Al Final

So, dear readers, it's been several months since I've last written...sorry! I think I owe you an explanation.

Before that though, I've been hearing from all sorts of friends and relatives that they are forwarding my blog to their friends. I just want to say thank you for reading to everyone that I didn't know had this link!




Ok, that said, to start I will recount to you my long and arduous months of January and February:

It rained buckets, the youth center was closed because no one was working with us, and basically half the town left.



The end.

Yes, this is why I didn't write any blogs. There was nothing to write about! It's enough to say, Chris and I cooked a lot, watched lots of movies, and I worked on trying to read books in Spanish. We honestly tried to get something done; we'd try to meet with community members, I advertised my teaching services to everyone and their mother, and we'd pester people in the government offices (if they were even open, which they tended to close often). But to no avail. Everything shuts down during the rainy season, and that's that.

So unfortunately, I didn't work directly with any kids during that time. We worked on minor organizational things for the center, but that was it. However, Chris has been experiencing a whole new Cutervo now that the rainy season is over, you can see all his success here: Peruvian Pato




While there was nothing to do, I watched my saved money rapidly decrease (we found out that we had been paying for the rent for a second house for the host siblings plus paying for our own food, but that's another story), the idea that I really should be thinking about leaving nagged me constantly.

I had been job searching, and all of a sudden a job with the government I had randomly applied to said I qualified to take the initial tests required for the position. That was the catalyst that I needed. I changed my plane tickets from April to the next week (fortunately, free of charge), and in the course of seven days I packed everything, went to experience Carnival in Cajamarca, traveled to Lima, and then boarded a plane for Denver.


....Surprise!! I'm in Denver now! No more Perú blogs now, I'm deeply sorry to say.



But, now that I'm here, I've been applying to job upon job upon job. I also have a remaining 350 Americorps volunteer hours to finish, so I have been working 40 hours a week as a bilingual intern with Colorado Bright Beginnings up on Colorado Blvd. & 6th. Their mission is promoting early childhood education through good parenting practices. I started by entering very thick piles of data sheets into the computer and doing phone survey calls in Spanish, but now I'm starting to do home visits where I give and explain educational packets parents with children under 3. I'm getting very good at explaining childhood development in Spanish! They've also started me on some graphic design projects. After working with so many adolescents who are severely behind in school, it's nice to work for an organization that sort of nips that problem in the bud. Plus I love everyone in that office, I feel very comfortable, accepted, and happy there.

I've also started working on Fridays with Friendship Bridge, a microlending organization that works with Guatemalan women, and I'll start translating soon for Cooking Matters, which does cooking and nutrition classes.


In sum, I'm sad to have left Peru, but I had a wealth of amazing experiences there. It also feels great to be back and doing work (by work I mean not feeling like I'm constantly pushing on a brick wall trying to do something, a feeling that often overcame me in Cutervo). And I've returned an honorary Peace Corps (or as Chris would say, Peacey Corps) member!. I was officially knighted by my good friend, Chris Duron (read his amazing blog here: Living Above the Clouds. He has seriously had the most unbelievable bad luck in the past couple months, you just have to read his stories). I'm also glad to be in Denver, reentering the real world.

Thanks for following the blog! Keep up with me by email please!! ktehrlich@gmail.com