La vida es así...

It's really been 4 and a half months?  Sometimes it still doesn't seem real that I'm in Peru.  I'm not ready to leave.  For me, big changes are a little scary right before going into them, but I adapt quickly.  I've adapted to being here, and I like it enough to want to stay.  I live in Lima now.  But only for 4 more days. 

This alpaca is not impressed with that fact.

Reasons to stay:

• It's Peru.
• Inca Kola
• Peruvian cuisine like lomo saltado, ají de gallina, pollo a la brasa, canchita...
• La Lucha sandwiches
• Public transportation- I think micros are fun most of the time. 
• Walking along the malecón, overlooking the ocean
• Mountains (and the sierra in general)
• Tons of cool archaeological stuff  (Huaca!)
• Camino de Vida Church
• Seemingly random things that happen
• People I've met and people I'm just starting to get to know better
• I'm not fluent in Spanish yet.
• Things I can't quite figure out exactly right now but will probably be able to once I'm back and realize what exactly it is I'm missing

Our program group in Cusco

Reasons to return:

• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship- I've really been missing this kind of community here (and all their lovely faces).
• Ocho family reunion!?
• Taxis will not honk or flash their lights at me.  Random men are not likely to cat-call or approach me.
• Real milk- not soy, not lactose-free, and if it doesn't have to be refrigerated, it's not real milk.
• Peanut butter that's not an expensive foreign import.  It's like a staple of childhood.
• Favorite home-cooked meals by Mom and Linda
• Instruments.  It's been over 4 months since I've touched a piano or guitar. (Gah!)
• Real rain, that cleans away the dirt and grime, and thunderstorms.
• I suppose family and friends need to be on this list :-)

This is what the sidewalks look like when it "rains".

Ha, food plays a big part in both these lists...

Things I've learned:

• I can handle living in a big city (or Lima, at least).
• My Spanish is good enough that I can function fine in a Spanish-speaking country (usually).
• I can be more extroverted and more self-confident.
• I sunburn rather easily in lower latitudes... well, even easier than normal.
• I have been blessed in many ways.
• I never realized just how blonde and light-skinned I am. (Ugh, why does this have to matter??)
• It would be hard to express "random awkward sketchy creeper" in Spanish.
• Life is... interesting to ponder.  As an internal processor, I need to internally process more...
• I do enjoy working with children (at least, when it's once a week...)

Things I have decided:

• I will start calling facebook simply "face"
• I will find ways to speak Spanish more frequently
• I will try to use Peruvianisms like "chau", "acá nomás" and adding -ito to the ends of words (Good luck, family- you're going to have to learn a little Spanish.)
• I will eat more rice
• I don't really want to adjust back to the normal American meal schedule.  I want my large lunch at 1 or 2pm and a lighter dinner at 8.
• I'm coming back someday.  And Rebecca, Rachel and I will start a school/llama farm.

These lists are incomplete, mixed with serious and more light-hearted thoughts, and mostly just what's coming to mind right now, but I'm sure there's a lot more I could add to each of them.  I really kind of wish I wasn't leaving, and wonder how I'll re-adjust to life in the U.S.  I'm anticipating bastante reverse culture shock.  But as my host sister-in-law's mother told me in a wistful, sad tone (so much so it's a bit comical), "Ah Melisita....  la vida es así."