Back from Paracas...

I spent the past week in Field Based Training for the Peace Corps. WatSan's training took place in the Department of Ica which is where the last major earthquake in Peru was. A year has passed and the distruction is still very evident. It has taken me a full 24 hours to process what I saw.

Our hostal was in a town called Paracas which is set on the beach. The whole experience was amazing...really it was. We had the opportunity to work with an NGO- Tierra de Hombres and UNICEF. It was really quite cool. We had a lot of contact with the members of the community and all around had a really great experience.

This whole experience in the Peace Corps has so many ups and downs it's crazy. A week can pass that is perfect and I can be so happy and one morning I wake up and things are different. I can't understand it. There are so many obstacles that one must face when living in a different country, experiencing a different culture, etc., but there are some things that one shouldn't have to experience. I have given up a lot in Peru. I gave up a lot to be here and I have given up plenty since I have been here. Parts of my identity that really make me who I am and I am still happy. I know it may not seem so by the tone of this blog but I am. It's just that there is a line that needs to be drawn at some point. Right? I draw the line between my personal and professional life, as I always have. My writing in the this blog is cryptic for ridiculous reasons but if we are friends most likely you already know what I am talking about.

On a totally different note, I returned on Saturday night and my family had no idea that I was coming back. When I walked in the house they were more than thrilled that I had returned. It felt soooooo good because I had missed them so much. Maybe that's why I feel like this...because it's almost over. I don't know. My little sister even went so far as to make a sign and put it on my door. I think I almost cried when I saw it.

Well, now my little sister is standing above me begging me to play with her...so I have to go :)