Please excuse the lack of posts in the last month or so. My calendar has been filled with Peace Corps events that, unfortunately have left me with little time to write. However, the madness is beginning to slow down and I want to take a few minutes to reflect on the last month.
I typically try to fill my blog with upbeat anecdotes and snapshots of my life here. However, I have to admit, I haven´t always given a full picture of what my life has been like. So I´m going to level with you- it´s often really challenging. I spend most days in an office where I often don´t feel understood and although my Spanish level has gotten much better lots of things are still lost in translation. Then there´s the cultural differences which often still catch me off guard and leave me a little baffled.
As a result of all of these challenges I spent a good amount of time in the last month really evaluating my reasons for being in the Peace Corps and living in this community. There were days when I felt like the impact that I can have here is so minimal compared to what I could be doing living in a community in the US.
My mom and grandma came for a visit in the midst of all of this and got to hear about all of my struggles and challenges (if you see either of them...give them a hug for being such good listeners). We spent 5 days in my town, during which time we celebrated my 24th birthday. It was an amazing time, and I was so blessed by all of the people in my town who invited us over for a meal, or a snack, or coffee and shared with me how much they appreciated that I am living and working in their town. It was a definite turning point for me when I realized that the true impact of the PC experience often is the friendships you make. So even though I don´t expect the challenges to disappear, I am going to go back into my work with new eyes and motivation.
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