Be Amazed.

I made it! After nearly a year without drinking good Wisconsin milk, flushing my toilet paper and seeing my niece, I am back. (And I’m looking at the world with my new Peruvian experience eyes.)

Home felt weird at first. Even the states felt weird. When I got change at the airport, I stared at it like it was totally new. (Quarters aren't as heavy as soles which threw me off.) The Spanish to English change isn’t a huge shock, but I did say “perdón” multiple times at the airport which was followed by an embarrassed "sorry."  One of the most common questions I get from people is “Is it nice/weird speaking English?"  Speaking English in everyday situations isn't that weird because I lived with Americans so I got plenty of English practice in Lima. But I do feel like I can really easily eavesdrop on anyone's conversation without even trying and I really miss speaking Spanish and feeling like I’m constantly learning. 

An odd thing is that Peru has almost come to be a part of my identity. I don't know a lot of songs on the radio, I'm not up on the feather in the hair trend and I don't know my niece's slang like "lippy" for chapstick.  But I am learning to become accustomed to my own culture that now oddly seems foreign. I'm also appreciating things I once took for granted like leaving a campsite completely unattended or washing my hands in hot water. As my mom said the week I got back, "I'm easily impressed." 

Unfortunately, my summer got cut short since I had finals in July (although I shouldn't complain because I had a 3 and a half month summer break December to March.) After I got home, I worked for my mom's business to make up some of the money I spent this past year. The first two weeks in August I’m heading out east with my family on a road trip. We’re going to hit up Pennsylvania, New York, and D.C. then I'll meet up with some friends in Boston for a joyous reunion. After I’m back in the dairy state, I’ll help move my sister into college, move myself to Madison for, and then (dare I say the s word?) school starts and it’ll be my Senior year.
Time really seems to fly by, so I’m trying to enjoy every minute of it. I’m learning to live in the moment and soak up every change that life brings.  I am encouraged by God’s promise in Habakkuk 1:5:

Look at the nations and watch—
   and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
   that you would not believe,
   even if you were told.

And no matter what country I’m in, that promise reigns true.

Amor y Paz. 

Nos vemos, Peru

Next week at this time I will have slept a night in my bed, discovered all my new stuff, and given huge bear hugs to my family and friends.

Even as I write that sentence, it still doesn’t feel real. I can’t believe that I have spent nearly a year in Lima and that soon my reality for the past year will have basically vanished. I mean, it's not like I can just come back to Lima for a quick weekend visit (although I will for sure visit in a couple years).

I know it's cliche, but going back is pretty much the definition of bitter sweet. I'm excited to go home and see my family and friends, eat Mexican food, and feel much safer than I do in Lima. But at the same time I'm going to miss my friends here, miss speaking Spanish and drinking Inca Kola.  I think I'm also going to miss being challenged. My life here really isn't that hard, but I do feel like I'm constantly learning, whether that be learning new Spanish vocab like the word tadpole (renacuajo) or practicing patience with the 'inefficiency' that I run into everywhere.  I mean, when I'm home, it's so comfortable because it's what I know. It's what I've grown up with and it's what I've always loved. I don't want to look for tough situations, but it is true that when you are outside your comfort zone and stretch yourself, you learn a lot more.

Now, I don't feel like I'm a completely different person, but I'm obviously different than I was last year at this time. Just living a year of life changes you, and I feel like living abroad just amplifies that. I wrote a blog a while ago on change and I discussed that I didn't feel like I had a support group here, but faithful as He is, God provided me many friends, Peruvian, American, Chilean and Colombian, and also an amazing prayer group that meets once a week.

All of this doesn't mean that I'm not excited to go home, because I am psyched to be back in the states. But as a study abroader once said... "There's nothing wrong with calling two places home."

Amor y Paz.

Me? Procrastinator?

This blog is quite a testament to its title. I wrote this out at least three weeks ago in one of my classes and just haven’t typed it out. I guess it’s kind of fun to procrastinate on things that you can procrastinate on, like blogs. Anyways…

I have never been someone to procrastinate. In fact, in the past I’ve tended to do quite the opposite, get all of my homework done for the week ahead of time so I could enjoy the week, sometimes “enjoying” the week by doing the next weeks homework. Sounds crazy, I know.  I guess I don’t like the feeling that I have homework hanging over my head so I’ve always been on top of it. But I’ve realized something…

 

There is always something I could be doing.

But that doesn’t mean that I always should be doing homework (not that I’m always studying by any means).  I wouldn’t say that I’ve become a huge procrastinator here, but I would say that I’ve found more of a balance between staying on top of my homework and putting it off when I need to or want to. This is for a couple reasons.

First, I have much more time in Peru to push off homework so I really don’t have to stay on top of things because I know I’ll eventually get it done.  I’ve definitely found that it’s a lot easier to find time for schoolwork when you don’t have a job.

Secondly, in Peru, time management gets lost among the emphasis put on relationships and family. And I really like that. I could stay home and get ahead on my reading, or I could push it off and go to the movies. The latter option is obviously the more fun choice, but the non-procrastinator (and the do-er) in me pushes me to go for the first.  But one thing Peru has taught me is that building relationships and doing fun things with friends are the moments I’m going to remember in life (duh), not checking that last thing off my to-do list. I’m not going to look back on my life and marvel at the amount of things I accomplished because real lasting memories are made through relationships with others, enjoying life.

teaching Paola how to make chocolate chip cookies

I realize that this new view on life may slap me in the face when I get back to Madison and I actually have to manage my time, but I think I’ll be able to find a good balance.

Now to check “blog” off my to-do list.

Amor y Paz.

In Mancora…

Surfers find their niche among the olas

And seafood is as fresh as it comes.

Gringos bathe in sunscreen

And skin is rejuvenated by bathing in mud.

A mototaxi breeze keeps you cool

And is the chevere way to get around.

Clothing means a bikini with a wrap

And some pirated ray-ban sunglasses.

In Mancora, me divertí un montón!

Here’s some picture highlights from the trip:

Our hostel

Hammocks!!!

Hanging out on the beach

Mud Baths

Jungle Party

Mototaxi!

Amor y Paz.

Extrañando algunas cositas

Along with the last blog, I thought I’d write about things that I miss and don’t miss about home (besides the obvious things like family and friends).

Things I miss:

• WI FRESH milk
• Mexican food
• walking to class (although not so much in the winter months)
• change of seasons (spring and fall)
• short 50 minute classes (here they’re two hours, one of mine is even three!)
• feeling cozy (coffee shops, carpet, cozy couches)
• drinking faucet water
• using my debit card instead of cash
• blending in (aka not getting whistled/stared at constantly)
• pedestrians having the right of way
• general organization and efficiency
• texting, cheap phone calls, and a nice cell phone
• thunder storms (it literally never rains in Lima)
• not having to be worried about getting robbed

Things I don’t miss:

• winter (especially walking to class in freezing weather)
• how expensive it is to eat out
• $1 bills (I much prefer dollar coins)
• really expensive textbooks (I’ve spent a total of $25 on ‘textbooks’ this year)
• having class everyday
• working (although making money is nice)
• getting tan only in the summer
• super expensive movies (You can be $1 movies off the street, or to see a movie in theaters as cheap as $2 on Tuesdays)
• having to cook for myself all the time
• lack of traveling
• speaking English all the time
• having to be on time to everything
• being constantly busy and having very little chill time

For now,  I'll marvel at the differences between Peru and the US because in just over two months, I'll be missing a whole new list of things.

Amor y Paz.

Foreigner?

It’s odd how familiar Lima has gotten. I know what buses to take to get around the city, what Peruvian snacks are my favorite (margaritas), where the good places are to eat, when I’m getting ripped off, or what a non-Peruvian Spanish accent sounds like.

When taxi drivers try to make me pay twice as much, I refuse to pay the gringa price.  When people tell me prices in dollars, I convert it back to soles and think how many lunches or how many alfajores I could buy with that many soles.  When people talk about Peruvian food, I try to avoid saying that I don’t like ceviche, but emphasize the fact that I love pollo a la brasa and aji de gallina.  I may struggle with my Spanish at times, but I love it when I can throw in the word “manyas?” (Got it?) or the ever-so-popular “chevere” (cool).

It no longer feels strange to eat rice with nearly every meal, drink juice instead of milk, use soles, write the date as day/month/year, or speak Spanish.  It kinda feels like a second home and if I didn’t know I was so far away, I wouldn’t feel like I was so far away. A lot of times I have to picture myself on the map of South America to remind myself that I can’t drive home on the weekends (although tanning in January was a good reminder).

And despite what Peruvians might say about my appearance as a foreigner, I really don’t feel like one anymore.

Amor y Paz.

Thinking about the EEUU

I finally have a flight back to the States! I’ll be in the land of red, white, and blue on the 12th of July (sadly, missing the freedom celebrations by a week but not much I can do about a July 7th final).  It’s weird to think about going back because I’m sure a lot will have changed in the almost year that I’ll have been here.  I guess I kind of have this thought that while I’ve been here life just stopped back in Madison and Menomonie (my hometown) and will start up again when I get back. Obviously that’s not the case because 8 months have gone by. Honestly, it’s hard to believe I’ve been here that long already.  Based on how fast last semester went by, I know these next few months are going to be gone in the blink of an eye (so to say).

I am excited to go home, but I know when I get back to Wisconsin I’ll be hit with real life. It’s a kind of paradise here as I have much less homework and I don’t have a job.  This is the most free time I’ve had since….probably Middle School, and probably the most free time I’ll ever have again in my life. So I’m really soaking in every Peruvian second, knowing that I’ll miss it, but at the same time looking forward to going back to everyone in the EEUU.

Amor y Paz.