Guess Who's Back?

Hello again from Callao! After our whirlwind December, going everywhere from Machu Picchu to Blue Springs, MO, Katrina and I are back in Peru for the second half of our World Service Corps terms.

Now, I’m not going to bore you too long with this—but I do feel like I need to tell a little bit about what it was like to be home for the holidays.

First of all, when Katrina and I were leaving Peru, I was completely flustered because there was this small thing we had to deal with: customs. We had overstayed our 90 day visas in Peru by, well, an additional 90 days. As we went through customs, the officer asked me (in Spanish of course) why I had overstayed so long and all I could stammer out was, “Soy una voluntaria” (I’m a volunteer.)  Apparently that was enough, because he let me go after charging me a $133 fine. P.S. They only charged Katrina $64—jerks.

Meeting up with friends at IHOP while at home! 

Anyway, after a long night of flights from Lima to Houston, then Houston to Kansas City, we touched down on a snow covered runway and I was home. My parents were anxiously awaiting and had a coat ready for me (thank goodness.) I went straight from the airport to Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, to see my boys play their last home game of the season in the frigid cold. I knew I was back in America when a random stranger in the security line asked me if I wanted a hit of his Jagermeister. ‘Merica.

Anyway, after what my family fondly calls, “The Kansas City Letdown” (aka another heartbreaking loss by the Chiefs—who, for the record, will always be my boys, no matter how many times they put me through The Kansas City Letdown) we headed home to thaw out.

It’s amazing how quickly you can fall into the routine of things once you’re home. I immediately commenced drinking out of my mom’s tea cup, making the dogs bark for no apparent reason and leaving a trail of my things all throughout the house (I sound like a delightful roommate, don’t I?) The following week was a pleasant mixture of simply sitting and enjoying my family’s company and rushing around frantically to try to see as many friends as I could.

On a Christmas morning run in the local park!

Here, I have to pause to say that I have some incredible friends. More than a few of them footed the lunch or dinner bill for me while I was home, since they know I’m not getting paid this year. It was nothing I asked for and I was completely humbled when my friends insisted on helping me out. And while I’d love to think that I will forever be a hippy with no big kid life roaming around South America, I’m also excited for the day when I’m financially on my feet and can treat them to a similar pleasure (although I know it won’t quite be the same.)

Seeing my extended family was wonderful. I managed to get to see pretty much all of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Everyone was excited to hear about my adventures in Peru and it made me feel good about myself. I’m well aware that I’ve taken a path a little different than most—many of my friends are starting budding careers, have husbands or fiancés, and are starting to think about investing in houses. I quit my salaried job, packed all of my things in boxes to store in my parents’ basement (thanks mom), said a final farewell to my car (which was donated to charity a week after I left). I did all of this to move Peru to do something I had absolutely no experience in. Yeah, it’s not exactly your typical path for a 25 year old. But my family finds all of that “adventurous” and it’s refreshing to have someone tell me they think my path is cool.

We discovered some "Welcome Home" decor on our door!

Before I knew it, January 5 was upon me and it was time to make the trek to the airport through the slippery Kansas City streets (seriously though, the drive was horrible.) Before we even got off our plane in Lima we could feel that infamous Lima humidity and it was evident that we weren’t in Kansas anymore (and thank goodness, because the wind chill there was -30 today.)

Looking ahead, I’m excited for the next six months. I feel like Katrina and I spent the first few months we were in Lima getting accustomed to each other, the world around us, and our new roles. Now that we’ve got those things (mostly) figured out, we can figure out what we can really accomplish while we’re here.

Of course, I still have some lingering concerns: my (still) lacking Spanish skills and figuring out what on earth I’m going to do with my life when I come home in July (to name a few); but for right now, I’m choosing to look at the positive. We’ll tackle the hurdles one we get to them. Here’s to making the next 178 days in Peru count.