What Happened to 2013??

Wow! I have some catching up to do in my blogging life.  2014 has arrived and has already proven to be an exciting and challenging year! But before we start 2014 let me bring 2013 to an end. 

I spent the first week of December back in Chaclacayo in Lima with the other youth development volunteers from Peru 21.  We were back with our training host families and back at the training center for a week of charlas on medical, safety & security, reporting, and projects.  We also presented the community diagnostics we had worked on during our fist 3 months in site.  I also had the opportunity to learn more about the development of special education in Peru and spent a morning helping at a CEBE (Centro Educativa Básica Especial - the schools for children with disabilities). Through these experiences, I began to long for the opportunity to work with the newly developing opportunities for children with disabilities in Peru - something that does not match the current needs and energy of my community of Mocupe.  And so conversations began with Peace Corps staff to work on projects more appropriate to my skills and more in line with my energy and passion. 

The return to Chaclacayo was a small milestone for our group - we had finished our first months in site and were moving forward as volunteers ready to take on the summer and then a new school year of activities and projects.  It also proved to be a confidence booster for my acquisition of language. I knew I had improved and learned a lot but it was pretty incredible to be able to give charlas without first writing down every word, to understand training as they flowed back and forth between English and Spanish and even more amazing to be able to talk to my training host family about my role as a youth development volunteer, about Peru, and even about politics.  This is the same family who I once told I was 14 years old and then proceeded to stand in their living room crying without the skills to explain I needed their help to get to the training center for my first day of training.  I still make mistakes and get confused by language daily - but I am also continuing to learn and improve daily. 

I returned back to site after Thanksgiving in Ancash and training in Chaclacayo for the final 2 weeks of the school year.  I have learned to work in the unpredictability of the school pretty well and spent the last 2 weeks working with my English Clubs, Personal Development groups, and helping with random end of school activities.  

The school year came to a close and I headed to Lima to welcome my boyfriend to Peru for vacations and traveling over Christmas and New Years.