One week out

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For the tie-up entry... I began writing this one week out, and didn't finish it. Part of this entry is from that week, then, and the final part is thoughts now.

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One week out... Transition's been pretty easy so far, actually, and maybe will stay that way, who knows.... But here are some thoughts, observations, etc.!

-I keep almost throwing toilet paper into the trash can rather than into the toilet. Still.
-Eating Chinese food the other day, I wanted far more rice and far less meat/veggie... maybe this is a carryover, maybe not...
-Juice here is just not the same. However, milk is FAR better.
-The pace of life is already faster and there already are too many things to think about and a lot of clutter that fills the mind. Wish Peru and the US could just find a happy medium.
-I noticed this while in Peru, as well, but there are way more shades of green here at home than at either site in Peru- cloud forest and rainforest. For all the biodiversity of the rainforest, it seemed to be more monotone.
-In airports, at least, the farther north in the US you go, the friendlier and more helpful people seem to be as a whole. It took going away for a long time to realize how real Minnesota Nice actually is. That said, I felt more welcomed entering Peru than coming home to my own country. Coming into the US is actually kind of scary, and has been both times I've been away. Ask me about the hassles sometime.
-I really did miss the freedom that comes from having a car, although I miss the inexpensive and widespread public transportation of Peru. I also keep thinking about phone calls I need to make in terms of where the nearest public pay phone may be, and then remember that I have a cell phone here.
-In the mall today, I realized that part of my mind is now automatically constantly aware of my purse & possessions, and potential pickpockets.
-Hot showers, electricity/lighting, and refrigeration (specifically) are aspects of life I've really taken for granted.
-I still don't like to play cards.... even when sitting in the middle of the rainforest, or cloud forest, at night, with no electricity and nothing else to do. My attention span and patience for waiting have increased greatly, although I still prefer not to wait, but I just can't play cards.
-As a man holding a large folder appeared to be approaching us, my mind automatically began to prepare the usual 'no, gracias' useful when people try to push menus, massages, cigarettes, candy, the like, on you.... and he just kept walking.

It is, a bit, to the point where my mind wanders back to Peru. The first few days I was just grateful to be home, enjoying simple pleasures like a hot shower or regular plumbing, or lush green grass with no dust from the roads, and ordering food where I know all of the language instead of just some.

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It's been nearly a month since I left Peru. It feels a bit like a lifetime ago, but I remember so much of it like it was just yesterday and little things keep popping up that remind me of specifics. Walking down a hallway in the Luther Student Union last week, I caught a whiff of a smell from the kitchen that smelled just like my favorite restaurant-bakery in Puerto Maldonado. A shirt I had washed in Cusco still smells like the soap the lavanderia used. I found a pair of pants yesterday that had 10 soles in the pocket, and keep discovering loose change in my purse, drawers, backpack...

I appreciate home so much more now, I think, and I think those people were right who told me before I left that I'd think of many things for the rest of my life in terms of this trip. It takes coming home to realize how you've changed; you assimilate and adapt so slowly when you're gone, but it takes only minutes to come back to the exact environment you left and realize that maybe the puzzle piece doesn't fit in the same way anymore. Quite honestly, I think my puzzle piece fits better now. I'm different. I'm still thinking about the exact ways I've changed, but the one thing I do know is that I have. I don't know if others can tell, but I certainly have noticed a change in myself, being back on campus. I think it has a lot to do with a grounded perspective and self-confidence in my actions and thoughts, and a genuine appreciation for applied learning. I find myself looking at things through a lens of human rights & want to take action on this.

So, I think that wraps up my thoughts for now. This begins the streamlining of a lifelong process of thinking about the world, thinking about myself, wondering how we interact, and the like... and because of this, I think this blog has the potential to be endlessly full of thoughts. The thoughts will continue, though, as will, I hope, conversations, discussions, learning, struggles, & what have you. However, the blog must end sometime, and this is a good a time as any.

Thank you, all of you, for your emails, comments, thoughts, & prayers all summer, and thank you for keeping up with me... it means a lot to have so many people interested in this, and it was incredibly nice to have messages from so many people whenever I signed on to update a blog or check an email!

Chao,
Laura

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Comments

[Dad]

Nice job Laura. I really enjoyed my time there with you at the end of your trip, and agree very much with you comments about yourself. Well done! What a great trip for us and I'm sure many more times over for you as well..Gets better and more memorable with retellings.. Love,dad