Notes from Peru

Will and I received an email yesterday from a friend serving in Peru. She left last September and pretty soon it will have been a year since she left the comforts of America for the unknown in village life in some remote corner of Peru. She met her current boyfriend during training and have been together since then. Recently they took a trip back to America for a few weeks together. She's been back for about a month now and seems to be having some 'readjustment' issues. Getting used to life in her village again was tougher than she thought it would be because she missed America more than she thought she would. She is by no means a sheltered girl, she's done her share of traveling and studying abroad, but living in a village with a host family in a country you're never been to, eating food you're not used too, having less hot showers than you're used to are things anyone will have to get used to. Her boyfriend works at a site about an hour away so they don't see eachother that often in-country. After having spent those few weeks in America seeing eachother everyday, it must be tough not seeing eachother as often as they'd like to.

So...Will and I have decided we are not going home to visit family or friends while we are serving. I think the longer we're in-country, the better we'll get to know the place. I'm really glad that we're serving together. I don't do well with long-distance relationships. I think every Peace Corps volunteer wishes at least once during their service that they had someone to share their experiences with right then and there.