I went to the peace corps office for my mid-service medical exam, which is a peace corps' rite of passage...meaning I have completed one year of service and as a reward I got to be examined by doctors and the dentist, o happy day! (0 cavities! woohoo!! Which is amazing considering all the sugar I eat in country...some people work out when they are stressed, others eat candy, and others just eat nutella straight out of the jar...which one do you think I am??).
Anyway, in terms of health, all is más o menos...I am just allergic to Guatemala...just kidding...sort of...but no parasites or life-threatening illnesses! woohoo!! lol.
Being at the peace corps office for my midservice was sort of strange however, because a few of my friends are COS-ing (kind of like graduating from the peace corps...after your 2 years of service, a volunteer COS's). It was cool to get to spend some time with them, but it was hard saying goodbye ( I hate goodbyes...I mean who likes goodbyes? But I am pretty awful with goodbyes...usually I just slip away without saying anything...I am working on that though...!). Also, for me personally, it was hard hearing my friends talk about leaving their sites, all the goodbye parties thrown for them by local guatemalteco friends and family, and everything they have accomplished. To be honest it put me in a little bit of a funk mainly because I feel so far away from that, yet we all know a year flies by...
I am about 6 months into living at my new site, and I still don't feel integrated or fulfilled with work. I keep wondering if anyone will throw me a goodbye party in year from now...will I have friends? A new surrogate family that has adopted me as one of their own? A year from now, what will I have accomplished?
Everyone says that the second year of service is when volunteers really start to make things happen and make those long-lasting connections to their site...I just get worried that everything will pass me by and it will be time to go, and no one will even care that I was even here...
But, it is funny because as I was thinking all these sad, depressing thoughts, this girl I had recently met on a microbus back from the cabacera to my site, called me and asked if I wanted to hang out...I actually ended up going to her house, and it also happened to be her brother's birthday, so not only did I get to hang out with her and her entire family, I also got cake.
So, maybe someone will miss me when I am gone! I guess everything happens in its own time...so I just have to be patient...
In terms of other things that have been going on, last week was dia de los muertos (day of the dead), and instead of spending it in a cemetery with people I literally just met the day before, I went to the kite flying festival in Sumpango ( a little outside of Antigua). It was beautiful! There were a bunch of these huge, beautiful kites; apparently people here fly kites to send messages to the dead. It was definitely an interesting cultural experience, and a cool way to spend my last dia de los muertos in country...It is strange to think that this time next year, I will be back home!! Or at least in the US...crazy.
Anyway, I am out of my funk, and I am trying to stay positive. I have one year of my peace corps' service left, and I would really like to focus on making strong connections to my community, long-lasting friendships, and also I would like to accomplish a few projects that are close to my heart (my next blog post will share details of my upcoming project!)
The more I am here, the more I realize that the peace corps is about so much more than whatever your job assignment is...
Sounds like your second year is shaping up to be pretty great! Plus, I saw that your special friend is visiting in a couple weeks, so I can only imagine how much you are looking forward to that ;) good luck with the projects!
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