I'm a Late Bloomer

I've always been a little behind the times. I was still wearing spandex when baggy jeans were popular in the 90's, I didn't go on an airplane till I was 14 and I didn't try sushi until I was 21. I'm probably the most modern and stylish person many Peruvians have ever met, but in some aspects of my life in Peru, I'm the last one to hop on the band wagon.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Most of my Peace Corps friends in Peru have had at least one strange illness or problem. When my parents were here, we took out a girl that had worms, giartia and bacteria all at the same time. Most PCV's have had at least one parasite so far. For the first year of my service, I've been relatively healthy, only having a few food related bouts and a cold or two. But I think my body has finally succumbed to all the evil bacteria around me.

For the past 6 weeks I've been having on again off again nausea. It was never severe enough for me to take immediate action but it became apparent that whatever it is, is not going away on it's own. So today, I experienced a rite of passage for all peace corps volunteers. I pooped in a cup to have my stool tested for intruders. As awkward as the act might sound, it was actually easier than I expected. I have friends who are in the double digits for stool samples, so I feel like I'm entering the game relatively late. The weirdest part was having to carry around my own feces in purse until I could get to Lima and drop it off in the lab. After I had finished, I felt very accomplished.

The other trend I have been reluctant to engage in, is romance in Peru. I have recently reentered the dating pool. I haven't fully submerged myself but rather just stuck my toes in. I've never been some one dive in head first but have always preferred to ease myself into unknown waters. Okay, enough with the analogy. I think I was the last Peru 9er to go on a date, kiss, or have a relationship with some of the opposite sex (or same sex for that matter). In the past few weeks I have gone out with 2 different guys. Neither of these gentlemen are full-on peruvian, but I do get points because they hail from latin american countries. I just had my very first all spanish date and it was an experience I'll not be forgetting anytime soon.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) depending on how you look at it, neither one actually live in Lima/Peru. So, my brief stint in the dating pool may have ended just as quickly as it arrived (hopefully like my brief stint with the parasite or whatever I have). There are definitely some exciting details about both new adventures if you can stomach it. I'll be home in California in less than 3 weeks and I'm sure you'll all get an ear full!