First of Many

Here I am… in a Peru. It seems muy ridiculoso but I’m actually living here. I’m actually happy too. I miss home a lot but everyone here is very nice. I’m living with a family about 30 minutes outside of Lima in a small village. Our village is “quaint”. My house appears unfinished from the outside but inside it is clear that my mama cares about it very much. Everything is clean. We have electricity and running water… running water but the shower is freezing. The bathroom has tile, as does the kitchen. They have a computer and a television… All things we take for granted at home but they are rare commodities here in Peru.

My host mom’s name is Silvia and she is a 3rd grade history teacher. My host dad’s name is Jorge and he does electrical work. I have a 3 year old sister named Diana and an 18 year old brother that lives with his grandparents and is going to college to become a lawyer. He’s always here to visit though. My host uncle is here a lot too. He drives a truck for a living. I have been having intense conversations with him about US politics, our relationship to Puerto Rico, and spiritual energy at Matsu Pichu. (apparently its true, Evelyn) Oh and we have a little gato, named Mechito, that Diana carries around by the neck and tortures… Reminds me of the good old days with Ruby.

I wish I knew Spanish better. It is torturous trying to talk to everyone only in Spanish. I should’ve took Senora Roebuck’s class a little more seriously. A lot of the other volunteers speak Spanish really well. So, I’m feeling a little behind. They all studied it in college or studied abroad in Spain or Latin America. Either that or they grew up speaking it. It’s such an unfair advantage to adjusting in the culture. I’m usually good at learning stuff quickly… Hopefully I can catch up.
Speaking of the group, they are all amazing. I couldn’t ask to be down here with better people. Of course, you have to be a kindred spirit to do something this selfless with your life. It’s that feeling of friendship you get on a missions trip with people. There are 38 of us. 20 are youth development like me and 18 are small business development. (If you weren’t married to Ryan you could’ve come with me, Jamie!) There’s a guy from Allentown and another guy from New York that went to college at St. Joseph’s. We had a talk about how we could’ve both been out at the same time in Manayunk. Another guy is from the town in South Dakota where the Corn Palace is located. Thank gosh my Mom and Dad took us there instead of the Mall of America… It gives me something to talk to him about. He actually had his prom there. Haha. I’m not especially close with anyone in particular yet. You all know it takes time for the real me to come out. I give totally wrong first impressions.

Peru is beautiful. I’ve only seen a small part so far. I will upload my pictures on here for you all to enjoy. I have some pictures of Miami, too, because I ran off to South Beach with a couple guys from the group on our last night there. South Beach was pretty neat with all its Art Deco architecture going on and the ocean was sooo warm! We were only there for a couple hours… long enough for them to smoke some Cuban cigars and for me to enjoy the surroundings. (and the cigar smoke since I’m a second-hand addict) They totally had us spoiled in Miami.
I haven’t had to eat anything gross yet. I really like my host mom’s cooking. I keep stressing that I love chicken in hopes of never having to eat guinea pigs.

I miss you all very much. I listen to Brian Rowe and look at all my pictures from home and it make me sad to be so far away. All of Friday night I could only think about how I was missing Tom Petty. Saturday night, however, was a different story. We all went to the discoteca and danced the night away to salsa music. It was pretty amazing… one of my favorite nights in life.

Anyways, to summarize, Peru is great but will never compare to home. My real parents will always be my favorite and you guys will always be the most kindred of spirits in my heart. I can’t wait to hear from you! Much Love :)

Your favorite wanderer of the earth,
Melody