21 Days and Counting

Hello Friends and Family!

This is Jenna, signing in on my first blog entry. I was checking out the internet and noticed that a few of my fellow Peru-bound Peace Corps friends were already writing, so I decided to jump on the band wagon. I'm 21 days away and full of way more than 21 emotions! Let's write a little bit about the background.

For those who don't know me, I'm from San Diego, CA (originally from Orange County but I'm now a San Diegan) and I just graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish. I applied for the Peace Corps a full year ago, and am now getting ready to embark! I lived in Santiago, Chile for two weeks, and then lived in Alicante, Spain for 5 months (I got to hop around a bunch of Europe while I was there too, which was pretty awesome), so I definitely love to travel and can't wait to live in Peru. I joined the Peace Corps to make a difference in the lives of others, regardless of how big or small that difference might be. If I touch even just one person in a real way, I will leave Peru happy. I also joined to be able to live in another culture so that I can better understand it, and gain a larger understanding of what this big world is like. Traveling is another plus of the Peace Corps, and I plan to do a lot of that while I'm gone. Macchu Picchu anyone?!

I'm going to be serving as a Health Care Promoter for the Peace Corps. Basically, I'll be teaching the people about nutrition, disease awareness, pregnancy prevention, etc. I do have a partial background in this area, mostly on nutrition from public speaking in high school, but I'm really looking forward to all that I'm going to learn about health care. There is definitely a lot for me to learn. I'll be living with a host family for my entire two years, which is great! My first two months in Peru will be spent in Lima, where I will be doing pre-service training. While there, I will live with one host family. After my two months are over, I will be sent to my actual site, which will be anywhere in Peru, so at that point I'll be moved to another host family. I didn't live with a host family while I was in Spain, but I did live with a Chilean madre during my two weeks in Chile, and she is one of my fondest memories. She was this sweet, 60's age or so woman who didn't speak a lick of English. At the time, I really didn't speak spanish, so it was quite the challenge, but I'll never forget how warm and welcoming she was. She called my spanish dictionary "tu mejor amigo" because I was always pausing and looking words up in it. I gave her a "beach" style (to represent California) Beanie Baby as a thank you gift for letting me stay with her, and she ran around the house for ten minutes introducing the bear to all the rooms, its new bed, etc. This was all in spanish so I had no idea what the words she was saying were, but I could read the body language and it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Beanie Baby finished in his bed, where he was literally tucked in. I hope I have a similar experience with my new host family.

I'm allowed to take two suitcases and a carry on. Packing will be a challenge for me, but I plan on mastering it. I've been trying not to go out and buy too much "new" stuff, and I think I've done a pretty good job. I do plan on bringing my computer, my iPod, my camera, etc. From what I've read on other blogs, I've gathered that internet access and cell phone coverage is widely spread. I also do plan on purchasing a cell phone while I'm there. It makes me feel better to know that I will have a phone on me that I can use in case of emergencies (although once my mom gets hold of the number, I'm sure it will be used to communicate with home a lot as well.) I also have a Mac, so I can definitely do iChat, or Skype, whenever I feel. I'm a little nervous to cart my precious MacBook Pro around, so we will see what the environment is like for that. I'm also bringing a bazillion books, and plan to read as much as I can while I'm in Peru. It's something that I never take the time to do at home, but is something that I love.

These last few weeks are for saying my goodbyes, and I have to admit it's depressing. Everyone looks at me with a face that says "I'm happy to see you! But oh you are leaving... now I'm sad..." It's tough! I'm trying to keep a positive outlook. I'm not leaving forever, I'm not going to war, I'm visiting halfway through... no sweat! This is going to change me in the best of ways, and is going to give me experiences that nothing else could. It's all good! On the flipside, I've been doing really fun things, because I've been getting to hang out with everyone. It's definitely been fun, and has been nice to not be employed. :) I quit my job at Verizon Wireless as Customer Service Representative about two weeks ago so that I could spend my last month with everyone I love. It's been great!

Ok I think this is enough for now. My coffee has gone cold so it's time to move on to the next activity. I will be testing how to post videos and pics on this blog soon, so until then... arriba Peru!