PERÚ it may concern

For the first time in twenty-three years I spent Christmas without my family. Come to think of it, I think this was the first year I've ever even spent it outside of Pacifica. The holidays snuck up on me and I began thinking maybe it wouldn't even feel like I was missing Christmas; maybe it would would feel like I was taking part in a different Peruvian festivity and Christmas was just extra far away this year, like two years far away. It may have been easier on my emotional state if that were the case but in the end, I'm glad it wasn't. I was able to check my casilla postal [PO box] just in time for the holidays and was elated to find not just one but FOUR packages from home! The first was a KICK ASS Festivus package from my friend, Anamarie. For those of you confused about what Festivus is maybe you need some more Seinfeld in your life. It was filled with Seinfeld treats and my own travel-size Festivus pole. Another was from my Auntie Sharon with a lovely charm br...

My dad LOVES ice cream. If it were possible to eat ice cream every night, guilt-free, he'd have a huge bowl of equal parts ice cream and Hershey's chocolate syrup just like my grandpa did when my dad was a kid. But anyone can go to the store and grab a pint of ice cream for the night, so for my pops, soft serve is like a delicacy. Our fam's been on a few cruises and each one includes several soft serve machines throughout the ship that run all day long and are absolutely free. My dad with a free soft serve machine is like a child at Disneyland (he actually really loves Disneyland so I guess he's the child in this case). It's hard to resist that vanilla/chocolate combo, a perfect sweet treat to finish each meal. Guadalupe has some exciting things to offer and living here is an experience in itself but it's true gem is the soft serve. It's not even an ice cream shop. It's a teeny business in the doorway of a building consisting of a soft serve machine ...

It’s hard to believe that I am only now entering the fourth week of my two years of service. On top of our ten weeks of training, Perú 20 has really only been in country for a little over three months. Yes, that can sound like a lot but in the grand scheme of a 27-month adventure it’s just the beginning. The first couple weeks at site were pretty difficult, which had absolutely nothing to do with my new host family, the people I work with or the community. My biggest struggles came from the transition itself. I went from the being surrounded by English-speaking friends from training and a training staff cheering us on every baby step of the way to a new home, new routine and a slightly scary sense of freedom. Training was super structured and demanding, but here I’m my own jefa and I set up my own schedule. For some people that can be very exciting but for me, major transitions freak me out. Thankfully, poco a poco , a true Peruvian phrase, is becoming more of a way of ...

November 23, the day after Thanksgiving, Perú 20 was sworn into the Peace Corps at the Ambassador’s house in Lima. I have officially been a volunteer for a week now and I suppose it’s about time I update ya’ll on what it feels like. The final week of training was jam-packed with language interviews, final classes, Thanksgiving feasting, talent show prep and too many goodbyes. Everything was a blur of emotions and I can’t even remember exactly how it all happened but here it goes… I got back from my site visit at 6:30am on Sunday morning and we went straight to the main office in Lima. Plans for the final week got switched up a bit and we ended up staying at a retreat center all together until our swearing-in ceremony just like we had started our first weekend in Perú. It was like a week-long slumber party. Kind of a crazy switch up but in the end I was so happy to spend the final week even closer together, who knows if everyone else would say the same about me, haha. On ...

Hey ya'll, As I'll be moving to site for good in a week's time I now have a new address. Getting packages/cards/candy has been sooooo wonderful and it weren't so expensive for my volunteer budget I'd be sending ya'll some snail mail lovin, too! So here's the new address: Jamie Perez Casilla Postal 779 Serpost Trujillo Peru KIT [keep in touch]

The past week and a half has been pretty crazy. Last Tuesday, the 6th I believe, we left for our second field-based training, FBT. We took a 10-hour night bus from Lima to Trujillo which was actually quite comfortable. Everyone was all jittery about the election but luckily one of the other volunteers who was still in Chaclacayo made sure to call us when the results were in and we were able to rest assured that our country was in good hands. Once we arrived in Trujillo we sped off to have breakfast with La Libertad´s regional coordinator and volunteer leader. We separated into two groups of seven, sierra and coastal, depending on where our sites are located and we rushed into separate buses. Though I knew I was only saying goodbye for a two-day trip, I´ll admit I got a little teary-eyed and now I have no clue how I´m going to keep it together after we´re sworn in and get shipped off for to start our two years of service. I was part of the coastal group for FBT and we spent the next t...

Making our way through fall, real quick, and getting closer and closer to winter means we’re getting  into the thick of the holiday season. Luckily, on this side of the equator we’re actually making our way through spring and getting closer and closer to SUMMER. Since arriving in Perú I haven’t thought too much about how different my holidays would be but at least while we’re in training my fellow aspirantes are keeping up with traditions as usual. The last week was filled with not only Halloween prep and activities but also the celebration of El Día de la Canción Criolla which falls on the same day. Halloween celebrations started last Saturday with a costume party at a discoteca in Chosica where the Halloween committee had pulled some strings to get us all in without having to pay a cover charge. On a S/. 8 per day kinda budget (roughly $3.25) anything you can get for free is incentive enough. Probably about 30-40 people from our group showed up at some point that night...