Greetings everyone and sorry for the VERY long delay in
posting. If you’re still with me and reading this blog, you’ve probably
wondered why I haven’t said a word in a very long time. Well, first of all
things have been rather busy. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, when I
returned from FBT a couple of weeks ago we were unable to head back to
Chaclacayo and stay with our homestay families. Instead, we all piled into a
retreat center and lived together. I was without my computer, so communication
with you all was rather impossible. We were all rather depressed that we were
unable to return to our homes, but in many ways this was a perfect way to end
our preservice training. In our first week in Peru, we stayed at this very same
retreat center. So, in a way it was like a full circle. And, we were all
together. Knowing that we were all going to be separated and sent to our sites
very soon, it was nice to have one last opportunity where all the volunteers
could hang out together.
Secondly, the end of November was busy with holiday fun. We
had a Thanksgiving amongst the volunteers, so we were running around like crazy
trying to buy food supplies and scrounge up pots, pans, and ovens to make our
American meal. It all turned out beautifully, but I was up till 2:00AM trying
to finish a huge batch of cookies and a fruit salad. Thanksgiving for us was
really quite special. Even thought the cooking was stressful, the meal itself
was wonderful. Since it was going to be a Thanksgiving potluck lunch, everyone
needed to cook or bring something. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find
enough work- and oven-space for 57 people? In the end we had a HUGE spread of
food, complete with turkey. It was delicious and I ate way too much. That same
evening we threw a farewell party for our host families. We had a slideshow of
fun photos, a talent show, and a small meal prepared for them. I (tearfully)
said goodbye to my wonderful host family for two months and got ready to head
to Lima. That same night we all left Chaclacayo for the city and stayed in a
hostel. The next morning we dressed in our nicest clothes and headed to the US
ambassador’s house. Since we all passed our final exams, we were going to be
sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. The ceremony itself was quite
lovely and afterwards we had a nice, formal party the patio. Afterwards, we
went to our country director’s house for the afterparty. There was music, and
outdoor BBQ, and lots of crazy dancing. After that was the after-afterparty in
a bar in Lima, but we won’t go there.
The third reason why I have been so incommunicado is because
I’ve been living in site, which has no internet, for the past two weeks. So,
we’re going to have to work out a different schedule for updating this blog.
Since the nearest city with internet is 6-7 hours away by bus, the frequency of
updates is going to drop dramatically. I won’t be posting every week like I did
in Lima. Instead, I’ll keep writing posts and collectively post them every
month. Moral of the story: stay tuned! I will definitely keep writing and
letting you know what’s going on in my little remote corner of Peru. Keep in
touch!
No comments:
Post a Comment