Reunions and Homecomings

Hola amigos!

Well after many travels and summer adventures with family, students, and friends, I'm finally back in Tacna for good. The past two months have been a whirlwind of experiences and emotions, full of reunions and so many wonderful people. At the end of December I enjoyed a very special visit from my family, and we spent Christmas here in Tacna with all my community mates and adoptive families and friends. After that we traveled to Cuzco for a week to check out all the Sacred Valley ruins, and of course Machu Picchu. Everything there was beautiful, absolutely breathtaking-they don't didn't name Machu Picchu one of the wonders of the world for nothing. After Cuzco we spent New Years in Lima and then parted ways again, as the McCarty clan traveled back to the States and I returned to Tacna. I was home for approximately half a day before Seamus, all the new female volunteers and I took off again for Mes de Misión with Miguel Pro (the month-long service trip we do every January with the high schoolers). The rest of the guys accompanied the Cristo Rey students on their Mes de Misión. Overall it was a successful month, exhausting and sometimes very frustrating, but also a really great opportunity to spend time with some of the kids I had all year in English class but in a totally different context and environment. More reflections on that month to come later...

After Mes de Misión we FINALLY had summer vacation, so this month for me has been full of catching up with all my friends and neighbors I'd been too busy to see since December, resting, a little traveling, and a much-needed retreat just across the border in Arica, Chile. 2 weeks ago I took a solo trip to Lima, just to get away and catch up on some R&R, and while I was there I was able to reunite with Cara and Nate, two of my community mates from last year who left at Christmastime (Nate is still traveling all around South America, and Cara is returning to Peru to do a 3rd year at the new site in Cuzco) and my dear friend Jenny from Holy Cross who has been living in Lima since July. It was so great to see all of them, and to have some alone time too after an entire month with 15 year olds and a whole year of being surrounded by people, both at school and at home. After that trip I went to Arica with a small group of colleagues for a 6-day (mostly) silent retreat. I say mostly because Peruvians are not very good at being silent so there were more than a few whispered jokes and conversations in the midst of my reflections.

As of yesterday I am back in Tacna again, this time for good, and it feels so nice to be back home again. I always love coming back to this place after extended times away because Habitat seems so peaceful after traveling, and I love that feeling of coming home to a place that, not so long ago, felt so strange and foreign, but now is as comfortable and familiar as if I had lived here my whole life. I love Tacna! Vacation has passed way too quickly so now I only have one precious week left to soak up the summer sun and get myself organized for another school year, but I'm really looking forward to my second year living in the Habitat/JV community and teaching at Miguel Pro so it'll be nice to get back into a routine again. I have literally hundreds of pictures I'm trying to organize from the past couple of months so hopefully later this week I can write about each of the major experiences I've had since my family's visit at the end of December with a few visuals for you all to enjoy.

But for now I'll leave you with one of my favorites from Mes de Misión of the JVs with our baby alpaca friend whom we named Albert. He had HUGE eyes, and was very affectionate. Also, one of all 9 of us the day we went to visit the boys at Cristo Rey's Mes de Misión. We hadn't seen each other in over a month, so that was a very happy reunion too. I hope you're all well and enjoying the new year so far. I was thinking of you all in a special way last week, since here in Peru they celebrate "Día de la Amistad" (Friendship Day) on Feb 14th instead of Valentine's Day. I'm grateful for each and every one of you and the friendship that you've blessed me with over the years. Take care and I promise to write/put up more pictures this week!! Chau, un besote!