business competition, a lost friend, and thinking about the future...

i haven’t written in a while.. the entire last month seemed to have just zoomed pasted.  so, let me give you my little august-update..

after all of the months of preparation, the business competition in the US Embassy in Lima finally came and went.  two of my students participated in the event.  not only did they get to visit their country’s capital, but they also got the experience of presenting their business plan in front of an audience in the Embassy!  the entire process - from start to finish - has been rewarding and a wonderful experience for me and my students!

my students (victor and sandy):

me and my students:

at the embajada:

with their certificates:

after the competition, i had to accompany my students back to Catache, where i stayed for only a few days, and had to turn right back around to go back to Lima solita.  i stayed in Lima for almost 3 weeks, going to citas (appointments) everyday for 2 root canals.  the root canals themselves were awful - but to top it all off, i  missed my town’s anniversary and fiesta!  i missed the fireworks, dances, bull fights.. and, as if all of THAT wasn’t enough, for the anniversary this year, the Municipalidad of Catache was inspired by my daily runs to Munana and put on Catache’s very 1st marathon for me - which took place (you guessed it!) from Catache to Munana.. ugh.  my host family was so sad i was stuck in Lima and couldn’t beat the pants off of all of the participants!

what is even more awful is that my beloved friend and fellow volunteer, my dearest omar, decided that enough was enough, and called it quits the week after IST.  i was lucky to be in Lima for my dentist citas at the time, so i got to spend his last days in Peru with him.  he stayed for about 3 days, while he had his exit medical check-ups, interviews, and everything.  and then he was off to Texas…  things won’t be the same without him.  but, you know, it’s for the best.. he’s happy now.  we’ll all miss you, saucey-pants!

remembering omar:

last hour with omar:

with all of my free time in Lima, it got me thinking about the future (which is something that i don’t do enough here).  after COS (close of service), michael jackson (jeff) and i are toying with the idea of slowly making our way back to the states - seeing the sites all the way up to Panama - and then catching a plane to DC in time to make the RPCV (returned peace corps volunteer) job fair.  i’m thinking about maybe getting a job with the parks department (which has always been a dream of mine) - maybe in the great smoky mountain national park - and then opening up an english school for immigrants, too.  i’ve even re-written my resume, and written a federal resume for the government jobs i’ll be applying for.  so, my time in Lima wasn’t wasted time, that’s for sure.

so, i was back in Catache for only a few days… and, today i’m off to Lima (AGAIN!), for our annual med checks and IST.  at least this time i’ll be there with the rest of my group.  but, i sure as heck can’t wait to finally get back to site for good and start my second year project ideas!!!