Two Worlds Melded Together

The past three years I have been working to stay abreast in two very different worlds. At the beginning of my service I was reluctant to fully embrace Peruvian culture and my life in Peru; I wanted to eat American food whenever possible; I was very diligent in making Skype dates, sending emails and writing letters. As my second year rolled around, I started to feel more Peruvian than American. I unconsciously stopped craving American foods; I made Skype phone calls, but they were few and far between; I wrote letters, but I wasn’t as good at it as my first year. I was excited to hang out with my host family and attend family events. I craved specific Peruvian foods. I got excited to dance to Peruvian music. I started taking a pride in Peru that I hadn’t felt before. When friends and family would visit, I was always proud to show them around Peru and brag about the delicious food, rich culture and the friendly people. Even going home for Christmas break, after a couple weeks, I realized that at that point in time my place was in Peru. The first half of my third year, my world was Peace Corps and Water and Sanitation, and then my second half, I had to start reintroducing myself to the reality that I am American, and I need to start getting things squared away for when I get home. For the last few months, I feel as though I have one foot in Peru and one foot in America. There were many times that really frustrated me, but as I think about it, I am so blessed to feel a part of two cultures, two families, various circles of friends, two realities and so much more. I realized that I don’t have to entirely separate my “two lives”—they are actually all the same. This really struck home when my parents came to visit in September. We went to go visit my host family, and seeing all of them interact together made me so happy. Even though they don’t speak the same language, they all still had a wonderful time and there was a lot of laughter. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to have two worlds meld together.