U.S. Vacation - a Summary

I was worried my trip to the States was too packed, that I would be overwhelmed and unhappy there, annoyed with consumerism and waste and Americans, but it turns out I had a wonderful time!! I saw lots of friends and family in New York and Boston, spoke at my old school about Peace Corps and Paraguay, got to see my college friend Pam get married, helped my sister prepare for her wedding and finally blew it up in Vegas for Mindy and Thayer's wedding. I also ate about a billion different delicious foods, everything from Thai to fast food Chinese to real NY pizza and a cannoli. I don't think there was a single moment I didn't enjoy (well, except maybe the last hungover afternoon, wandering the Strip alone and dreading the flights home). Being with people who've known me for so long was really great - I felt more like myself than I have in a long time. I think that's the funny part about being here in Paraguay - even my best friends here have only known me for a year and a half, and no one really knows what it's like for me in Tacuati except me, and even with my best Paraguayan friends there's at the very least a language barrier that keeps me from saying exactly what I want to say.

Even though I sometimes felt a little Paraguay-ed out, it was really nice to be able to tell people in the US about my life here. First of all, I'm happy to do whatever positive PR I can for Paraguay and the Peace Corps. But also I needed a little positivity for myself too I think. The day to day here can be hard and it's so easy to slide into negativity and feeling like I'm not doing anything to help anybody. But talking about what I do, or what I'm trying to do, reminds me of what an amazing experience this is, and how lucky I am to have this opportunity. I am motivated more than ever to go back to Tacuati tomorrow and make the most out of the 10 months remaining - both in terms of doing what I can to help people there, but also in terms of getting the most I can out of the experience, the friendships and languages and relationships I have there. I know these months will fly by and I want to be sure that I have no regrets at the end.