With Days to Go...

Hi Folks!
Coming back to the drawing board after several months to share some final reflections. Where to start...

I recently had the privelege of spending a week in our training center outside Lima back where it all began. It was such an amazing time with my first host family, who supported me in the tough times and continue to support me today. I was "volunteer of the week," coming to help train the volunteers who recently arrived, share some of my experiences and answer their questions. I was surprized at how vastly different I felt from when I was there 2 years ago. I have become so comfortable with this culture and the ins and outs of volunteer life that I had forgotten a bit how it felt to be a brand new trainee in a foreign country trying to make sense of it all. It was a good reminder of how much natural progression can happen and how much one can grow from adapting to a new environment- language, culture, customs, communication style, food, and the list goes on.

Back here in site, I am wrapping things up. Presented my final report to the community, started giving my clothes away, and the goodbye parties and the "No te vayas" (don't go's) are in full swing. I can't believe how much different I feel about this place now than when I first arrived here 2 years ago. A part of me truly does want to stay a bit longer because the people here are so warm and loving. But I am more than satisfied with my experience here. I have learned, grown, and changed so much and been able to contribute to some pretty cool things. So now I am ready to move on and see friends and family. A part of my heart will always stay in this tiny mountain town in the Andes of Peru. I thank God for this amazing opportunity and trust Him to lead me in the next steps.

Here are some pictures from recent events:

The Cajamarca 19 group at our close of service conference in Lima

Me and my host brother Leo at the high school's 50th anniversary celebrations

The whole gang at a women's training in a rural church

Me and the artisan ladies celebrating 1 year of being a formal association!

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for being faithful readers, and hope to see you in person soon!

Adventures in Ayacucho

This Easter was definitely one of the most unique I've had to date. Not much can top last year, with my parents coming and us heading to Machu Picchu and my little town, but this was a whole different experience.

It started with two night buses in a row...ouch! We made the best of it, though, strolling around Lima and stretching our legs in between. Here is us (me and my girl Taneesha) on the bus...

When we got to Ayacucho, about 10 hrs south-east of Lima, we hit the ground running. It is a beautiful, historic city of about 100,000 and we wanted to see everything we could. During breakfast overlooking the plaza, we got to see a reinactment of Jesus being dragged through the streets by the Romans after his trial. Also they were making the sawdust carpets that the night's procession would walk over...

We headed to the Pampa, where there is a beautiful monument to the battle of Ayacucho (Peruvian independence from the Spaniards). On the way up, we got stopped in a traffic jam, which made for entertainment as literally everyone got out of their cars and tried to occupy themselves and not think about how hot it was.

But we made it up, and it was worth it! We even got our pictures taken with llamas...

Then we headed into the cute artisan town of Quinoa. Got a beautiful clay piece that shows the last supper, tried some new food, and headed back into the city content. That night we had dinner with our whole group and I had alpaca for the second time...SOO good!

Saturday was the main show...running with the bulls, horses dancing Marinera, scorns of people in the plaza (all in red shirts), craziness. Very cool to see. We decided to break away from the crowds to go see the terrorism museum and artisan work. The museum was very interesting and the artisan work was gorgeous. I am starting a collection for when I have an apartment someday :)

Then we got some much needed grub at this cute hole in the wall place near our hostel and made friends with the ladies...they were so cute and couldn't get over Taneesha's (6'1") height.

We stayed up all night through fireworks and crowds, went to mass at 4am and saw Jesus being brought out on this HUGE float that requires 200 people to carry it. Pretty awesome. 

The last day we took it easy, then headed up to the lookout spot over town and ate some delicious chicharron (fried pork...sooo yummy).

Us hanging out in Lima wrapping up the trip...

A wonderful trip and a great way to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus...He is risen!

'til next time...

Fun with Family & Four Months Left!

Hey All!
Wanted to fill you in on the latest. I had an amazing, wonderful trip with my cousin, Kasey. We got to be a part of Carnival in my capital city Cajamarca- known as the capital of Carnival for Peru. It was a blast!

Then we headed to my site so she could experience life there. We went to my church and all around town, visiting the people I'm closest with. Then headed to the artisans shop where she tried everything on and ended up a happy customer! The next morning we hit the ruins Kuntur Wasi just below my town.

Then we headed back to Cajamarca for some more site seeing and artisan shopping! Next up: Lima. But we didn't stay there long- we caught the next bus to Ica then on to Huacachina...an oasis in the middle of the desert. There we rode dune buggies and went sand boarding. We both were a little hesitant on the sand boarding but it turned out to be a total blast!

Next: Paracas- otherwise known as a little Galapagos. Really cool experience with the boat ride, seeing all kinds of birds and sea lions, and beautiful sunshine on top of it.

Lunahuana was our next stop. Gorgeous hotel and white water rafting!

Then back to Lima for an awesome Folklore Show with traditional music and dance...

The last day, Sat, was spent strolling around Lima, showing her my favorite parts (which of course include the Chocolate Museum!)

One last meal at Gaston's burger place, Papacho's. Seriously one of the best burger's I've ever had. And then we had to part. So grateful to God for sending her to me, even just for a little bit!

Also, just passed the 4-month-left mark...craziness!! I'll write back soon with some project updates!
Love to all!
J

How do keep 50 kids occupied during their school vacations?

Vacaciones Útiles:
These past couple months I've been doing a vacation school with the local kids. Started with over 50 kids, ages 6-15. We did English, took "trips" to other countries (via pictures/info in powerpoint presentations), identified problems and created work plans to solve them, focused on the environment with a trash pick-up day and a lets-make-crafts-out-of-recycled-materials day, learned about history, and had 2 field trips to nearby places. Although I was totally overwhelmed at times and even super frustrated, we finished strong and I will always remember that I got to have an impact on these kids' lives. Praise Him :0)

Artisans:
I've been working with my artisans over this winter as well. Some BIG blessings...one is that we now have the support of another NGO to help in the aspects of business management and writing a business plan. Also we won a mini-grant that I solicited so now we have our own weaving machine. And we were able to participate in a fair recently- didn't sell much and were pretty bummed. But then we got the surpruse that we won S/.500 for our stand!! The ladies defended their products in front of the judge so well, I am super proud! We will likely use that money for a sewing machine since they don't have one. Now I have less than 5 months, so these ladies are my main priority to finish strong and get them trained to take this business and run with it. Write back soon, thanks for reading you all are the best!

Year-End Reflections...

Reflections of 2013…

This year, I’ve lived in a foreign country. The entire year. I’ve never done that before. This year I really started to feel comfortable with my Spanish. My personality was finally able to come out and I could pick up on and laugh at everyday jokes/idiosyncrasies. I got used to being called “gringita.” I lived through my first rainy season, phew! I taught vacation school and made some great little buddies. This year I helped our artisan group become a formal association. I taught business classes to many groups, and was even able to bring two young girls to Lima to compete with their business idea. I celebrated one year as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I was able to develop and deepen many relationships here and have people care for me immensely. I got to bring many cultural insights/traditions to the people here.  This year I had the blessing of going home twice to be with my beloved family and friends and watch my brother get married. This year I memorized almost the entire book of James (need a major refresher). This year, I traveled to Machu Picchu (with my parents), two different parts of the jungle, the beach, the highest elevation lake in the world, and the 2^nd biggest (and probably most beautiful) city in Peru.

This year I had lots of challenges. I’ve been sick, well, more than a few times. I’ve been misunderstood, and I’ve wracked my brain trying to understand why certain things are the way they are in my daily reality. I’ve felt convicted of judging those things and people instead of having compassion on them. I’ve doubted my work and my worth. Many times. I’ve felt left out and like I didn’t belong. I often craved, needed to hear positive feedback and didn’t hear it here (thank you to family and friends who filled that gap so well).

But I’ve also been held closer by God than ever before, because He put me in situations where I had to rely on Him. I’ve worshipped Him in another language and found myself in a church community who is truly like family. I have learned how to open up, share what I’m feeling and let others listen. I’ve learned from the wisdom and generosity of the people here. A ton. I’ve learned that you don’t have to pretend everything is ok. You can live in the ups and downs, but live it full out. I naturally am a person that holds back and “plays it safe,” but oh how God is dragging me out of that comfort zone, little by little.

I am so thankful for this beautiful, frustrating, growth-stimulating, adventurous year. Can’t wait to see what He brings in 2014.

Girls Camp and Jungle Trip #2

Hey friends and fam,
A few updates for ya...

Our girls camp went great! For the first time we did it with other partners- the regional health post and government, an NGO, etc. Of course some bumps in the road, but 39 girls got the chance to laugh, play and learn interactivelly about self-esteem, leadership, sexual education and rights, among other things. Here I am teaching morning aerobics:

 And the whole gang...

Aaaand the jungle...wow. We went to Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios. We stepped off the plane and started laughing because it didn't seem real. Felt like we were in a sauna! We (11 gals!) went to a jungle lodge for 2 days and got to see all kinds of insects and creatures...tons of species of birds, an alligator,

 The whole group on our pirannah fishing adventure. I surprisingly caught the first one!

 Jungle lodge...

 At the bridge to Brazil!

My monkey friend!! They climbed all over us and let us pet them!

So that's what I got for now. Keep it real and I'll be back soon!
J

Bro's Boda and Birthday Bliss...

Buenas Noches con Todos (Good Evening Everyone),
Lot's to catch up on...mainly about my brother's wedding (boda = wedding) and my birthday...

The wedding/trip home:
The whole thing was a highlight. Seriously such a blessing. I forgot how long/hard the trip home was, so it took a toll on me, but I was too excited to really care. Wednesday night I got to see friends and try on rehearsal dinner dresses while Kristen, Katie and mom got the Ravens Wagon ready for the flower girl and ring bearer. Thursday I got to give a presentation in spanish for a class at my high school then family started to arrive. Later on we got to just hang out and have a nice yummyyy pizza and salad dinner (if you can't tell, the food was a highlight as well lol) :) Friday it was craziness trying to get ready to leave for the wedding. Mom and I both forgot things and weren't super prepared, but you can't sweat the small stuff diga (right)?

The rehearsal went smoothly (funny to see Kristen driving all us girls in an 18-passenger van and her nice dress ha) and the dinner was awesome. SO fun to be there with family and family friends and I got to say a few words as well to congratulate my brother and new sister :) The wedding day was chilly but beautiful, and although we suffered a bit I can't WAIT to see the pictures. A couple funny anecdotes: I was to do a scripture reading and there was some miscommunication on getting the paper with the passage on it, so I got up front and when it came to be my turn realized I didn't have the reading with me...uhoh. I had a mili-second of shock and immediately started thinking of how I would improvise and kept moving forward. I told the pastor as I was casually walking by that I didn't have my reading and he cordially gave me his entire black wedding book and said "Don't forget to bring it back." Haha. So all went well after that slight hickup. Party was amazing and afterparty was fun, too. The other anecdote is that all the girls were a little uncomfortable with their fake eyelashes and when one of my mom's came off at the reception, she decided not to let it get her down and went to the afterparty with one fake eyelash. Ha! Love it.

Sunday was wonderful in Annapolis with family walking around and shopping and we had a great day. The rest of the time was running around getting errands done and time with my parents mostly.

Leaving was harder this time...I think because I just had SUCH an amazing time and got to see the whole family. Also being so close to finishing in the spectrum of 27 months, but at 8+ months still far away is tough. Mom and I, after sharing one last coffee together in the airport, said a tearful goodbye and off I went.

My Birthday:
Although it was hard readjusting and I'm still sick, I had one of the best birthday's I've ever had.
I woke up to a cake that my host mom had made (Cake #1. breakfast). Then I went to church and got one of the best suprises I've ever had. They ended church early and shoo'ed me out for a bit (they are terrible at suprises but I love it lol) then I came in and they had moved the chairs along all the sides of the room and had a cake in the middle (Cake #2). The pastor and another guy from church started to sing happy birthday- a really neat Christian version- and had me stand in the middle to honor me. The sang worship songs, and what the people said was just seriously so amazing. I couldn't stop crying I was so moved. They were so grateful that I was there with them and encouraged me in my faith journey, it was amazing.

Then I went to eat lunch with my host family, visit the artisan president who wanted to give me my birthday hug (tradition here), then my friend Heidi (a PC volunteer who thankfully live close :) came over and we went to Miriam's house (my sitemate's host family when he was here) where I was met with 2 more cakes- 1 from Miriam and 1 from my french friend and japanese friend (Cakes #3 & 4). Then the next day my artisan ladies threw a party for me and that was really nice. They were hiding in a back room and when I came out they each gave me my birthday hug and a little flower or present...so sweet (Cake #5). Then just yesterday the professor at the community college had me over for cake, jello and tea (Cake #6). Funny combination I know. Anyway I felt super special and loved...last birthday was hard, but I appreciated this one even more for it!

Write back soon :)
Me

The girl cousins, Kristin, and Cam!

 Love this one!

 Me and my cousin Kasey :)

 Bridal party, wohoo!!!

 The Kahler girls!!

 At church for my bday!

Of course they shoved cake in my face, ha...its tradition here!

 The whole church crew!

 At Miriam's...

With my artisans :)