As to be expected, my first few weeks in Peru have been full of firsts, which I thought deserved its own post. As you’ll soon find out, they mostly have to do with water. First, cold showers. The first day I arrived in my host home and said I was headed to shower, my host mom (Isabel) made a “brrr” motion, rubbing the sides of her arms and said something along the lines of “Mucho frio”. On the outside, I…
It seems like with every day, adjusting to this new life goes faster and faster. The other day, I woke up and said something to my host mom in Spanish without even thinking about it, and thought to myself, “Wow, I would not have been able to say that in perfect grammar a week ago.” The Spanish classes here are better than any school-based course I’ve taken in the past. Day 3, my instructor (who only teaches 5 of us,…
Throughout the first week of training, they’ve drilled one thing into our minds: being a Peace Corps Volunteer is more than just working in our respective sectors. Over the last few days, I’ve realized how much I didn’t know about Peace Corps, and truly breaking down its mission and goals has made me even more proud to be a part of it. Essentially, Peace Corps’s main mission is to promote friendship and peace (amistad y paz) around the world. Next,…
It’s been 5 days since I arrived in Peru. The climate is exactly what Kim, my mother, would die for. Cool, dry, and not even the slightest chance of humidity. My first few days were insanely foggy, though. That seems to be a norm for this time of year. By day 4, the skies were completely clear and I can see the mountains that surround us on all sides. The mountains here are nothing like the Blue Ridge. They’re tall,…
I’ve heard about the Peace Corps for the entirety of my 23 year old life. My dad served in Mauritania from 1987-89, and I grew up hearing the stories of the life-long connections he made in Garly, his host village, the life-long friendships he made with fellow PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers), and the epic stories of adventuring, learning a new language, and simply doing something that felt a bit greater than yourself. It was the summer of 2017 when I…