"Wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure."

I have a lot of time on my hands during the day. Yes, I spend my time teaching English classes, conocering Tamarindo and hanging out with Juana... but I didn't realize how many hours were in a day until I joined the Peace Corps. There are a lot of hours. So, with my idle time... when I'm not watching Dawson's Creek... I read on my Kindle (Thanks DAD for this purchase. It may have been the most important and useful device I brought to Perú). Now, for those of you who know me, know I'm like a cat lady when it comes to books. I enjoy reading and when I find a book I really love... I can't put it down. I recently read a book that made my jaw drop 2 pages in... I felt like it was written just for me.  And the book is....

The Alchemist. Thank you, Paulo Coelho for delivering a masterpiece. The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has a dream and the courage to follow it. As most of you know, Peace Corps has been a dream of mine since high school. However, there were many moments during the process of applying for the Peace Corps that I wavered back and forth. Maybe I should take a job in the States and get my career started? I'd be leaving behind family and friends for a long time. Maybe this isn't the best decision for my future? I was filled with the typical "maybe's" and "what if's". 

But, obviously, I made the choice to join Peace Corps and there are days that I doubt the decision I made. More often than I like to admit, BUT, then there are days that I realize... I'm exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I want to be doing and I can say that after only 4 months in country. I can only imagine what I'll be saying when I "Close of Service". 

Anyways back to the book. One thing that really struck a chord with me (and I won't go into TOO much detail for those of you who want to actually read it)... was when Santiago was faced with leaving his loved ones and facing the fear of the unknown to go after his dream. 

"... the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." 

 The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. There were fears before I left for the Peace Corps... but I always believed and now more than ever... that not attempting would have been a worse type of suffering. A very close friend of mine in Peru 17 just said to me today "We have the GREATEST job. Most people are lying on their death beds saying 'I should have done this...' and we are doing it. We won't be saying that on our death bed." He was so right.

Accomplishing a dream means that on the path you will suffer. People won't show up to meetings. There are days I'm going to miss home more than anything. Water won't show up when I need it the most.  I'll get sick, a lot (parasites included). And I might not want to eat one more bowl of Juana's rice... but after these two years I know that I will have accomplished a dream that I've had for a very long time (and hopefully change some lives).  Any suffering I experience along the way will be worth it and I'm glad I didn't let the fear of that suffering stop me from pursuing my dream. 

The Alchemist was an amazing book and I encourage everyone to get a copy of it and read it. I promise you it will be worth it. 

Also, I wanted to send a little shout out to my people back at Penn State. GOOD LUCK canning this weekend! FTK, always! I'll be keeping little man, Tyler, Truex (PGM's THON CHILD) , in my thoughts and prayers. 

Tyler Truex and I, THON 2010

 and for those of you who don't know about THON and it's amazingness... please go to www.thon.org to DONATE! It's for a great cause.

 ". . . when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day the sun rises. " - The Alchemist

Until next time,

Brielle