Brittany McGee

Today officially marks 6 months in Peru, and I can’t think of  a better way to celebrate it than by wrapping up Early In-Service Training with the 36 people who were only just strangers on June 4^th during Staging. Okay, there are better ways to celebrate, but at least we’re all together.

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind and honestly have passed in the blink of an eye. A year ago, if you had asked me what service would be like I could have never imagined the following:

1. Talking in Spanish. Thinking in Spanish. Dreaming in Spanish. It’s pretty crazy to wake up from a dream and realize it was in Spanish. And when you realize that you’re talking to your cat in Spanish, well, I’ll let you think about that one.
2. Going a day without speaking English. This one is pretty weird. Luckily, when I’m not talking to my cat in Spanish, he’s cool with English.
3. Taking cold showers. They can actually be refreshing and wake you up!
4. Bucket-bathing. A perk of only having running water for an unknown amount of time each day is taking bucket baths. They’re very efficient. Bucket-bathing also means only washing my hair twice a week.
5. Going 72 hours without bathing at all. When I’m not lucky enough to have any water, baby wipes are my best friend (and highly appreciated in any care package). 72 hours is the current record.
6. Flushing a toilet with a bucket of water. This takes talent. Trust me.
7. Eating fish. And lots of it, even for breakfast. As the former marketing director of a group of sushi restaurants, you would think that I liked fish more than I do. I’ve eaten more fish in the past six months than I had eaten in my entire life before living in Peru. Still not a huge fan, but I’ve found a few dishes I like. I’ve also gotten used to picking the bones out.
8. Consuming unidentified objects. This actually is my host brother-in-law’s favorite game. “Oh Brittany, eat this, it’s… XYZ” “Actually it’s really this…”
9. Appreciating another culture, even when I don’t agree with it. This whole experience has opened my eyes to what motivates people, and that just because something or someone is different, doesn’t make it/him/her better or worse- just different. I truly don’t think I anticipated the personal growth I’ve achieved in only six months.
10. Missing my community when I’m away. I’ve grown to love my host family and several community members, and I miss them when I don’t see them! I’m actually pretty excited to return to Olmos and get back into the groove of things.

Happy 6 months Peru. Here’s to 21 more!

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