Learning What is Most Important

Peru has been the best adventure I’ve ever experienced so far. Its gotten right to my heart. I came here with the desire to serve the people, and as I’ve done so, they have taught me so much more than I could ever give them. The people and the culture here has been my greatest mentor. I’ve watched and listened to everyone around me. Because of the language barrier, I don’t say much. This gives me more opportunity to listen and watch. I learn so much more without words. I feel so enriched by what these people have taught me.

The majority of Peru is poor. The people have so much to give and they give even when they have nothing. I experience this over and over as we work intimately with families and individuals. We serve, love, teach and play with the children. Those in our group who know Spanish, teach the moms here about nutrition and health for their families. Others will sit with kids after school and teach them to read, write and do homework. Our acts of service and messages are simple. Its the love is really making a difference. And more than anything I believe the greatest lesson I’m being taught personally is how to be truly selfless. Peru is teaching me Charity. There is so much gratitude felt here. My love and gratitude for the people is given freely and they give back twice as much. I often feel overwhelmed by all that I am receiving from the amazing families here.

I always feel like I can be doing better too. I have moments where the culture shock will get to me, and I’ll be frustrated with how things are. Sometimes its really hard to not be able to have a conversation past “Hola, Como Esta Usted?” But I get over it… Peru isn’t going to change for me. I have to learn to adapt and be taught by what this experience has to give. Not everything is pleasant. But the experience I have here is my choice. I choose to love it and adjust when I don’t. It makes it easier to choose to be happy about everything around me.

Last Friday was one of my favorite moments so far. We took a bus about an hour and half away to a small little town to visit a elementary school we’ve been teaching English at. The mom’s of the kids wanted to do something for us as a group, and the kids wanted to put on their reuse and recycle fashion show for us. It was adorable to watch these little 5-6 year old kids walking down a cat walk in the little outfits their very talented moms had made out of various plastic bags and plastic. (see pictures)

Afterwards they wanted to show us a little more of their home life. We went to a banana farm! It was so much fun! They walked us through the whole orchard showing us the Mango trees and handing us a mango, then an Avocado tree, Oranges, Sugar Cane… we were able to try everything off the trees! It was so yummy. Afterwards we went to the river. We laughed as we watched the kids strip down to their undies and run into the water. A few of the volunteers and I put our feet in… some of the mom’s were trying to convince me to jump in and get wet. I communicated I wasn’t sure I wanted to get wet… haha so those sneaky mom’s said something to the army of 5 year olds and the next thing I knew, I was being chased down the river getting splashed and I was soaked in under 30 secs! Hahaha I ended up chasing the kids right back and we had a BLAST. I was soaked. But I loved every second of it.

Once we were out of the river, the mom’s had prepared us a feast. They laid out a beautifully set table and served us the best food they had to offer. Which is a big thing for them, because these people really don't have much. The food was really good! And the experience was humbling. This was one of those moments that impacted me. We spent an entire day just loving, playing, laughing, serving, holding hands and sharing everything we had to offer. It was a day dedicated to building relationships and being together. To connect and share. I loved it. I feel like we just need more days like that. All that really matters in life is relationships and people, the moments I've shared with these families have meant more than anything. My family now extends to South America. Small moments like these are the moments that bring change to the world. 

My brother (who is serving his mission 8 hours away from me in Ecuador) mentioned in his last email home that I’m “having way too much fun, and I need to step in more poop!” haha! He and I are living in very similar cultures. So because he said that, I feel I have the right to say its not all sunshine and daisies here. I definitely have my fun, of course. But I also work and I have my complaints. So I feel justified to list a few so my life doesn't look as perfect as he made it sound… ;)

1. Piura is the loudest place on earth. Because traffic laws are ignored, people don’t use their turn signals, instead they honk constantly to let people know when they’re about to swerve around another car, or to tell pedestrians they’re coming fast and if they don’t run they’ll hit you. Also, stray dogs are on every corner. Literally everywhere. And the bark all day and ALL night and often 5 of them are barking and chasing cars down the street. Car alarms are also loud, everyone has one and they are so sensitive that even if I leaf from the wind lands on a car, it will go off… all night long. Every day. Every 20 minutes at least. Ack.

2. Ants here are so small you can barley see them. They get into everything and they bite. Most of us often have red little marks on our skin… we’re unsure what they are exactly. But I blame the mini ants for making us look like we have the chickenpox. haha

3. I DO step on poop – I need my brother to know that. Most streets here that have a wall of any sort, is automatically considered a place to do your business. It smells AWFUL and my nose has a panic attack most times. I walk carefully as I try to run away.

4. I miss real bathrooms. With reliable flushing toilets, toilet paper, and toilet seats. I don’t think I have to explain why I miss that luxury. I also miss clean running water. And hot showers.

5. I’m tired of rice. Like… really. I miss salads, chips and salsa, chocolate and tacos/Mexican food. All things that do not exist in Peru. Or are really hard to find.

BUT most of these things are small problems, and I’m not actually complaining. I actually find it fun to meet the challenge and adjust to the culture. It teaches me a lot about myself and what I'm capable of and how to make the best of my circumstances. There is hardly ever a moment I am not filled with gratitude. Especially for what I have at home in the states. I also make it a point to find joy in my journey here. Sometimes that means taking something annoying or unpleasant and finding something to be grateful for because of it. haha I find it really important to love all the little things every day. It makes the entire journey better. And sometimes experiencing the hard things gives me a much deeper appreciation for all that I have.

So that's my update on the every day life… next post will be my most recent vacation to Machu Picchu. I got back today and I had to separate the two posts in order to not write a Novel of a blog.. I ended up doing that anyway though. 

Love you all! I hope you had a fantastic Independence Day!

*Hugs*