It has been an embarrassingly long time since I last wrote. 7 months, to be exact. As one may imagine, a lot has happened since then. Here’s the recap:

• On October 16 of last year, I successfully pulled off the biggest event of my Peace Corps service in honor of World Food Day.
• Unable to say goodbye to this country, amongst other reasons, I decided to extend my service for another year as a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader in the regional capital of Huaraz, Ancash.
• I left Pueblo Libre, my town of 2 years, on December 3^rd and moved to the “big” city 2 hours away.
• From mid-December to mid-January, I visited home for the first time in over two years.
• That brings us to today. This week marks two months working on the Health Promotion team at the Palmira Health Center in Huaraz. It’s going to be a busy year.

For those who remember, I spent much of 2025 dedicated to my Peace Corps grant which focused on hands-on nutrition training for both mothers and community health workers. Schlepping a portable cooktop, cookware, gas tank and ingredients across the district over the course of 8 months, the project ultimately reached 22 community health workers, 26 health staff, and over 30 mothers.

The project wrapped up on World Food Day: October 16, 2025. The grant equipped each of the 6 health posts in the district – along with their designated community health workers ­– with their own cooktop, utensils, and food to chef up iron-rich dishes in real time in front of community members, social programs and local authorities. The turnout was better than expected, and the district municipality loved the idea. My heart was full as I watched my students, mothers, and even the mayor pass through the stands wide-eyed at the surprising flavors – from blood wontons dipped in guac to quinoa omelets and liver steak.

At the end of the day, I presented each of the community health workers with a basket of appreciation. Throughout my two years, working alongside them was one of my favorite, most rewarding activities. Spending my Saturday on house visits up the mountain, celebrating National CHW day, participating in their trainings at the health post. They are truly altruistic people that simply want to see their neighbors thrive.

I was recently asked to reflect on the highlight of my 2-year service, which I saw as an impossible question. How could I possibly boil the infinite experiences down to one? But then, it came to me.

As the youngest of five, and the only girl, I have always wanted a little sister. During my time in Peru, I gained a whole village of little sisters, though two in particular: Miriela and Elena. Miriela was part of my host family who lived down the road, and I would visit her at least once a week to prep for her English class, or hang out during family lunch on the weekends. Elena was actually the first kid I met. It was my first day in town in November 2023, and I showed up at a school BINGO event where I didn’t know anyone. I sat next to a little girl who kept side-eyeing me and giggling. She eventually worked up the courage to ask who I was, I taught her how to play BINGO, and the rest is history.

I found myself seeking out both Miriela and Elena at community events. They were my safe haven, my family, my friends – especially when I felt like the odd one out. It’s funny to say, but these little 7- and 9 year-olds did more for me than they’ll ever know. I cannot wait to see them grow up, and if I’m lucky, I’ll even get an invite to their quinceñeras one day.

As for leaving those girls, and the rest of their beautiful town, it was a blubber fest. I am terrible at goodbyes, I always have been. The sentimentality, nostalgia, and reminiscence of it all makes me tear up every time. Leaving Pueblo Libre was absolutely no exception. I cried in front of my host family (more than once), as well as in front of the entire health post when they threw me a goodbye party. Imagine me, blubbering in Spanish, in front of 25+ people. There were watery eyes in the crowd as well, so I wasn’t the only one.

Before I left for Peru in 2023, my dad said to me, “I already know you are going to extend your Peace Corps service.” At the time, I laughed, though boy does he know me. A few months before my Close of Service ceremony in October last year, I applied to be a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader in the Ancash regional capital, and I got it. Since Peace Corps staff live and work in Lima, 10 hours away, PCVLs help facilitate site identification and preparation for incoming volunteers, while also being the immediate point person for volunteers in need (evacuation, change of host family, sickness, etc.).

Leading up to the start of the Peruvian school year on March 16, our team spent weeks coordinating and carrying-out trainings for teachers and parents in emotional well-being, oral health, vision health, nutrition, first aid, and more. Over the course of two weeks, we intervened in 8 schools (pre- through 12) reaching more than 270 teachers and nearly 400 parents. Our trainings will continue throughout the school year to include sexual and reproductive health, physical activity, and TB, HIV, and cancer prevention.

In addition to teacher and parent trainings, I’ve helped carry out various nutrition sessions alongside the health center’s nutritionist, as well as Community Health Worker trainings covering nutrition, healthy pregnancies, hand washing, and more. And, most recently, a session for “Madres Guías” or “Mother Guides” – essentially a small team of experienced mothers who guide new mothers in proper breastfeeding and the gradual incorporation of food between 6 and 23 months.

On December 18th, I found myself back in Harrisonburg, Virginia for the first time since September 2023. As I pulled up to the house, I had an overwhelming feeling that I had been there only last week. It was the oddest feeling; it meant that Harrisonburg truly is home, into the deepest part of my bones. Apart from a weekend with Duncan and Danielle in Arlington, and visiting best friends for a weekend in Floyd, Virginia, and a 4-day bender in Philadelphia, I spent every minute in Harrisonburg. After two weeks home, I knew what my next step in life would be. Come 2027, I’m ready for a career back in the U.S. Running from Arlington to Georgetown, speaking Spanish at the Mexican market and bank in Harrisonburg, it made me realize all of the love I have not only for the States, but for Virginia.

I didn’t realize how essential my trip back home would be. I knew I missed it, though it directed my next year in a way I didn’t know I needed. While I am so excited for this next year in Huaraz, it feels good knowing what I want to come next.