The Northern Coast

The Northern Coast
The Northern Coast--photo by Zack Thieman

Friday, July 8, 2011

One down, twenty-six to go

Alpacas!!
One month already??

Two-weeks ago it felt like months, and now it’s been four weeks and it feels impossible that we’ve already been here that long. Huh? How does time warp forward and then leap backwards again?

The days go by much quicker now that walking narrow streets strewn with trash, glass, and stray dogs has become a norm, and everyday tasks like throwing my toilet paper in the trash or boiling water to drink have become easier. Training is only 10 weeks, which means I am almost halfway through! In another month I’ll learn my site assignment and will go visit the place in which I’ll be living for the next two years, and even meet my new host family.

And my trainers honestly think I’ll be ready for that? Hard to believe. Then again, I’m in the Peace Corps and I’ve been living in Peru for a month; I have a hard time believing that sometimes.

The last four weeks have been intense, but I can definitely see the changes and progress everyone has made. For instance, today we had Spanish interviews to determine if we are going to move up a level or two in our language courses. Almost everyone has made so much progress I doubt many won’t be moved up another level, and that is incredible leaps and bounds in four weeks.

We are learning so much and doing so many activities, sometimes it’s a little much. In fact, most days training is too much; four hours of language training followed by four hours of guest speakers with information on everything from Peruvian customs to STD’s and back to the Peruvian education system. It’s a lot to take in on a daily basis.  And then after all of that, it’s back to the host family to make small talk and eat another plate full of rice, followed by an hour of homework. Not to say we haven’t gotten our breaks. We’ve had barbecues, celebrated Peruvian holidays, celebrated American holidays (4th of July), and gone to Lima where we all divulged in many American treats (Starbucks, fast food, Pinkberry, etc). We work hard, we play hard, and somehow we’re all still standing or at least have the ability to help hold each other up.

Some of my buddies at the 4th of July celebration
My Spanish class making papas rellenos in my host family's kitchen
I think the intensity of training and the sheer amount of talent and experience our group holds creates a lot of conflicting feelings amongst everyone. A) We’re already good friends and have a hard time imagining service without our buddies there to lean on and share experiences with, and B) Competitiveness runs rampant, but so do feelings of inadequacy amongst our peers and fear of being unsuccessful at site.

When we all take the moment to step back and share our feelings, we often find we are experiencing the same things. Many of us wonder if we’re capable of doing this, feel as though the person next to us is better off or more experienced, and sometimes even just being overwhelmed and worn out makes us feel weak and alone. Yet, we’re all feeling the same thing. When we take a moment to stop comparing ourselves to one another, we realize we truly aren’t alone in our self-deprecating thoughts and they aren’t justified.

The reality of the matter is, we all persevered and completed a long, arduous, and competitive application process. There are over 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers serving in the world right now, and there are over 310 million people in the U.S. Now we just have to believe we can actually accomplish what we’ve worked so hard to have the chance to attempt.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like things are working out (well...for this week anyway!) I'm sure the next 26 months will be filled with ups and downs. You know you have many loved ones in your corner when you are in the downs and of course we want to be there with you always to share the ups!
    I love your pictures! Thank you for the one of the alpacas!!!!
    Did you hear that my goats got out Thursday? They headed over to the ranch next to us. Thank god for grain...they followed me home through the pasture, under a barbed wire fence and back into their pen.
    Just to let you know, all of you have already accomplished 'it'. You are all there, doing and living your dream!

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