Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wow...this will be my first Thanksgiving EVER away from my family. I gotta admit...Ive got a little poor-me, pity party going on now. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Its all about family and getting to spend time together. Plus, the Packers usually have a game, too, which just makes ANYTHING that much better :) Anyway, Ill stop complaining. Especially since I wont have it rough at all. Tomorrow Fr. Jack is taking us long term volunteers to the beach (it is coming into summer here ya know!). We get to stay overnight even. And tomorrow, to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are having a nice fish dinner. Yum!!! So, to stay in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some things Ive just discovered I'm grateful for or appreciate even more since my trip to Chimbote. HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

(A little side note...this post gets kinda long, so its pretty understandable if you don't read the whole thing, but at least read #6!)


#1 My family and friends! I love you all so so much and miss you mucho mucho!!! On this trip, more than ever, I have realized how lucky I am to have such a wonderful support system. Lots of friendly, motivating, and encouraging thoughts, emails, prayers, you name it! I think I'm a pretty independent person, but man is it nice to know that people have your back :) And of course I cant forget about my Peruvian family as well. The kindness and gratitude they have shown me is pretty incredible. For having so little, materially speaking, they have given so much to me in my short time here. You are ALL very much appreciated!

#2 My independence and freedom to do what I want. If I want to go for a run, I need to go at 6am no matter what day of the week it is. We always take the same route, just vary the distance so long as were done within 45 minutes. When I go to physical therapy I have to go be accompanied either by one of the workers or the guards for the walk there and back. Lunch is at 1:30 and supper is at 7. My host mom is going to load up my plate with food, usually regardless of what I say or ask for, and it is considered rude and wasteful to not finish everything. For me, with the little spanish I know, it would be hard to even take a taxi by myself and feel safe and I certainly wouldn't want to walk downtown by myself. Sometimes its so hard to find the spanish words to explain what I want to do or change, that I just accept how things are. I wash my clothes by hand and need to set up a time prior to, so that my family will have enough water that day for me to do it.  As a volunteer here, too, were pretty much on call to do what needs to be done, making it hard to have a set schedule. I think that's part of the Peruvian culture too! When I get home, I will have a better appreciation for being able to do the things I want to do, when I want to do them. Like if I want a reeses blizzard on a Thursday night, I can just hop in my car and get one :)

#3 Fooooood. Its pretty well known, I am LAZY when it comes to cooking. Cereal, eggs, granola bars, and eating out pretty much sums up my eating habits. After 6 weeks of not really being in control of anything I eat, eating mysterious food, getting sick from certain foods, eating food I don't really like, and to top it all off, GAINING weight from all that, I will take advantage of what is available to me at home. I am very lucky to have fruits and vegetables easily accessible and affordable to me. Foods that are clean. Meat. Juice. Water that doesn't have to be boiled before its used. And chips and salsa...lets not forget chips and salsa! I still will happily accept any cooking someone else does for me though...

#4 The comforts of home. My bed. Hot, real showers. Clean clothes. Watching football on Sundays. Calling my family whenever I feel like it. Texting! Friday night Los Compadres dinner and drinks with fun people ;) Penguin slides, the worm, and trash can dancing with the best of em (although I have had fun doing that in Peru too....). Baby Brady! Lunches at Las Margaritas with mi amiga! Playing the piano and singing at church. Calling CBRE during work hours and chatting with my bro! Sweat pants.Telling jokes. Wowing my coworkers with my fantasy football knowledge and success ;)

#5 The gift of gab. Never thought I would say I miss talking. I don't think of myself as much of a talker (maybe a long winded blogger though, huh???) Not being able to speak the language very well down here has made it hard to really get to know people. Ive learned enough that I can ask for what I want, can ask basic questions to people and get a general understanding of pretty much anything anyone says, but that's about it. My host family is amazing, but it would be really neat to get to know them better and be able to better show how much I appreciate everything that they are doing for me. And although Ive been able to be pretty successful at PT here, it sure would be easier and less stressful if I were fluent in Spanish. Patient history is so important as well as is offering explanations for what I am demonstrating or instructing them to do.

#6 PERU!!! Last but not least! I hope all the stuff from above doesn't sound like I'm complaining about my time here. It has truly been an INCREDIBLE experience. Ive learned things about myself...both good and not so good...that I can use to make me a better person. Ive felt successful about some of the things Ive done, grateful for the kindness Ive received, enthusiastic about passing on ideas that could be helpful, sadness to see so much poverty, but astonishment at how life goes on and poverty does not equal sadness or an unfulfilled life. Ive wanted to kick myself in the pants about things I complain about, but also give myself a pat on the back for the things Ive not let bother me. Ive gotten tears in my eyes seeing strong witnesses of their Faith. Ive been scared of dogs and fast cars, but always have felt at ease around the people. Through Fr. Jack and Sr. Peggy, Ive seen great example of what it means to truly devote yourself 100% to a mission or goal and it is very inspiring! Ive done equal parts of hard work and fun. Ive gotten used to taking a nap (or at least a downtime) in the middle of the day! Ive wanted to scream in frustration due to the language barrier, but Ive also laughed so hard with my new spanish speaking friends here, because some things are just universal. Most of all though, I am thankful to God for giving me this "once in a lifetime" experience, letting me use my talents, and showing me strengths I didn't know I had and how to overcome some of my weaknesses.