I decided to change things up for the holidays! Miss all of you. Wishing everyone a
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a
HAPPY NEW YEAR :)
Merry Christmas to ALL :) Hope you enjoy another Kelsey and Brielle production.
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice
cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came
without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought
of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from
a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?
I have been in Perú now for 6 months and I have learned many new things. I haven't updated this post since Thanksgiving and my Early In Service Training. I figured that my very passionate followers (Grandma and parents) have wanted to see a new post. Things are slowing down in site with school ending, Navidad and Ano Nuevo coming around the corner. Most people in my town leave for the summer months (January and February), but me and my site neighbors (Kyle and Kelsey with special appearances from Lucas) will be starting a "Gringos Útiles" during Vacaciones Útiles, for the youth of the town that aren't leaving. With the words stolen from Kyle's blog the program will be "to hopefully offer the youth a place to come and hang out that's safe, fun and educational and giving them a chance to utilize our vast wealth of gringo knowledge."
So, since I have time on my hands (besides having to fill out an extensive report for Peace Corps on my service thus far) I will give you a little idea of 6 things I've learned since I've been in Perú in honor of making it here for 6 months.
Here we go.
1. "I've been sittin' waitin' wishin'...." Jack Johnson you couldn't have put it better. I've learned that there is always going to be a LOT of sitting and waiting. I noticed that I spend my time sitting and waiting for meetings, tallers (workshops), collectivos out of Tamarindo, busses, collectivos back to Tamarindo, and getting new bank cards. I was a very impatient person when I first got here, and I still have a lot of room to grow when it comes to patience, but I've learned to appreciate the times that I spend sitting around and waiting. I often now take a book or something productive to do as I wait for something to start an hour and half late. I also have come to really enjoy the rides from my site to to Piura city. The ride is actually pretty beautiful and on a good day, when I'm not crammed next to a smelly old man, I can take it all in. When I first got to site even the security guards noticed I was aggravated when things wouldn't happen on time. They would give me the international hand sign of "patience Brielle, we do things differently here."At first this would make me even more mad, but now, I find myself doing that to other people.
2. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish. This is a part of Perú that I will never learn enough about before I leave. I have started to realize that I'm understanding more and more of what people are saying to me. There are moments where I'm still completely lost, but I've gotten a lot better. It hit me the other day when I was getting off a bus and an American came up to me and asked me a question. I answered her questions and watched her walk off into the swarm of men yelling "TAXI" "MOTO" at her, and could hear her struggling with her Spanish. The last thing I heard was her getting ripped off on the price of her ride, and realized that-that was me merely 6 months ago. Oh how much I've grown.
3. SOMEONE PUT SOME TUNES ON! The constant stream of music in this town used to really bother me, but now I find myself sitting in a collectivo or on a bus and I'm wondering why no one is pulling out their cellphones to bust out some tunes. Where the heck is my Daddy Yankee?! It is something I know I'm going to miss about Perú. My friend Kelsey and I were walking down the street the other day and some great reggaeton song just started blasting out of nowhere. We caught ourselves dancing our booties off like "weird gringas" in front of EVERYONE. I've learned that we're already abnormal to most of these people here and most of the time they are laughing when I'm busting out "normal" dance moves... why not have some fun with it and be weird?
4. A support system is the best thing you can have as Peace Corps volunteers. Before I had left for the States I had asked people how they felt about Peace Corps and some people responded by saying they felt really alone. I can understand how they felt that way. As I've said in posts before this, moving to site was QUITE the adjustment. During training you form many friendships and you are constantly around people speaking your language, and then you find yourself in site with little to no communication (THANK GOD FOR RPM CALLING FREE FROM VOLUNTEER TO VOLUNTEER) with other gringos. I got really lucky here in Piura, not only are my group of Peru 17ers that are here... amazing, but the people from other groups are amazing as well. My BIGGEST piece of advice for new volunteers is to find people you can count on in a moments notice because I've found myself in situations where I needed help or maybe just someone to talk to. Having someone, in country, doing exactly what you do, that understands... is a great thing to have.
5. Everything SMELLS. I mean everything. I'm still not completely used to the smells of burning trash that welcomes to me home to the campo of Tamarindo. Then there is the smell of stagnant water. The smell of the farm animals out back. But then there are the good smells... like a fresh mango just cut open or churros being sold on a street corner. Perú, you have so many different scents.
6. I will always miss home, but, I got some great advice from my mother that I would like to post here. "When you get homesick you have a tendency to make home out to be way more than it is... think about that. We miss you and would like to see you, just don't make home out to be this great thing you are missing out on. Remember it ain't all that." You couldn't be more RIGHT mom. I am here for 2 years and then I get to go back HOME. I forget that the months I spent waiting to leave for Perú.... I couldn't wait to leave home. I have the coolest job out of most people back home (sorry friends, but its true). Ok... so having a non-working bathroom for a week and not having constant water can be really aggravating... but I also get to see some of the coolest things and experience a culture that most people will NEVER get to experience... and get PAID for it.
Because I haven't had the greatest internet I wasn't able to post all the videos from my Chachapoyas trip. Well folks, here you go... some more little clips of my very awesome vacation.
This is my dear Philip Moses (also known as Uncle Pip) doing a great introduction of himself... in his really amazing Spanish.
Our out on control tour guide that didn't let us ask questions because she was too busy running up the hill.
Gocta Waterfall where we all jumped in!
"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." - George Washington Carver
The ban has been lifted and Perú 17 is allowed to start taking VACATIONS! The first vacation time to roll around for us was Thanksgiving. A group of us decided to go to a place called Chachapoyas for a few days. The capital region of Chachapoyas is the Amazonas. Chachapoyas is considered "the eyebrow"of the jungle.
The group of us took an overnight bus from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas- about 8 hours. It wasn't the greatest ride because there were a ton of swerves. We barely got ANY sleep. We got into Chachapoyas around 6am and decided to grab some breakfast and head out on a tour to Kuelap. Kuelap is like a mini Macchu Picchu. Itis an ancient fortress-city from the Chachapoya people, which is an Inca word that means "Warriors of the Clouds." This fortress was built pre-Inca domination, and was eventually taken over and abandoned by the Incas. It was massive, containing a multi-tiered city inside, complete with water management, burial grounds, and defense mechanisms.
(All the pictures on this blog were taken by Lucas with his awesome camera)
Kuelap
The Chachapoyas Group :)
I also took some small videos of us at Kuelap:
The next day the group of us took a tour to Gocta, the third largest waterfall in the world. We took a van up to the small town of Maria where we began our 2 1/2 hour hike. We had a tiny little tour guide that basically ran up the mountain the whole time while some of us (not me of course) were huffing and puffing up the mountain. It was amazing to hike through some jungly looking areas- the pictures we took of the views will NEVER compare to what it actually looked like. The waterfall is made up of 2 separate falls, which you can see in the photos below, so we went to two "look-out points". We were able to jump into the water below the water fall. It was amazing. The water was SO COLD and pretty dark, but since we had all just done a pretty ridiculous hike to go all the way up there we had to jump in. It is a moment I will never, ever forget. We celebrated Thanksgiving all together at a small pizza place right off the plaza in Chachapoyas. It was a bitter sweet Thanksgiving. I had a great time experiencing this amazing places, but I missed my family back home.
But here are some AMAZING pictures of Gocta!
The ride up to the town.
What we hiked through :)
Gocta!
Where we all jumped in
Peace Corps Volunteers do Gocta!
The few days in Gocta seemed to go fast and it was time for Peru 17 Youth Development's Early IST (In Service Training). It was a week of presenting our communtiy diagnostics and going over what projects to start in site and what to do during the summer months. The school year is wrapping up here and Peru and will not start again til the first week of March. This means us Youth Development volunteers are going to have to start getting creative during the summer months. The week fell on World Aids Day on December 1st and for our practicum we were split into 3 groups and had to do skits for a ton of people in the Olmos, Lambayeque plaza.
A great photo of Kyle and I practicing our ABC's of prevention. Our skit was about-"A" for Abstinence. Abstinence all the way baby. QUE RICA! :)
It was a great week reuniting with everyone and hearing about everyone's sad. The week went quickly and it was time to return back to sites. Once I returned back to Piura I noticed how much HOTTER it has gotten. I'm nervous for summer to start here.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving back home. Christmas is quickly approaching and I plan on staying in site with my host family. It will be interesting to see how my family celebrates this . I miss everyone back home! "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you ever can." - John Wesley
Until Next time, BRIELLE
November 13, 2011
These past couple of weeks have been a little crazy with traveling. I was in Lima for a week then headed into the capital city of Piura for my regional meeting. I've been a little behind on blogging and I just wanted to say sorry to all my faithful readers (mom, dad and grandparents).
First off- I want to post a video that I came across today. I'm truly sickened by the events that have happened at Penn State. I am still full of Penn State pride, but I can't say I'm not completely saddened by what has happened. My prayers and thoughts go out to the victims. I'm still a Nittany Lion and I still bleed blue and white. A few man do not make up Penn State- we are so much more than that.
We are STILL Penn State.
I have fallen in love with Lima. I wasn't a big fan of it during training because the city was always sunless and cold, but this week it was full of sun and I was able to experience different places in Lima.
The coolest part of my trip to Lima was going back to visit my old host family! I went up to visit my old training center and got to be a part of site assignment day for the new group of Peace Corps volunteers, Peru 18. Most of the group already had an idea of where they were going so it was not as exciting as the day that Peru 17 got our site assignments. During lunch I walked down the street to see my old family.
Guess what? I have a namesake in Perú. My host mother has named her new beautiful baby girl Brielle Ann Azana Colonia (in Perú they have two last names, the mother and the fathers). She had a full head of black hair and is so very chubby(just like me when I was born). I thought she was kidding, but she told me they wouldn't put a name on the birth certificate until they knew how to spell my middle name. Bryanna has gotten so big since I've left. Instead of talking in just cut up phrases she is actually able to carry on a conversation now. I'm also convinced she is going to be fluent in English by the time she's 10. Carmen, my host mom, was so happy that I came back to visit. I don't think she believed me when I said I would come back. I will forever be grateful to the Colonia family for taking me in and treating me like a daughter. It helped make my transition into Perú that much easier.
At the end of the week I was able to actually go into the United States Embassy in Lima for an artesan fair. The building really makes a statement in Perú. I'm super proud of the Small Business group of Peru 17- I know that pulling together artesans and everything else wasn't easy, but the fair really was awesome and I was really impressed by most of the artesan's work.
The US Embassy in Lima, Peru
In about two weeks I have Early In Service Training. I will be reunited with my favorite group of Youth Volunteers in Lambayeque. This is where we will all present our community diagnostics and get a little bit more training in before we dive head first into our projects. I have an another night English class coming up this week. I've actually been getting a ton of phone calls asking when it is- so I'm assuming I'm going to have a full house which is pretty exciting. I've been busy doing surveys and interviews and attending tallers. I just recently helped Pierina give a bullying charla to the directors and some teachers in the schools.
I have pictures I need to upload, but that will have its own post. :)
Also, THE NEW LOGO for THON was revealed today! THON is less than 100 days away! I'm 5 months in Perú already... TIME. IS. FLYING.
Brighten Every Journey, THON 2012
"Just know we’re not naive. We’re not immune. We hurt for the victims. We are angry at the those who have failed them and, by default, us. But we won’t let them dictate where we go from here. We Are…" - Penn State Alum
Halloween is coming and I was really aggravated that I didn't have a copy of "Hocus Pocus" on my hard drive to watch, but because I have great friends... I woke up one morning to a an email from the great Amanda Cuppi saying that a copy was now available for me in ITUNES. Thank-you for trying to help cure my holiday homesickness :)
So, I had my night English class that ended up turning into just another English class for the kids in my town. At first I was a little upset that people who told me they were going to come didn't, but it ended up being a really great first class and everyone was participating. I think the night time more laid back setting of the classroom made teaching a little easier.
I have a lot on the docket at the end of this week. I'm planning and doing charlas with Pierina in the primaria and I have meetings set up with the health post ladies to get my community diagnostic in full force.
Fun Story and Some History from the Weekend
I was walking back to my house after being gone for the day to find my host family outside (all 100 of them) decorating the outside of my house in white and purple streamers, balloons, fireworks and flags. Other houses on the street were also doing this, but obviously Juana's house was the best. I really had no clue what was going on until I asked my host brother. He told me there was going to be a procession tonight (shocker) for St. Milagros. Every week there would be a procession down a different street. Our street was the first to have the procession.
Now, for those of you who don't know... St. Milagros is Lima's patron saint. El Senor de los Milagros or ' The Lord of Miracle' is symbolized by an image of Jesus Christ and was painted by an Angolan slave on the walls of a poor church during the colonial times. The painting portrays a dark skinned Jesus Christ on the crucifix. Above the cross is God and the Holy Spirit; below is the Virgin Mary with her heart punctured with a spear of sadness. The image was HIGHLY controversial at the time
The painting
Over a hundred years there were 3 natural disasters in Lima. The earthquake of 1746 was the last one where the church wall and the painting remained and stood miraculously amidst the rubble. News that the wall had survived made others quickly gather to partake in a procession.
Entonces, October is the "purple month" and marks the celebration of El Senor de los Milagros.
Example of a procession in Lima. Tamarindo's wasn't quite as large.
I wasn't able to upload the pictures of the procession and my house in Tamarindo, but I promise the next blog post will be ALL pictures. I was able to sit on my front porch with my whole family in Tamarindo and watch the procession pass my house (that contained a full band). My host brother set the fireworks off and the balloons that were hanging were timed to pop and pour confetti on everyone. I was pretty amazed and found myself once again thinking.... only in Perú.
I have some people to thank for CARE PACKAGES I just recieved: big thanks to Casey, Amanda, Mark and Claire. Always love walking to SERPOST and finding out I have some gifts from home.
I thought this quote was appropriate because 90 percent of my time in Perú is spent waiting.
"It is not easy … to wait. Waiting is what the hunter does, and the poet and the slugger. He waits for the moment of inevitability and fate and then he swings, or shoots, or takes up the pen to put down a line. They don’t teach us to wait in America; they teach us to grab. But waiting is what we do when we are looking for something beautiful, when we are looking for an end to our sorrow. Nothing is infinite in life, not even sorrow. You just have to wait." -Cary Tennis
I’ve come
to the conclusion that if I don’t blog almost daily I am most certainly going
to receive a phone call or Facebook message or email or telegram from Teri-Lee
(better known as Mom) demanding an update.
I want
everyone to know that it can get difficult to blog because sometimes you feel
like what your doing is either
A. too
boring to write about
B. life
is becoming normal and the things that were once really weird aren’t anymore.
C. it’s
hard to put into words what is even going on
However;
despite all of these things. I’ve decided to update.
This blog
post is being written for a very dedicated reader: my very blunt and fantastic
grandmother: this one is for you Grandma Jinny. She has recently told me that
she could almost recite all of my blog posts back to me. It’s nice to know that
someone out there in the blogosphere is taking the time out of his or her day
to read my ramblings. So Grams, this one is for you. I miss our weekly lunches
at LuLu’s and can’t wait to start them up again in 2013.
Grandma Jinny and I at my graduation from Penn State
So a
little update on my life here in Sandy Tammy (my new nickname for my site). The
first three months are meant to get to know your community so that at the end
of it you can write up a Community Diagnostic. So, as of late, I’ve been trying
to get some of that done. This means making up surveys, doing interviews and
other things to get useful information.
I
attended a 5 hour meeting type thing about “Education Problems in Tamarindo” a
few day ago and I thought I was going to be BORED OUT OF MY MIND, but I was
pleasantly surprised.
First off, I need to point out the
meeting was suppose to start at 8am, I looked at my clock when the meeting
really started… 9:37am. Oh how I love LA HORA PERUANA. Punctuality is a huge
issue in Perú and can often be really, really frustrating for volunteers.
But back
to the meeting: I was able to get some really useful information on what is
lacking in the education system from the view points of students, directors and
other leaders in the community. I left the 5 hour meeting knowing that I was
moving along with my community diagnostic that I have to present to my group of
peers and Peace Corps staff in Lambayeque in a few weeks.
I’ve been
suffering, as most of you know, with a weird stomach disease that I now know
the name for: GIARDIA. It’s a wonderful little parasite that will hopefully be
cured as soon as I take the prescribed medication. I’m glad that all finally
got cleared up because it was really starting to affect my daily schedule.
I’ve had
a really good morning so far. I had a meeting with my favorite socia Pierina
and we have TONS of charlas and different events in the works for the rest of
October and November. Things are starting to get rolling and I’m really
starting to enjoy my Peruvian friends here in Tamarindo.
Today is
my first English class (has been postponed for multiple reasons) for the people
in the Municipality and adults in my town. I’m really excited to do this
because I know that it will help me build confianza with members in the community
that will later be able to help me with projects. I will hopefully have a lot
to write about this class- because I plan on making it super freakin’ fun.
There is close to 40 people coming. The chances that my class actually starts
at 7pm is really slim.
It’s just
another day in the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer. I woke up this morning to
my host brother blasting (by blasting I mean you guys could probably hear it in
States) “Bad Romance.” Just so happens I love that song & my favorite
coverband, Go Go Gadjet (www.gogogadjet.com)does a wonderful version of it. It is also Jeff Tomrell’s
birthday so today he gets a shout out (Happy Birthday, Keep ROCKIN’ on!)
I write
this post as I’m sitting on my front porch lookin’ out at the live cattle
passing in front of me on my dirt road. Despite the challenges- I really do have the coolest
job in the world.
I leave
you with a quote from a book by
Nicholas Sparks. I just finished his new book “The Best of Me.” Good, light
read.
I have faith that God will show you the answer.
But you have to understand that sometimes it takes a while to be able to
recognize what God wants you to do. That's how it often is. God's voice is
usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to
hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and
rings as loud as a church bell.-The
Last Song
I decided to start this blog post of with a post from my favorite movie of ALL TIME. There's no crying in baseball. There's no crying in Peace Corps (ok, maybe a little). ;)
So, in celebration of making four months (and all the rest of Perú 17 as well, which is HUGE), I would like to talk about the 4 things in Peace Corps Perú that I have enjoyed and love the most. It was hard to narrow down this list and currently hanging in my room in a running list of the things I love, I've got a little over 50 at this point.
1. My Peace Corps Family: This includes all of Perú 17 (Youth and Small Business), the rest of the groups of Peace Corps Volunteers (Perú 15 in Piura , I will most likely cry at your despedida), and staff (PCMO's are a GOD SEND). It's really cliché to say this... but most of these people have become like family to me in the very little time we've been here. When social norms, like keeping your bowel movements to yourself, are thrown at the window... it is quite hard not to get close really quickly. Also, it helps to talk to people who understand what is going on because they themselves are going through the same stuff. I got super lucky being placed close to other volunteers at site (shout-outs to Kelsey, Kyle and Lucas) and have been able to get to know people from all over the United States. So, this is a special thank-you, to my Peace Corps family... this experience would be so much harder without ya'll!
2. My family and friends back home: How can this be a reason I love Peace Corps Perú? Well, because without them I'd probably have already bought my first plane ticket home. I can't remember the countless times I talked to my parents my first week at site and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I chose to do this. Thankfully, I have a wonderful set of parents who know what I really want, when I'm whining about something else. Also, my friends. You don't realize how great your friend are most of the time until you move 3,000 miles away: especially the ones that take the time to write stupid emails (that would be a normal text conversation back home. Amanda Cuppi, you win this one) to keep me in the loop, the ones that send me goofy care packages just to make me laugh (Jack Davis), and the ones that make countdowns for your return (Aaron Cebular, this ones for you). So, thank-you, family and friends for making this journey in my life so much more enjoyable and for thinking of me constantly.
3. Time to do things I've always wanted to do and most importantly... time to think. When I was living in the United States I often felt like I had no time. That's the wonderful thing about Perú the time flies... but it also stands very still sometimes. I've been known to make hasty decisions and leave "wakes" in my paths as most people say... so this experience has given the opportunity to take the time to see everything from all ends: whether it be about the present or my future.
4. Host Families. The smartest thing Peace Corps Perú ever did was make it a rule that volunteers live with a host family throughout their entire service because this is NOT the case in other posts. Host families are not only crucial to integration... they make the whole experience that much more amazing. Juana has recently been calling me daughter when she addresses me, and the first time she did it I was stunned. Juana spent most of my 4 months here only calling me Aná, but the other night, as I spent the day suffering with this uncurable stomach snake... I heard her ask me if I needed anything and she added daughter at the end of it. I have transitioned from crazy white girl who pays rent to part of the family & that those of you in Peace Corps know that it's an amazing feeling. I got lucky to be a part of a family in Lima and I look forward to being "Juana's gringa daughter" for the next two years.
Happy 4 months, Perú 17 (especially my Youthies... can't wait to see ya'll at Early IST)
Hope you're all still snackin' See you soon :)
Yo, Kyle and Kelsey: My youthie site neighbors, who I adore.
Lucas and I
Because I'm missing Grey's Anatomy this season... I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the show.
"You
never know the biggest day of your life is going to be the biggest. The days
you think are going to be big ones, are never as big as you make them out to be
in your head. It’s the regular days, the ones that start out normal those are
the days that end up being the biggest. You never know today is the biggest day
of your life. You don’t recognize the biggest day of your life until you are
right in the middle of it. The day you commit to somebody, someone. The day you
get your heart broken. The day you meet your soul mate. The day you realize…
there’s not enough time because you want to live forever. Those are the biggest
days, the perfect days." -Grey's Anatomy
Despite my English classes being canceled for no apparent reason and despite the heat being almost unbearable, I’ve had a good day.
One of the reasons being that my future husband, Scotty McCreery, has released a new C.D. (Thanks to Poppa Colby I’m currently uploading his new album into my ITUNES). For those of you who are unfamiliar with my favorite underage country crooner… here is a little sample with his single “Trouble with Girls” from his NEW C.D. “Clear as Day”.
The second reason would be that I have the greatest family
(I can hear my dad’s sarcastic remark as he reads this. No DAD, I’m not looking
for money haha ).
It’s no secret that the adjustment to site has not been easy for multiple
reasons, but I’ve had nothing but unwavering support, advice and love from back
home. This includes the moments where I call to yell about my aggravation in my
site to silly petty issues going on back in the States (yes, there are times my
problems don’t just exist in Perú). I received multiple boxes of snack foods
(to avoid Juana’s rice, sorry Juana) and clothes to help get me through what is
going to be a pretty HOT summer. So, if I don’t say it enough Mom and Dad,
THANK YOU! Not just for your awesome care packages… but for everything in between
and most of all: your unconditional love.
The third reason: one of my favorite people in Tamarindo is
working in the municipality today. This is where the point of my post begins.
David. I met him during site visit, and his exterior (quite
large and sometimes scary looking) threw me off a little. David was the man who
drove the mayor’s truck around (and me during site visits) and many times I was
left alone in the car with him as my mayor ran errands, and the first time this
happened I prayed David wouldn’t talk to me. But for anyone that knows David
knows that there really is no avoiding this large Peruvian. He really can talk
your ear off. I learned his life story in no time.
He was a man,
with a wife and 3 kids (and one on the way), that once lived in Mancora (a
touristy beach town about 3 hours away) working for “gringos like you Aná.” He
told me he worked around the house and cleaned their pool and was treated very
much like family for 5 years. He cried when they decided to go back to the
States and keeps in touch with them as frequently as he can. He later moved to
Tamarindo because it was more slow paced and he needed to find another job to
support his family.
David and I in Patia during site visits
I never understood during that week why David insisted on
screaming slowly in my face when speaking Spanish, but he later told me that he
did that to help me learn. I watched David almost start crying when he thought
he lost my wallet during site visits, and later when we traveled he carried all
my personal belongings to prevent a scare like that from happening again.
“Crazy Aná, you are so forgetful.” (Me? I always remember to take my credit
cards out of the ATM)
Before I left
to go back to Lima, he pulled out an old medal of a saint from his pocket and
said “I will no longer be driving you around in the car, but please take this
as you travel. It will keep you safe. My faith is very important to me. Please
keep don’t lose this.” I do have to say, I was touched.
When I came back to site David had a new job: security guard
in the municipality twice a week. I often find my way to the municipality, but
the days that David is there it’s different. The place is much happier, and I
find myself laughing more (Me? Laughing? Crazy).
David and Juan when he was stilling drivin' the whip around.
David was the
first person in Tamarindo that treated me like a normal person rather than the
“token gringita” walking around. I always get greeted with a HUGE bear hug and
a David like smile. After a week in site,I got the privilege to meet his wife (who he is so very proud of and
talks about on a constant basis) and the new baby girl. He constantly asks how
my family is back home and when he will get to meet them (Mom and Dad he’s very
excited to meet you guys).
I’m starting an English class for adults once a week at night
for those who want to learn. It’s a way to get to know the adults and parents
in the community and so far I have about 30 people signed up (including my
MAYOR), but the one person I cannot wait to teach is David. He’s been asking me
for a month straight when he will get to learn English from “Miss Aná.” You
often hear volunteers saying you find “your things” to help you get through the
lows and David is definitely one of them (even my site neighbor Kelsey can
attest to this). His personality is contagious and you can’t help but be in a good
mood when you are around him.
I’m thankful for people like David, he has taught me not to
judge people right away because they might just be a gift from the Big Guy
upstairs. Peace Corps is about helping and teaching others, but more and more
I’m realizing that the experience is helping and teaching me.
So here is to all the David’s in the world. Don’t shut
someone out before you get to know them because you never know how awesome that
person might be. So awesome in fact, that they sit down to take some PhotoBooth
pictures with you.
the man.
He was in awe of PhotoBooth
P.S: As I was typing this post David was screaming in the
municipality, holding the remote control to the T.V. saying“Aná, I think a show you like is on.
Glee? I’ll leave it on for you.” Thank-you, David.I do enjoy Glee.
So, today was a good day even with its’ little bumps. I got
to spend the day with David and finish my day off with a very entertaining
episode of Glee.
"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible. It is yours." -Ayn Rand
