Bienvenidos to my Blog!

Hello Family, Friends, and Curious Readers,

Thanks for stopping in to see what I am up to. This is my first blog, and I hope not to bore you too much with the details of my life. But rather hope to offer you some insights into development work, the highs, the lows, and well the boring.

But before I move away for 27 months, let me give you a little information about myself before I lose a steady internet connection.

So after graduating from Boston College in 2005, I decided I wanted to learn Spanish and "save the world" so I moved to Cusco, Peru. I began by volunteering for The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco by researching and writing a small business plan for the organization. I continued to work with the organization until February of 2008, when I returned to the US to prepare for my move to Madrid, Spain for 15 months to study an International MBA at IE Business School. And now, after a year of searching for the perfect development job, and taking odd jobs in the meantime, I have joined the Peace Corps and am volunteering again. So wish me luck, and PLEASE someone stop me from volunteering again!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

First week of training...

Holy Cow, this week has been quite the emotional rollercoaster. Talk about some culture shock, mixed with a lot of homesickness, heat, mosquitos, and a new living situation, and that is what the first week of training with the Peace Corps is like. They did say it is the toughest job you will ever love.

I am not going to lie to anyone, it has been very tough. But when I think about it, my behaviors before I left for Nicaragua set me up for it. I knew I wasn´t going to have hot showers, so I took one every day. I knew I wasn´t going to have fresh salads so I ate them everyday. I knew I wasn´t going to see my family, friends, dog, favorite places, or TV shows so I saw them everyday as well. One problem with all of this favorite things overload. You get here and its cold turkey. and that stinks. And now a lot of us trainees are thinking what the heck did we sign up for. I know all of these raging emotions will calm down, just hope they do soon.

We have been visiting schools and trying to create a youth group so we can get our business plan project rolling. I am in the advanced group of Spanish so our days are not that full. I am joining a local gym to meet some more local people, and am going to see if one of the schools has any side projects they need help with. I can´t sit around thinking about all the things I´m missing, if I do I would drive myself crazy.

But everyone should know that I love them and miss them, and thank them for their support. It truly means the world to me. Keep making good choices, I know I am going to try to!
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3 comments:

  1. JohnMay 18, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    You always liked roller coasters. I seem to remember you riding Expedition Everest 4 times on a freezing cold night just before it closed and you had to walk down! Just hang on and enjoy the ride even if it scares the bejesus out of you sometimes. Love you lots

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  2. Betty DoerrMay 18, 2011 at 8:14 PM

    Well you're missing the big news here. Arnold had a love child with the housekeeper (20 years with the family) ten years ago and covered it up. Maria walked out and is MAD. Oprah had her on her semi-finale (Maria, not the housekeeper). I'll keep you posted.

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  3. JessicaMay 19, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    Hey Viever,
    Just thought I'd send you a quick post to say hi. I hope that your adventures so far are going well. I'm sure you'll see a lot of eye openers in your next two years. Just so you can make sure not to miss it, you can tell your PC peeps taht you'll need to peace out on June 23 next year (If you say it now then then can plan for it :) ) Love you lots viever & miss you tons. Enjoy this adventure, you'll be back before you know it.
    xoxo
    Jess

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