Sunday, March 15, 2009

Home sweet home


Well, I arrived in Madison at 4PM on Tuesday, a very tired woman after a trip full of plane cancellations and missed connections. Sean picked me up, deposited me with my luggage at Bridget’s house where I am resting and eating good food. I finally went to the kitchen and drank water from the tap with only a little trepidation. I’m sleeping a lot!

I’m glad I went to Peru with the Peace Corps and I’m glad to be home. I am very, very tired but well with no lingering illnesses. Now that I’m home and resting, I question whether I ever could have completed 2 years in that challenging environment and occasionally wonder if asking for a site change would have enabled me to complete my service. I’m sad about coming home after only 6 months and have a feeling of loss for not having done the work I wanted to do in La Cruz.

Despite coming home early, I have a sense of gratitude for:
• Improved language skill. My 2nd day home, I went for lunch at my favorite Mexican cafĂ© and the owner was astonished at my changed conversational ability.
• Wonderful friendships that reach across a 40+ year age difference as we learned together, laughed together and moaned over the tough times together.
• I got over my fear of traveling around by combi, moto, and by flagging down random cars on the Pan American highway.
• I had a hands-on experience in simple living and hope that the knowledge of how little I need to be happy stays with me the rest of my days.
• I have wonderful friendships in La Cruz and can stay connected through the wonders of e-mail and Skype.
• My host family had never known anyone from the US and now they have a friend from Wisconsin.
• The youth group leader, Henry plans to go to the municipality with my host mother to request another Peace Corps volunteer because they see the possibility for support in community development.

I’ll miss people and aspects of Peace Corps life a lot, especially
• Robyn and Sarah, good friends, smart, capable women, great support and the best people to have nearby in the north of Peru!
• My host family, especially my host mom, Sylveria who is one of the most committed community activists I’ve ever met.
• All the great people in my group, Peru 12. We had so much fun together.
• The ride from La Cruz to Tumbes in beat up old cars driving through the beautiful green rice fields full of egrets.
• The children on my street running toward me with open arms hollering for hugs from Sarita.
• The adolescents in the youth groups who were open and welcoming.
• The ocean, the beautiful, beautiful ocean. Swimming in the ocean with my host family, with my Peace Corps friends and with the children.
• The good humor of the hard working staff at Central de Salud in La Cruz.
• Hanging out on the front porch in the evenings with my host family and half the neighborhood.
• The music, dance and laughter that are so much a part of Peruvian culture.

Of course I won’t miss
• Looking at food wondering how sick I’ll get if I eat it
• Trying to sleep in a very noisy environment
• Dogs, dogs, dogs barking all night.
• 22 hour bus rides to get from La Cruz to Lima
• Flies everywhere, covering the food at the market and swarming the kitchens
• Not having water for days at a time and boiling water to drink.
• Getting sick regularly, always on the lookout for a bathroom and always with a supply of toilet paper in my pocket.

I’m keenly aware of all the support I received from family and friends through this whole time period. I couldn’t have done it without both the material support and encouragement, especially Helen who was my banker and business manager. She cheerfully gave back my checkbook this week. All the comments on my blog felt like a cheering section, especially when I felt like I was running a marathon.

One tired, retired and returned Peace Corps volunteer!

Sarita

Monday, March 9, 2009

Waiting to fly home


So, as I wait in an airport hotel to get onto a flight home (last night’s flight out of Lima was canceled), I reflect on this incredible adventure with both gratitude and sadness. The goodbyes to my friends in La Cruz and my Peace Corps friends have been very tearful. Yesterday I sat in a park in Lima calling my family and friends in La Cruz. When I said goodbye to Henry, the youth group leader, he put his sisters, Gasdaly age 15 and Danuska age 8 on the phone. They were both in my English classes and little Danuska said her goodbyes in English. Henry and I had gotten to the point of teasing each other and joking in both languages. We had plans for work together with his teen group and many long conversations.

Then I said my goodbye to Gladys, the midwife in La Cruz who had been concerned about my weight loss and illnesses. We too had plans to develop a prenatal education program, childbirth classes and more. I have so much respect for the staff at the health center who provide the best care possible in difficult circumstances. The birth room at the health center has the barest equipment and no water. Last year, they lost 2 women to eclampsia, one because her family wouldn’t take her to the hospital in Tumbes.

I said goodbye to my host family. We’ll miss each other a lot as the connection there was strong. Robyn and Sarah will help my host mom get an e-mail address so we can keep in touch. My host mom and Henry are planning on going to the mayor to write a letter to the Peace Corps requesting another volunteer. Sylveria said to me, “We’d never known anyone from the United States and now we have a friend there!”

Sarah Walker once said that we have two lives here, one with our host family and community, the other with our Peace Corps friends with both being important. She’s quite right as those connections with the other volunteers who understand what you are going through and can laugh with you are vital. I never dreamed 6 months ago when I walked into a hotel in Washington DC that I’d have friendships with people 40 years younger than me. I’ll miss Sarah and Robyn a lot along with lots of other fine people in the wacky group that made up Peru 12. There will be care packages in the mail…

I said goodbye to the dream of completing 2 years in the Peace Corps. I must say, I’m ok with the decision to return to the states even though I’m disappointed. I still think the Peace Corps goals are important and attainable. While I didn’t carry out my work plan, I know the goals of increasing understanding and friendship have been met. I hope to talk about Peru, its people and challenges when I return to Wisconsin.

I also hope to sort out my thoughts and feelings about being an older volunteer in the Peace Corps which has a stated goal of 10% volunteers over 55. Pretty tough even for this woman who left the US in good health with a lot of camping experience so the latrines and bucket baths were not ever a problem. On the other hand, when I was tempted to say that I couldn’t do this because of my age, Michael McGuire reminded me that a number of young people have gone home early for similar reasons, some people’s digestive systems never adjust to the bugs. Speaking of which, I do hope I don’t bring any home with me! When I was repacking my things, a half dead cockroach crawled out of my suitcase. I couldn’t stop laughing!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Getting ready to fly home

I flew to Lima yesterday and am staying at the home of Kathleen and Leo. Kathleen is training center director for Peace Corps here and most generous with her support. I´m very weak and tired so I expect to mostly rest until my friends, Robyn, Sarah and Michael get my things packed in La Cruz and transported to Lima this weekend. Then I´ll be on a plane home by Monday at the latest.

I´m quite disappointed not to be fulfilling the 2 years here. I shed tears telling the midwife that I won´t be returning to La Cruz as we had great plans to develop a prenatal education program for the clinic there. However, all the prenatal materials sent by my friends in the US will be hers to use now. She especially loved Mientras Espera, the Spanish prenatal book. More tears saying goodbye to my La Cruz family and my Tumbes Peace Corps friends. Robyn and Sarah are the women you want to be with at the beach, in the campo and about any other adventure!

I wouldn´t have missed it for anything. I would never have known how far I could stretch, would never have met such great people and seen first hand how difficult life is in a developing country.

Sara

Sara