Six months in Site- check!

Yesterday I officially completed 6 months in site!! 9 months away from home. I obviously miss my friends and family more than you know, but I wanted to write a list of not obvious things I also miss:

Our old blue couch

            Melinda bought this amazing couch our sophomore year that we used until senior year. It was so comfy and I seriously really miss sitting on it. No one has couches here. When we gather we sit on benches with really pretty knitted, but not very comfortable, cushions. Maybe it was the company as well but oh how my body longs to curl up on that blue couch and watch Parenthood with my main chicas.

Lamps

In my room there’s only one outlet that has one plug and it’s on the other side of the room from my bed. It really hasn’t been an issue but sometimes I do miss a bedside lamp. Sometimes I just sit in my room at night to read or knit and I have to have my very bright ceiling light on. That made me think of lamps and the fact that no one has them here. Weird. Every once in a while I’ll use a flashlight, but it’s not the same. Maybe I’ll check out the possibility of a battery powered lamp…

Baking

            Very few people here have ovens and if they do they use them for storage! This weekend I’m buying ingredients to make cookies in a friend’s oven that’s never been used cause she doesn’t know how. I miss the taste of cookie dough or half-baked-fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. Also the convenience of heating up a pizza or meatballs. I never realized how much I relied on baking. Pretty much all my cooking skills involve baking; it’s hard to cook purely with a stovetop…

Drinks

            Hot water with sugar is not the same as a chai latte. A shot of traigo will never compare to Melinda’s margaritas. Pilsen beer tastes like pee water compared to Lagunitas’ Little Sumthin Sumthin. Give me that $2 Boba or a Strickland’s milkshake, I can’t drink “Inca Cola” anymore!

Breakfast

            - Soup of chopped up potatoes and noodles EVERY MORNING does not compare to the variety of cereal, toast, peanut butter, bagels, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and coffee. How I’d love to pop some whole wheat toast in a toaster or lather cold cream cheese on a hot everything bagel… I miss those simple breakfasts, their variety, and their convenience. When I don’t have time to eat hot soup, oh how I miss my quick stops at  Albertsons for my coffee and muffin before work. I should start a JavaHut business in our plaza for the people on their way to their farms and the students on their way to work!

Driving

            - It’s crazy to think I won’t be driving for 27 months! Am I going to remember how to drive? I miss the convenience of having my own car to go places, I miss driving buses at UCI, but also I just miss driving period. I’d drive that terribly boring stretch of I-5 or that dreaded 6am opening shift on Main Campus in a heartbeat if giving the chance! I also miss car rides with my friends. Not that I don’t enjoy awkward chats with the smelly man jammed in next to me practically on my lap, but I miss those road trips to Vegas or drives to go get tacos on Tuesdays. Melinda and Amy, I know we almost started WWIII deciding who’s turn it was to drive to Disneyland but when I get back, don’t worry, I’ll drive :)

Upgrades and Updates

I now have a bathroom complete with flushing toilet and shower! I have yet to use the shower but I have officially broken in the toilet and, surprisingly my favorite part, the sink! My make-shift sink, or “Tippy-Tap”, in my room has gotten old and it’s just so nice to wash my hands in a real life sink. So luxurious;) I can’t wait to buy little accessories for the bathroom like a mirror (they sell these nifty mirrors with a tray and slots to put toothbrushes) and a toilet paper holder. Another strange thing about Peru and toilets is that 80% of them, public and private, don’t have a seat. It’s weird. I guess they just don’t sit when they poop or don’t want to clean those extra layers? But yeah when they installed our toilet they just left the seat off. I asked them why they don’t put on the seat and cover that came with the toilet. It’s still sitting in my host parents room, I’ll get it on eventually! That and a few other details are still missing but I pooped on a toilet today in my own home and I couldn’t be happier!

I also got a puppy! His name is Lobo (means wolf) and he's the bomb. My host family fell in love with him so he's the family dog more than just mine but he still loves me the best;). This week I stopped letting him sleep in my bed to get him used to sleeping outside. It's so hard, I miss Toby and Bella keeping me company in bed, and Lobo was a nice replacement! I'm (most likely) leaving him here when I go home but for the next 18 months he'll be good company.

I know some people (my mom!) really want to know, “So it’s been 6 months, what the heck work have you done?!” Honestly, I also ask myself that question all the time. “Work” is such a general word. Peace Corps is “the hardest job you’ll ever love” not because we’re swamped with work 24/7 but rather the opposite: Our work is slow to start, hard to keep going, and will produce results that are often difficult if not impossible to see. We’re promoting behavior change, which, according to research, takes over 5 years to accomplish; therefore, in our 2 years here, we probably won’t see much. So when I say “I’m working” you have to keep in mind that this work is unlike any other “job” you’re probably thinking of.

And honestly it’s been tough. I have no one telling me what to do or where I’m needed, so I have to basically create work for myself. Often volunteers have a lot more institutions and authorities to work with who have ideas and tasks for them. For example, my closest colleagues have around 20 employees in their health center, with a department especially for public health outreach. On the other hand, I’m up here with 3 health employees who are swamped with work and have very little time to spend helping me with my ideas for projects. I’m realizing I’m not great at this kind of informal, independent, development work and it’s been a real challenge for me. Sometimes on my off days, like they warned us, I find myself wondering why I’m here, because the community seems to be doing just fine and I feel like I’m creating more work for people or just annoying people with my ideas. But on my good days I know that what I’m doing here will leave lasting imprints on lives and help Chocta to grow into a more thriving, healthy community that I know it has the potential to be. No one signs up for this job cause they think it’ll be easy. I welcome the struggles because getting through them is how I’ll be able to leave this experience with skills, knowledge and confidence I didn’t have before…

nutrition session

how can we make more balanced meals?

pretty rainbow with my host niece

LOBO!

We love learning English!!