Trying to define what a typical day is like here during my experience in the Peace Corps is like trying to define the taste of water. It’s incomparable, it’s distinct, almost indescribable. Personally, every day for me is a whole new experience, a whole new surprise. Like I’ve said before- it’s a small city, a big town- and being so, there’s always something going on or someone new has a story or idea. Things fluctuate. To give you an idea what some days are like...
Some days are in such energetic motion that I just collapse into my bed at the end of it... some days roll by so slow and uneventful that I am almost in tears at the thought of how bored and anxious I am... some days I feel like no one cares about my work at all and that I am just fighting in this battle all alone... some days I feel loved and like I am actually making a difference with all the hard, continuous work I'm putting into this job... some days I take 30 little energetic kids on a field trip walking to a spot few kilometers away... some days I sit in the municipality talking/waiting for someone to have an answer to my project proposals after 3 months of waiting/trying to get it pulled through... some days I just sit on the toilet half the day... some days I am really sad and bogged down about all of the poverty/ corruption/ sadness that most the world faces... some days I forget about home... some days I tear on the phone missing my family... some days I hold these poor little kids in my arms because I just want them to feel loved... some days I feel so passionate about my work that I feel I can conquer anything at all... some days I try to play volleyball with a new group without knowing that they are all reeeeally good and I get embarrassed at how bad I am and made them lose the game/their money... some days I play basketball with all boys and it makes them fight because they’re getting beat by a girl... some days people open up to me with very emotional stories of their lives... some days people say I should not be here my work is in vain... some days I just want to climb mountains... some days I don’t want to get out of bed... some days I just hop a bus and explore... some days I run in the cold rain... some days I sand board in the hot desert sand dunes... some days I spend an afternoon making recycled paper with grown adults... some days I spend an afternoon teaching English to children workers... some days I wait for an hour for a meeting to start... some days I’m so nervous that I can barely even speak... some days I’m in love... some days I can’t express myself in Spanish how I want... some days I feel proud.
The feeling I feel the most: gratefulness.
The feeling I feel the least: boredom.
The feeling I want to feel: lying on the grass with a picnic listening to live music surrounded by family and friends
The feeling I don’t want to feel: The distrust that I have in most people here.
What keeps me going: my rechargeable, high-powered batteries, little kids’ hugs, people in the community who take interest in the projects.
What makes it challenging: The apathy/laziness of the people.
“Some days aren’t yours at all. They come and go as if they’re somebody else’s days. They come and leave behind someone else’s face.” –Regina Spektor
