July 20, 2009
I have been back in country since Tuesday and it has been busy as ever. I arrived in Lima thinking I would be there for a fair with my artisans only to get a call on Wed that my artisans decided to do a more local fair instead of traveling to Lima. So at 4:30 I grabbed a bus and headed up to Piura arriving about 8 the next morning. During the day I went to see the new Harry Potter movie with Karrie and spent some of the day with my artisans at the fair and decided to stay the night with a few other volunteers. We went out that night (so much for my 13 mo detox) to a local club and danced the night away. The next morning I headed back to site surprising my family since they thought I wouldn’t be home till after the Lima fair on Sat. I got to give them their gifts which they loved and also put the flea collars on my cats and dogs, which means I can pet them again. Lol. I passed out at about 4:30 in the afternoon and slept straight thru till 8:30 the next morning. From there I headed to the fair in Piura with my artisans. I got to give my artisans their presents and their kids, Sandro and Josie their cute outfits. I grabbed a video of Sandro cheering “Go Phillies!” with his new shirt on (Howard 6). I was at the fair till about 10 that night. But I did get away from the stand for a bit to dine with my good friend Marian who was down from her mountain site in upper Piura, Frias. Heading back to the fair, I hung out with my artisans and we talked about how my trip was. I got home at 10:30 pm and I thought my sister and mom were going to have a heart attack because it was “so” late. But I was safe because my artisan’s husband owns a car so I wasn’t using public transportation. Then went to bed waking up at 8:30 on Sunday and headed back to the fair this time with a notebook and cards to occupy my time. I also was able to go watch a movie and lunch with a few other volunteers who were in the capital that day. I headed back to the fair and we again were out till 10:30 but this time my family was okay with it. My brother Cesar was waiting at the house to say hello to me with his wife Meche and their kids CJ and Socorro. I gave the kids their gifts, sidewalk chalk, which they then preceded to use on all the walls and floors in my house. Believe it or not they do not have sidewalk chalk here.
I headed to bed about 11 and woke up this morning at 10, ate breakfast, and finally began to tackle my room which embarrassingly looks like a tornado hit it. Then I began to catalog my photos from my vaca home and here I am now writing this blog entry, since I got enough shit while I was home to start it again.
This week I will be working on writing a briefing of my artisan group for the Leeds School of Bus (Univ of Col, Boulder) I applied and was chosen to work with a MBA class this coming fall semester. They will be doing a case study on my artisans. I am extremely excited about this opportunity and want to do everything possible for my artisans to get the most out of this experience.
Also, I have a lot to do as far as working on my resume and emailing a few leads I have looked into for a job next year. Though some of you may think it’s too early to put focus on this area of my life, trust me its not. And even if it is, the number one difficulty in being a volunteer (as polled by RPCVs) is the reentry into the American Culture. There is a reverse culture shock that some volunteers can’t deal with, so I figure my best bet to avoid this situation is to have a job waiting for me when I get back, if not, at least a list of interviews… Okay I have to go eat lunch with my family because I have dared not to for the past 4 days and they are about to beat me. Then heading to my artisans, then Catacaos, which is where I will post this blog!
Love you all- ekh
