what not) and recreating the bylaws, basically razing down the old and building up the new. I'm super pumped about the new PSN members and our new goals- they're not this froo froo "love yourself" hippie nonsense that remains on this idealistic intangible plane, but concrete and hands on that require PSN representatives who are actually willing to put in effort and time and energy in this work.
Pumped.
Plus, I got voted as Orientation Leader (lost the position of Coordinator and yea, bitter about that because I seriously HATE losing, but the volunteer who got it was suited way better for the position than I and I am totally going to rock as an O.L.)
On top of that, we just had camp ALMA - an all girls camp focused on leadership and future goal planning for girls who come from sites all over my department. Each volunteer brings a few girls and we spent 3 days visiting universities, getting charlas on women's health, vocational planning, team building, doing arts and crafts, playing fun games, and all in all having a blast. It turned out really great and the girls I brought are still talking about it! Coming up is the all boy's camp VALOR and another volunteer and I have volunteered to spearhead this project. I'm super pumped, even though I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, but if it's anything like the girls camp, it's going to be a blast!
This weekend is our regional meeting to discuss camp VALOR things and I'm trying to get a few things done before then. This weekend actually also marks my 1 year in Peru! Not in site, but the day I flew from Washington D.C. to Peru to start my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The other volunteers in my 17er group and I are going to get together this weekend to celebrate but wow... I can't believe I've been in Peru for a year now.
Insanity.
I'm going to hit the beaches of Mancora in 2 weeks time, up in Piura, just cause I've never been and a few people I know are planning to go. Mancora is infamous. For everything. It's going to be a really great weekend. I don't plan on getting sue crazy but it'll be fun to see some Piura volunteers who happen to be in then! Plus Mancora is beautiful from what I hear.
Whaaat elssssssse... Oh! Running!
So I'm not doing too great. The half marathon is coming up in about a month and I'm still nowhere near able to run 13.1 miles. I still can't figure out how many miles I'm running now, but it's definitely less than 6... I also got really sick when I left Lima and hacking up my insides while running next to giant semis carrying wtf and giant buses definitely going over 90km/h to pass said semis.... I find myself severely demotivated.
On the plus side, I've finished books 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones and am diving right into book 3, even though I'm still stuck on Season 2, episode 6 of the show. Gotta finish that show.
Or rather, I gotta get to work. Some of my projects haven't started yet and they make me want to scream bloody murder at my socios while I chuck things at the wall. But I am a civilized lady and will not do that.
Anywho, gotta get myself motivated and moving forward.
Always forward.
Love and Peace <3
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