¡Feliz Año Nuevo! It's 2024 :)

My mind wants to drift to anywhere else but write the lesson plans for the English classes I am supposed to start teaching in a week. I don’t feel ready or prepared to teach using Spanish, and now the temporada de lluvias (rainy season) is here. All my motivations have dissipated. I cannot wrap my head around teaching and entertaining children for more than half an hour. My respect for teachers has grown tenfold. 

I have decided that since last year was my “year of friendship” I will continue the tradition and pick a new intention for 2024. This is the year of power. Power makes me think of ability, confidence, and influence. Power is the opposite of weakness. I want to feel strong in my abilities and break free of my self-doubts, surrounding my language capabilities and my life here in Perú. If there is one thing that my fellow Peace Corps volunteers have shown me, it’s that selfishness is not always a bad word. The sheer confidence and self-centric nature of my fellow Americans abroad astounds me because it makes them unafraid. Unafraid to be embarrassed, to teach school children in another language, to give speeches in front of the entire town. Admittedly, I need to take a page out of the selfish handbook and start believing I’m the shit, so even if I do fail I can pick myself back up again a little easier. 

Over the weekend, my host mom asked me to come with her to the chacra (fields) and even though I had explosive diarrhea, I knew I had to go to show my commitment to hard work and prove to her I was not a lazy American. It was just her and I out in the chacra and the sun was shining on the wet alfalfa fields in such a way that they glimmered a vibrant green. We were shaded at the edge of the alfalfa field, under the eucalyptus trees with their crisp, sweet scent, the morning sun breaking between branches. My host mom took a seat on a dirt mound and gestured for me to join her, which surprised me because she’s not one for taking a leisurely rest. I sat down next to her, and for once, she and I had a pleasant conversation; about her life, the plants and birds of the surrounding forest, and my life, too. She pulled out two cigarettes and asked if I cared for one. Hell, I could not say no to that. Before I knew it we were goofing around trying to do a French inhale, and I felt more at home than I have in a long time.

Been spending a lot of time with cats lately, so here are some photos of me enjoying the kitties.

We also celebrated my friend Alex's birthday during New Year's, chocolate tres leches cake, firework candles, and new memories with new friends. Here's to 2024 and many more