This weekend I feel like I might actually be a real Peace Corps volunteer.
Here is why-
A. I am poor as hell.
B. I killed a cockroach Saturday night.
C. I ran 8 miles without an iPod yesterday.
I am the first to admit that I am a very spoiled volunteer. I think Peace Corps involves a lot of luck, and as far as I'm concerned I won the Peace Corps lottery. Awesome country, awesome site, awesome family. Boom. Doesn't get much better. I have a great host family and an excellent community to work with. I have internet, water, electricity, and a cell phone with service 100% of the time. I live in a big room with a full length mirror, a double bed, and a floor covered in tiles- not dirt or cement. I don't know any other volunteer who can say that, which is something that kicks my Catholic guilt up so high that I'm surprised I'm sharing that detail on the blog. Sorry guys, I just got lucky there. I have close friends in my immediate region and I receive more packages than any one person needs. I have NOTHING to complain about. And sure, for the most part, I have pretty much the same challenges, inconveniences, frustrations, and struggles that most of my fellow volunteers have--- the struggles we were all warned about. So it's not like I'm not the real deal, I feel like a volunteer and I know I experience the typical volunteer life in Peru. But at least from my point of view, when it comes to amenities and creature comforts, things are just a little cushier in my Peace Corps world. I am neither proud nor ashamed of that, just grateful.
And my Posh Corps/ self-declared spoiled volunteer status is what gives me such a satisfying sense of fulfillment this weekend. As I said, I'm an insect killer void of technology and money. Everything a Peace Corps volunteer should be, right?
The explanation-
A. Pobre
I have been thrifty and just fiscally fine for the past 10 months. I budget, I borrow, I prioritize, I save, I spend, I sacrifice. Things have been going alright money wise. And then Holy Week happened and I went on vacation. Which means I went to Lima- the biggest money suck I have to deal with in Peru. It is no one's fault but my own that I'm poor. I need no sympathy. My decisions brought me here. And I'm not upset about that. The decisions I speak of involve registration for a half marathon and an all you can eat sushi splurge. Necessary costs, I must say. Come one. Would you be able to pass up all you can eat sushi in Lima for $13? Didn't think so. Anyway, I've made my bed. Until I get my next living allowance, I have 17 soles jangling around in my coin pig. And yeah, it's literally a pig purse. A gift from Piere, don't judge ;). To put that in perspective, with today's exchange rate, 17 soles is just shy of $6.50. Just enough and just the way it should be... but they can drop that living allowance deposit in my account whenever they want to :)
B. La Cucaracha
I stayed at a friend's house Saturday night and slept on a mattress on the floor, which gave the intruding cockroach easier access to my face. Not cool. I'd like to say I'm a badass and killed him like a seasoned volunteer without thinking twice about it, but you wouldn't believe that. I bounced around in a headlamp with shoes on my hands squealing and jumping until I achieved a classic Disney kill and woke up all the cats in the house with my antics (bug dance, anyone? lol). In case you weren't born or gave birth to a child in the eighties or nineties, a Disney kill is what I like to call death by 'accidental fall.' Simba didn't kill Scar, he fell. The Beast didn't throw Gaston off the roof of that castle, he slipped. Heroes aren't homicidal, they just facilitate accidents waiting to happen. Same with our friend the cockroach. He didn't want to be upstairs. I was just helping him down a little faster... then made sure he got there and didn't suffer from the long trip. This was my first cockroach kill, and yeah, I bragged about it when I got home. Piere was impressed. We won't give him the details.
C. No Hay Tecnología
I have gadgets. More than I need and I know that. So I shouldn't whine about not having an iPod for a run. However, I'm not one of those impressive runners I know who can run without music. Running without music is tough for me and nothing I ever elect to do. But with my current financial situation and my recently broken headphones, I had no choice. Eight miles with nothing but the sound of my own motion. I survived. Sort of ironic, though, that they would break right now. Kind of like the fact that I'm out of body wash and mouth wash, aaannnd the 2 pairs of sandals I own have broken within the past month. Oh, timing. Bar soap works just as good, that prescription toothpaste is just going to have to work harder, and shower flip flops can be worn out of the house... desperate times, desperate measures, you know.
We shall see what this week brings. But at least for now, I'm hardcore... and maybe, just maybe, a real volunteer.
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