Todo va a estar bien

Todo va a estar bien. Everything will be fine. I keep hearing this from friends and family as I prepare for my return back to the United States. Everyone also keeps asking me these questions:

 "How do you feel about going home?"

My feelings towards coming home often change. I either do or don't feel ready to come home. Most often, I feel ready to come home. It's not that I want to leave Peru, it's just that I am ready to be back home. I am ready to be in my hometown, in my house, and with my family. Other times, however, I don't feel ready to come home. I don't feel ready to leave behind the life I have made for myself here in Peru. I'm not ready to say good bye to Peru and all it's beauty. I'm not ready to say good bye to the amazing friends and family I have made in Peru. Coming home will certainly be bittersweet.

 "What will you miss about Peru?" 

I will miss so much from Peru! I miss all of it's rich culture that I have found in every part of the country I have traveled to. I will miss all the beautiful places I have seen. I will miss traveling around Peru. I will miss speaking Spanish. It will be quite a shock speaking in English when I come home haha. It will be weird seeing the scenery of Iowa-- Sioux City, corn fields, soy bean fields-- and not the scenery of Lima. I will miss the hustle and bustle of Lima. I will miss taking busses everywhere. It will be different driving a car in a trafficless Sioux City when I return home. I will miss seeing Lima at night as it's streets are lighted by businesses and restaurants. I will miss the impulsive living in the moment life style I lived this entire year. I will miss being able to go to the beach and relax as I listen to the waves roll in. I will miss diving into these same waves, too. I will miss Peruvian food and it's diversity! However, I am very excited for Mom's home-cooked meals and Dad's always accompanying sticky rice! I will miss how time can be passed slowly here; not everything is GO! GO! GO! I will miss my host families. But I will be so happy to be back in the loving arms of my U.S. family! I will miss the friends I have made here.

These are my best friends! (From left to right) Aude (Belgium), Mackenzie (Canada), Me, Betta (U.S.), Kenya (Canada), and Cyprien (Belgium). These are the friends I know I will have for life. We are so close because we have all shared this same experience, foreign exchange, together. My friends have my family during my exchange. When I was having problems with my first host family at the beginning of the year, my friends were what kept me here. When we need some to talk to, we are always there for each other. We have been there for each other through our up's and down's this year. We have been each other's support system this year! I love them all so much! Saying good bye to them will be hard, especially because I do not know the next time I will see them.

"What have you learned from your exchange?"

I have learned so much this year! Besides a completely different culture and language, I have learned other things as well. I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned that I have an insatiable desire to travel! I want to travel the rest of the world to see and learn all its beauty. One of the most important things I have learned is to pass the time slowly and enjoy every moment of it. My mom told me that ever since I will little I would never enjoy the moment I was in because I was always planning the future moment. Peru has really taught me to not worry about the future so much and just live in the present. Everything is done so slowly here. It's done slowly so everything can be enjoyed thoroughly. This is one important lesson that will stay with me forever.



As sad and painful it will be to leave Peru, I know that everything will be fine. As Edgar Allan Poe once said, "Out of happiness is born sorrow." I am happy that I will come home knowing I had such an amazing, unforgettable experience in Peru. This year has been great and I am glad I have been able to share it with you all. Peru has definitely made its mark on me, I hope I have made my mark on Peru. Thank you to everyone who made this wonderful exchange possible! Thank you to my sponsor and host Rotary clubs and districts and to my family and friends! I appreciate all the support, generosity, confidence, and love you all have provided me with this year! This is my last post. Perú, te quiero y te extrañaré! Regresaré a tus hermosas tierras un día! Hasta eso día, chau!