Zambia Trip

To continue on with the May holiday adventures after Erindi Game Park my friend and I returned to the Kavango region and stayed in my village for a bit so that I can show her that village life style. I’m glad she got to experience it, but there was one MAJOR perk she got to enjoy which NEVER happens, we had Taco Tuesday!!!  As a birthday gift my family sent my friend Bea with some corn tortillas for me ;) a few friends were over so to kick off my Namixcan BirthMay celebrations we had margaritas and tacos!! It was awesome!!

After a few days in the village a group of fellow volunteers, Bea, and myself decided to jump some boarders and venture off to Zambia, just east of Namibia. This time we were riding in style and used Intercape Bus. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was 3,792,735 times better than Kumbis. Kumbis really do make me nervous. Also, Intercape offered an overnight bus which was a nice option so that we could just sleep for the 11 hour ride and arrive in the morning so the adventures could begin right away. Early in the morning we saw some wild elephants and giraffes on the side of the road. This made me kind of giggle to my friend. Back home the animals I saw the most often were cattle and horses. Now I rarely see horses but giraffes and baboons are pretty regular thing; when I return to the states it’s going to be funny to see horses again.

Back to the fun stuff though, Zambia!! Zambia was awesome. We stayed in a pretty touristy area, Livingston so I didn’t get to see too much of the country by any means, but what I did see, I loved. We were there about 3 and half days and got to do lots of fun stuff. The first day was a bit more relaxed and we basically just walked around Livingston which was a cute town. People seemed friendly and it had a nice safe feel to it. The second day was action packed. We got to go see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls. If you are not familiar with it Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world and it is absolutely beautiful!! It costed $20USD and was completely worth it. There are many walking trails on top and on the bottom of the falls. There’s also a bridge about mid level of the falls directly in front of them where you can walk and get soaked. The mist from the falls is so strong it creates a rainforest and garden of rainbows, it was surreal to see. The other exciting point was bungee jumping!! Yes bungee jumping!!!! Ahh it was so scary yet a blast all at once. A bridge a bit down from the falls offers a thing called the Big Air package, this included bungee jumping, the bungee swing (which was similar to bungee jumping with out as much air time and you fall feet first rather than head first), and zip lining. Check out the following blog to see the video of the bungee swing and bungee jumping. Man, that was a rush. I think bungee jumping was even scarier than sky diving!

The next day we purchased a package from the hostel we stayed at (JollyBoys backpackers) which started our day with a 2 hour canoe ride where we got to see a few elephants, followed by elephant interaction where we got to feed and hang out with the elephants. You even get to sit with them and tell them about how pretty they are. Well you don’t have to tell them that but theyre beautiful so I wanted to. After the interaction we went on a small safari drive followed by lunch. After lunch we were able to relax for bit before going on a sunset cruise where dinner was provided. On the boat we met a super sweet pair of parents who were in Zambia because their son just completed his 27 month service with Peace Corps and was now marrying someone he met during service.  Those Peace Corps love stories get me every time!

Over all the trip (though brief) was one of a life time. I had great company and an amazing time. Tons of pictures were taken so I decided to collaborate them all into this fun little video. (Told you I’d make up for the missed Sunday Funday pictures.) So for your Sunday Funday there are tons of pictures between then three blog posts!

Airports have feelings too

As you may have seen in a previous blog, the month of May is when schools go on holiday (vacation) and I had a friend visiting from the states. That’s the reason for my radio silence, I’m sorry. I even forgot about the Sunday Funday Pictures! Well now I’m back and I pinkie promise I will have an awesome Sunday Funday this upcoming week to make up for it, but for now a story on how Peace Corps has once again manged to shift me perception of things. 

I would call myself well traveled. I’ve been to and through many airports; I have been picked up and picked up others, but (as many things do through Peace Corps service) how I now look at airports has changed.

Upon arriving to the airport I saw a couple of my fellow volunteers also picking up friends and family. All of us with smiles, and I believe we were all even showered! The airport in Windhoek isn’t very big and a group of shuttle drivers had already begun standing next to the rails near the arrivals exit. I had been anticipating my friend’s arrival for weeks and with less than an hour till she walked through those gates, I was getting anxious. The other volunteers and I chatted about our plans and stops we were making with our guest, but the one consistent thing was “needing” the visit.  Like I’ve said before, volunteering can be tough, but sometimes it’s the simplest joys that can move mountains for volunteers. None of us had seen these visitors and almost a year (or more) so some time with familiar faces from home, now that’s something so great I’m not even sure how to express it.

Finally the doors to the gate began opening, and we all pretty much jumped with each person walking out hoping it was our visitor. My friend came out first, but only to ask some questions about a suitcase of donated Days for Girls kits she brought and then had to return back to customs. (**check bottom for side note about bringing donations through the airport)  Then another volunteer’s parents came in.  The smile on her face just as she opened her arms to wrap around her family, is probably one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen someone do.  The other volunteer literally squealed as her friend came through. The airport was a place happier than Disney World as we all parted our separated ways to enjoy our holiday.

Sadly, all holidays must come to an end and I found myself back at an airport but this time to say bye. This encounter much different than before.  We had a great holiday, I even tried convincing my friend to just extend her vacation for, oh you know 18 months, but she has adult-ing to do and cats to feed so that wasn’t exactly a realistic option. And so, as can be expected she got her departing ticket and made her way through security and to her plane. I made it only a handful steps before I started crying. This time I noticed a couple other teary eyed people. A place so euphoric before was now coated with tears, and not the happy kind.  Coincidentally, an arrival flight had arrived and the smiles of loved one coming in for this reason or that were filling the room.

Prior to this I knew the airport came with happy and sad feelings. I think this is the first time though that I stopped and watched it happen to people trafficking through. The highs extremely high, and the lows very low. Then there’s always the ones just passing through handling business of some sorts. After my friend left I did just sit there and watch the airport unfold. Airports, big and small, are typically so fast paced and always in motion, I never realized how many impacting moments in time happen constantly. Makes me wonder if the airport staff recognizes this too.

*** If you are visiting someone/getting a visitor and a donation is being brought you must have a letter from the person/company proving the donated good stating where the donation is going. On top of that the airport is going to charge you a nice fee, even when you try explaining its a donation for a volunteer teacher to give to the school their volunteering at, just to warn you. I thought her bringing them rather than shipping them would have been cheaper, but shipping probably would have been the better route. 

Life in a day of camp.... condoms and bibles and HIV, OH MY!

In a previous article I told you a bit about "Secondary Projects" which are exactly what it sounds like. Secondary Projects are the other things you do outside of the main reasons/role you were hired to do, mine being teaching English.

Well, as you know one if my "Secondary Projects" is Camp YEAH! (Which you will know more about in a blog very soon.) However, I just have to share this story now now!

Today was day 4 of camp: we've spent the past few days teaching about HIV/AIDS, safe sex, STIs, Teen Pregnancies, stereotypes, Healthy relationship... You know, that fun stuff. So let me tell you about this very day!

Woke up, started the day in a dining hall full of Namibian teens eating breakfast. After having way too much coffee and hot chocolate we began the activities for the day.

First activity: teaching the Learners how to put on male condoms. 

Second activity: Use Tupac and Justin Beiber to explain how we can use the Bible as guidance, specifically with HIV related topics.

We needed to get the work done before moving onto the TALENT SHOW!!!!



And so my day ended by being in a WWE skit as Lady Loca

Signature move: The Chola Choke-Out 

That's alllll bad nuh 

(If you're from NM you'll get it ;) 

And so that my blogging community, is how one may spend their day in the life as a PCV hosting a camp for learners.

Sunday Fun-day Pictures 17-April-2016

So if you read my last post, I had a bit of a rough couple weeks. This past Thursday I woke up a bit on the wrong side of the bed so I instantly popped in my headphones for the walk to school. The moment I arrived to school I'm greeted with a crowed of grade 0 (kindergarten) learners adorable as can be just wanting to say hi and give high 5's. That's all it took to turn my frown upside down and bring my day to a brighter start. I mean look at them. How can you not smile back at these cuties?

FLASHBACK!!!!!!

Some of you may have seen in my post a few months ago that my host family surprised me with a puppy. At the time of the post I thought Hafa was a girl. Turns out Hafa is a boy. He's healthy, happy, and has an unending amount of puppy energy. I would compare his to one of those spastic cartoon squirrels. We're working on breaking his jumping and food stealing habit. He's a very faithful walking buddy. He drives me nuts, but I do love him never the less

With exams = marking alllllllllllllllll day. Sometimes learners say some funny things though

Question: Write down a word that has the opposite meaning of the word threaten?

Answer: Rhinoceroses 

Question: Find a word in the text that has more or less the same meaning as "a set of laws about something"

Answer: Fewer people on earth

How to survive the rough weeks of Peace Corps

So as much as Id love to say serving, as a PCV is rainbows and sunshine every day, sometimes this gig is rough! Let’s face it; every day can’t be on fleek. (ß who says PCV’s can’t be hip with the cool words States side) These past couple weeks have been one of a few weeks that had me borderline 3-year-old tantrum, tossing myself on the floor kicking and screaming in need of someone to just hold me, say its okay, and give me a sticker and ice-cream. However, not all hopes are lost, I’ve come to find there’s a few ways to survive riding the rocky waves.

Happiness in a box – I’m pretty sure I can speak for all volunteers when I say getting mail makes your day. Come on when was the last time you wrote some snail mail? Its fun! I love reading what friends and family have to say, and I have fun drawing pictures on the letters responding.  Even if your not a PCV tell me you don’t enjoy a letter from a friend. Care packages!!! Its like Christmas morning to get to your box and see a little slip to pick up your package at the office. I pretty much skip the whole way to the post office. Seriously, I can not say thank you enough to the people who have sent me goodies, especially the ones who have sent supplies for my little monsters, wait I mean….. ummm….. classes of angels. 

Welcome to the twenty first century – Isn't technology great? There’s been a few times I had a day from h-e double hockey sticks! Then I get a notification from a friend or family saying either something encouraging or some quoting funny conversations or recapturing funny memories.  Sometimes I swear people sense it even from the other side of the globe.

Hide! – Its taboo for the culture of my host village to spend time alone, but some times its needed. Yes, integration and being active in your community is good, but sometimes its just, needed to lock yourself in your room with head phones staring at the roof. Sometimes sanity is granted by tucking away behind a back tree with a book. Just go for a walk. This job can be tough at times, sometimes the best de-stressor is a nice walk and breath of air.

I cant believe I’m about to suggest binge eating – I love chocolate and hot Cheetos. I ATTEMPT to save my hot Cheetos for rainy days, but then, well theyre hot Cheetos, especially lime, mmmmmmmmmm *starts dreaming of its loveliness*. Peace Corps has taught me the meaning of love; love is the feeling you get when you put hot lime Cheetos in your mouth. Since my hot Cheetos don’t typically last long I try to always have a chocolate bar or some other treat tucked away. Some times simply surviving the day is reason enough to celebrate and indulge in good as an award for not going [completely] bonkers.

Pack your teddy bear – Seriously! If you have one pack it. I have an elephant, her name is Cassie and she is the best. Also, before I left my friends back home gave me the best going away gift ever! They threw a surprise going away party and made me a scrap book  of collages, pictures, messages, and some extreme randomness, and I LOVE IT! Just flipping threw its pages not only makes me smile every time, its helps ease home sickness spells.

If you need to talk to someone, then talk. - We're not super heros, we're humans and with that comes emotions. You'd be surprise who you find can be the biggest support when you need it. There was literally a time I was so frustrated I cried my eyes out and a learner saw me, shocked to find out Americans cry. I'm usually a very bubbly person so she was under the impression that Americans are just happy. I didn't feel the need to explain all the issues but rather just leave it at, I'm feeling sad right now and sometimes crying helps. The next day she showed up at school with a card for me. 

And when all else fails a nice walk in with your head phones blasted is really nice way to relieve some stress and bring you back to the fact that you are living through an experience. Whether you're in America, Africa, South America, on and island, good days and bad days happen. Sometimes one of the trickiest parts of being a volunteer is learning how do dance through the rain rather than screaming at the next person to cross your path. 

I love Ellie Goulding and this song (Scream it Out) has played on repeat a few times to help me feel better, maybe it can help you too :)

https://youtu.be/RV9EKQG2ixI

What Kind of Impact can a Peace Corps Volunteer Actually Have?

What impact could a Peace Corps Volunteer really hold in the long run?

 

Prior to beginning service I was asked a couple times a very daunting question:  “Do you really think it helps these countries for you to go do stuff for them for two years and then come back?” After an initial moment of defensiveness I would usually respond with a “you should do some research on the Peace Corps and their history.”

 I must admit, no I don’t think Peace Corps would be of any benefit if we did just come to these countries “do stuff for them”, take some pictures and leave. 

            Peace Corps has established three main goals and 10 standards that come along with service. However, even with these in place, there will always be critics and that’s okay. Good actually. I’d be lying if I didn't admit there has been a couple times I’ve laid in bed questioning, am I doing this right? Am I making an impact?

          Well a couple weeks ago another volunteer and I jumped into a taxi in our shopping town. In Namibia taxis work a bit differently. Taxis pile in as many people as they can into the vehicle, and make various stops in route.  So in the typical fashion we more so stuffed ourselves in taxi. A woman asked if we were Peace Corps Volunteers and with a big smile told us about how a few years back, when she was in school they had a Peace Corps Volunteer and he taught them a really funny Christmas song with a penguin. “I still remember that song.” And as we quickly got to her stop she jumped out, excitedly waved and said bye. It was a sweet to say the least.

         The real moment that stopped me in my tracks though was in yet another taxi on my way to town.  Being that we were in the village riding into town the car only had the driver, an older woman and myself.  Greeting is very important in the culture here, so I gave the standard “Morokeni” greeting to the two in the vehicle when the older woman gave a little smirk and asked “Are you a Peace Corps Volunteer?” “Yes I am”. She explained she could tell by accent, which made us both giggle. My accent does need work. Rukwangali is hard! “At my school when I was in grade 7 in 1996 we had a Peace Corps Volunteer as our English teacher from Virginia and she always smiled.” I was impressed, 20 years later and still so many vivid memories. She continued to ask me a couple questions about myself and we shared some small chat. The car got quiet for a couple minutes when she said “I was the first girl leader in my class in grade 8” as she sat a little taller and smiled. “Really? That’s awesome!” I said sharing her excitement. “Yes, she picked me and another boy learner to be the two captains. Some of the other learners were mad and even a teacher told her both captains must be boys but she said a girl and a boy earned this year so she’s running an experiment. And then after that in grade 9, 4 classes had a boy and girl captain.” Namibia is a very young country so to have a country, not even in double digits of age embrace a concept such as gender equality is HUGE! Not only that, but also that one opportunity the volunteer gave this woman is something dear the woman has held onto ever since. She was so proud to tell me the story. Just showing up in a country and “doing stuff for them” doesn’t do something like that.

 Serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer won’t make you empower every person experiencing oppression for any which reason such as gender, sexuality, disability, age, religion etc. You probably won’t solve world hunger. Unfortunately, after you complete service there will probably still be domestic violence and diseases being spread. We can’t solve every issue in the world, but we sure can try to give at least one positive opportunity to even one person, or give any sort of positive impact at that. Whether than impact be helping a community plant gardens to feed its people, building a library, making someone the first female class captain, or teaching a fun Christmas song, our lives our made up of domino sequences. If each volunteer can go through service and impact even one person during that time in such a positive way that that person in return uplifts another as well; well then thank you to the over 226,000 volunteers who have served and are currently serving because that’s lot of people world wide who just may share their story in a taxi with another volunteer some day.

From being an interpreter, to needing an interpreter: the lesson I didn’t expect to learn while serving in Peace Corps

Thanks to “Facebook memories” a funny reminisce of a status I posted 5 years ago as an American Sign Language(ASL) Interpreting student  came up saying – “The more and more I go through this interpreting program the more I question how well I actually know English.”

 

Languages are, crazy to say the least. Its like we spend our entire lives exposed and learning this thing that we don’t even realize we are learning, yet at the same time no one ever perfects it. How could we? Language is ever changing. I’ve been speaking, listening, reading, studying, and constantly exposed to English. Yet, while in my Bachelor’s I questioned if I was really was a master of English. Studying to be an interpreter requires endless hours studying another language, while challenging your skills in your own language. It took learning not just words, but meaning. Yes, textbooks help, to an extent, but not like getting out there and talking. When it came to getting a message in one language and then exporting that into another language all while not changing meaning was tough! It really made me question how well I knew how to control my use of language.

 

Now, as I’ve experienced Teaching English as a Second Language or Foreign Language, I again find myself questioning what I know. English has some silly rules. Namibia isn’t the first foreign country I teach in and one common factor I would fear is learners asking “well why do we do ___________?” “ Wait why don’t you say that letter”. Grammar is very tricky. I give people who learn English as a language other than their native language A LOT of credit. I giving anyone learning a language or languages in general a lot of credit! It is not an easy task at all. Trust me, I know!

 

After, I completed my B.A in ASL – English interpretation I found myself working as an interpreter for a few years. Working as an interpreter brings a vast variety of situations that call for you. In some situations I can admit, my rookie shoes had me at times thinking “how do I interpret this with what I know and what I’m confident I can do” , sometimes giving a summarized version of a sentence, or pausing for a moment trying to think of the best way to say what needs to be said. There were a couple times clients would get frustrated with my processing time. I don’t blame this for one-minute, it’s an awkward situation. Most of my clients knew I was new on the scene and gave me some leeway but that by no means that should have been their responsibility.

 

Now that I’m Namibia, a land of many languages I find myself taking on a new language, Rukwangali. Though we are at the 7-month anniversary of this experience, I am nowhere near fluent. I am still learning and practicing the language every day. This has placed me in a position where I find myself needing an interpreter at work meetings or clinics. However, that isn’t exactly something supplied by the Peace Corps. I mean we gotta learn somehow right? Luckily, there is usually a colleague willing to help tell me what is going on in the meeting or announcement, or whatever it may be. Keep in mind these are people are doing this to be nice, not professionally trained, simply kind hearted individuals. Since their attendance is also required distractions are easy to come by.  Sometimes I would be sitting for a few minutes of the presenter talking and then when I ask if anything has been said I get a message like “oh yeah, she is talking about the plans”…. Or something like “Its about that one boy and girl who live that side Rundu”. Very vague summaries. This is nice because it gives me some guidance, but no content. This would sometimes make me anxious, uncomfortable, or even annoyed.

 

To walk into a situation, and put what information you will get in the hands of another person takes a lot of trust. How do I know if I’m being lied to? Is this all the information I need or was that just the parts you needed? If everyone else is laughing why am I not? What’s so funny!? ….. I do have to note, English is not the first language of my colleagues helping me out. Sometimes English is even their third language. So why am I so, temperamental with their assistance? What this has really brought me to realize is: To be an interpreter, or even the person trying to help out someone is a lot of work, verbally and mentally. To be the person awaiting an interpretation or message is a lot of work, verbally and mentally. It’s a dynamic that demands a relationship. There must be trust to some extent, and empathy from all ends. Neither chair is an easy seat to sit in, but both positions deserve respect. Serving brings me humility constantly. Its good to be in a position where you are surrounded by opportunities that expand you, yet gives a closer look all at once.

Don't you miss your family and friends?

A couple questions I’ve been asked regularly are “is it hard to be away from your family?” or “Don’t you miss your friends?”. Or often I’m asked what’s the hardest part about being in Peace Corps? Well of coarse its being away from loved ones. In my short seven months of service, back on the States side I’ve had one of my longest known friends get engaged to her high school sweetheart and they have been together over 10 years! I’ve had births enter the world. My niece Savannah (who is my everything) had her very first volleyball game, where she also made the team captain, and though I once made it a priority to be at every game I possibly could, I was now on the opposite side of the world. And though it hurts, I also lost people. I’ll be honest, yeah; it is hard to be away from your family.

            Call me lucky though, because even through the nostalgia, (not to mention an ocean and vast distances of land) I don’t think I could feel any closer to people back home. Where I once went many days with out talking to family, we now make it a point to talk once a week. Don’t get me wrong, internet isn’t always reliable, but the fact that we each put in the effort is priceless. I have friends I hadn’t seen in months or years sending letters. Any volunteer can tell you, getting mail is one hella good feeling.  I’m even more beyond fortunate to have a supportive circle shooting me messages on Facebook or email saying “hey girl what can we do to help, is there anything you need”. A couple times some of my learners or host family member have been able to be featured in FaceTime and Skype calls, and boy does it turn into talk of the school for a week. Yeah, I miss my family and friends, but I’m also with my family and friends.

            See nothing can every replace friends and family from “home” but one of the greatest gifts of service is the relationships gained while serving. Today my host mom (who is a member of the school board) and toddler niece had to come by the school I’m teaching at. Well, when I walked back to the offices for my free period my host niece saw me and with a huge cheesy 4-teeth smile and wobbly steps came at me. My heart seriously melted. Some of the friendships I’ve made both in the network of volunteers and locals are relationships I could never forget.  I get eager to visit my Bunya host mom telling people, “yeah this weekend I’m going to visit my mom”. My host sister is seriously one of my best friends. Just as my sister back home is. This, this is magic. There is a certain amount of sacrifice with serving in the Peace Corps and living over seas, but the rewards that come along with service are incomparable. 

Sunday funday Valentine photos

Valentines day is very exciting for the Learners :) they get a free pass to wear their own clothes rather than uniforms. Gosh Namibians are stylish!

      Eddie (the one in the middle) is representing for Chicago with his shirt!

One of my grade 7 Learners made the sweetest Vday card for me :) I loved it!

I got a lesson on cooking fresh mutete this week by one of my Arts Learners. She is one good cook!

Fall is coming so morning walks are a bit darker, yet still gorgeous every day

A village snack stand selling yummy yummies 

Sending lots of love to all from Namibia <3

A day in the life

Peace Corps Namibia: A day in the life link


Every wonder what a SUPEP volunteer does while serving in the Peace Corps? Well "I hop up outta bed, turn my swag on, take a look in the mirror say whats up", but seriously, here's what I typically do! Just click the link above  :)





To get more insight to some of my encounters also follow my instagram jamiet06

DIY: Kasote Namibia

Drive through Kasote

A nice little clip of what a drive through the village looks like.

How to make Kasote:

•  3 heaping views of the most beautiful skies you could imagine (Seriously, imagine the most beautiful sunrise, sunsets and night skies)
• Crowds of friendly locals curious to know who you are and what exactly you are doing here
• 1 Kavango River which seems to reflect everything in its view as if painted with glitter
• Miles of thick beach like sand, blinding at noon from the brightness of the suns bright rays
• Literally free range animals; chickens, cattle, and goats know no boundaries
• A sky full of birds of all types and colors just waiting to capture your eye
• 1 sun hot, and unforgiving
• A splash of hippo and crocodile views 
• Aroma of campfires made for cooking dinner
• Laughter of children climbing on trees
• 2 Shebeans playing music through all hours of the night
• 1 rooster crowing to awaken the sun
• 2 years of hope and a lot of fun

Mix all together, wrap it in falling in love. Then you'll know what it feels like to live under the Kasote Namibian sun.

My Story: The reason

The year of 1999 was coming to an end, a year I could never forget even if I tried. I had turned 10 midway through the year and by the time we were approaching the winter break of 5th grade I had seen more counselors for the year than I care to admit, and been through one traumatic event after another falling on each like dominos. When the year began I had my first experience with death when my best friend had passed away suddenly. Continuing into the year I joined a program at school that taught students how to ski with different public schools in Santa Fe. It was an activity I really enjoyed over a few months, it was a get away gone bad. The bus company that took us up and down the mountain of curvy roads weekly didn't maintain their buses properly and on March 2 while on our drive down the mountain the brakes to the bus gave out ending in a bus full of 32 elementary student and 3 chaperons wrecked and flipped. In the midst of the bus rapidly going around curves, as the bus driver tried to keep the bus under control we were instructed to cover our heads with our bags, but my bag was no where to be found. That was when one chaperon gave his bag to me. Not long after that I woke up to a mangled mess of metal and blood everywhere, quickly followed by an ocean of sirens and flashing red and blue lights. Some how my parents found out about what happened and barged through police lines and made it to the accident scene. However, we were quickly separated when they paramedics began loading students into ambulances to take us to a hospital. The next morning I awoke to find out my cousin Eric, and the chaperon Gary who sacrificed his bag for me had passed away. Many of my friends were ok, but some still in hospital beds hook up to machines and/or under going surgery. That event made me suddenly look at adults as if they were enemies. I thought the world was safe but suddenly it became dangerous. I thought events with school had this bubble that protected us, this proved to only be half true. I still look to Gary as a hero, he saved me that day, but guilt followed me for years (and at times still does). I blamed myself for why 3 boys no longer had a father, and a wife left a widow. And I blamed my school and the bus company for doing this. 

Just a month later a very close uncle had a stroke he survived but not long after that a more sever stroke hit him. It was May 6th, my 10th birthday and there I was in yet another hospital watching another person I love hooked up to machines and putting up what I thought was an unfair fight. Just a few days later he as well passed away.  I had just hit double digits in age and every one around me was dying. I began fearing the world, fearing any kind of relationship. I began thinking that being around me meant you would as well die and I started pushing everyone and everything around me away. I spent the following several years of my life with a similar attitude, occasionally haunted by the same nightmare as friends through out the years moved on to other worlds or heavens or reincarnation.

However, even with what sometimes felt like a rugged storm of a life, the sun did also shine. A couple years following 5^th grade a wildfire ran a muck in Los Alamos, a town not too far from Santa Fe leaving many with out homes and in needs of good. One day my mom decided to take my younger sister Amy and I to a charity goods drive. People donated a variety of items, from food to clothes, household items to toys. We worked for the day sorting out the variety of items to be administered to the families affected by the wildfire. I remember there was a Beanie Baby that I had been wanting for my collection, and I asked my mom if I could have it. She explained to me how the families these items were going to were for people who had nothing left, a Beanie Baby going to one of the families affected may be the only toy another girl may have. I knew I had my own share of not only Beanie Babies, but also other goodies at home. Suddenly it didn’t make sense to me why I deserved this, and not another girl. That moment was when it finally clicked to me why my mom had us there sorting through piles upon piles of various things.  My first moment of volunteer work that later lead to a passion I never saw coming.

Fast forward to the awkward years of High School and I was still holding on to the fear that people I care for were just going to die if I let them too close. As I said, that nightmare of losing people sometimes played like a broken record of curses as I lost a few friends and family members very important to me during the first couple years of High School. I resorted to once again pushing away the people who cared about me most. Sometimes with my mom and dad enduring the biggest lash of that. I can admit, I was a brat as a teen. Until one person changed that all for me.

One day while attending a career fair I met a girl who served in Peace Corps Kenya and was a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She talked about her stories while serving. Tales of what she did and the people she met. I swear the fair around me stopped; her story was magical! Then she said something that complete changed my world though the quote “The world is filled with good people, if you cant find one, be one”. Up to that point, people in my world were a curse not a blessing. But that moment… all it took was a bit of time with this girl, and suddenly, the world became hopeful. From that moment I knew I want to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. For the first time in several years I believed that maybe I have a “reason”. I knew darkness better than I knew light; maybe my “reason” was to find light in the darkest of moments. Crazy I know. However, from that moment on I swore I WOULD be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I WOULD be the “good” person.  A fire ignited with in me.

Keep in mind this moment came over 12 years ago, so when I was approaching graduation in 2006 my parents weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea of me wanting to take off to some random country. They wanted me to go to college. Long story short, I made a bet with my family that I lost, and off to college I went. It wasn’t long though for my wonderlust to kick in and I ventured off to a new place, Chicago. Little did I know, Chicago would become my home. I have absolutely nothing negative I can say about Chicago. To this day when you ask me where is home, I will say Chitown. I made friendships that exceed past friends, but into family. I felt, at home. However the wonderlust didn’t stop there.

          I graduated with my degree American Sign Language-English interpreting in 2012. One thing still stood after all these years, I wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I honestly connected that to being my “reason” what ever that should mean. I met with a recruiter and before you knew it, I was signed up to go to South America.

I absolutely fell in love with volunteering in schools abroad. I love working with children. I have no desire to have and of my own, but there’s something about working with students that makes me feel like, you know what, I’m doing something right. I love the innocence of children. I enjoy how silly they can be. I’m silly and strange myself. I toured South America as a volunteer teaching English as a second language for a bit. While this happened, my heart found a special place in Peru and I found myself seriously debating staying in Peru rather than returning to the States. Up to that point I had never experienced so much euphoria in life as I did volunteering in Peru. That was when the planets of my world aligned. Maybe this was my “reason”.

That’s all it took. All it took was one girl to make me believe. It took one trip to make me believe in me. Just one. I never saw it coming but for once I thought I understood the reason for something happening for a “reason”. I took that trip to South America with intent being to gather experience to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I went to teach, but I left being the one who learned. I knew, I knew exactly what I was aiming for. Maybe it was for that “reason” or maybe it was just because, but I knew I had to do it.  Where darkness once filled my world, now optimism took over.

I had a game plan. I would volunteer in South America, and once I returned to the States I would begin my Peace Corps application. My recruiter and I had it all planned out. However, an unfortunate hostaging situation put my application on a bit of a pause. As many prior events in my life, this took a moment to recover from. But, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right?

Later I met someone who introduced me to a whole new world. My roommate introduced to a place that built up people more than anything.

Though through this story I’ve ben extremely selective in incorporating names, there are a couple I have to mention. One being Fred Martinez. He convinced me to push myself beyond limits I thought were way beyond my range. He saw me in a broken moment and rather than let me dig a deeper hole, he taught me to climb out. With out any clue what I was doing, I joined the Superior Fitness family in Santa Fe. With the guidance of not only Fred, but other members of my gym fam (*cough cough* Deanneza, Laura, Pops and Carrie) I became the strongest Jamie (emotionally, mentally, and physically) I could ever imagine being. Like I said though, I’ve ben selective in the names I mention. However this is a moment where I have to call out a few people. See it takes a village to make something happen, and I’ve very fortunate to have an amazing support team that has helped me in my story. Amy, my baby sister who I looked up to since we were little; Landie, the most amazing best friend I could ask for; Marinda, my guardian angel; Beatrice, the one who believe in me more than I did; Fred, who pushed me; Heather, who opened up new doors; Sonja, who stood by me through so much; Mrs. Brooke and Ms. Dianna, two lovely ray of sunshine with hearts of gold, and most of all my parents… I finally became the best version of Jamie I had ever been in my life.

January of 2015, nine months after submitting my application to Peace Corps, I received a set in stone official invitation to serve in Namibia as a Secondary Education English Teacher.  To be honest I had to do a bit of research on Namibia. I believed I would be sent to South America so I hadn’t done much research on African countries. I was a bit unsure but I took the jump. The moment I received my invitation my dream came true. I was so excited I literally ran out of the classroom I was working in. I waited for the moment for so long and there was no way I'd pass it up. Now, January 2016 here I am living in Namibia, a country so beautiful that words and pictures don’t give it justice. I miss my friends, family, and gym family but I also now have a great Namily consisting of my fellow volunteers, host family, and Bunya host family.

Perhaps I did have a reason, perhaps everything has a reason. I’m sure this reason will take a lifetime to reveal, but there is one thing I do know.  Whether or not I ever figure out what that “reason” I found my passion. Life is something good, and though sometimes tough, its beautiful! I don’t think reason ever dies, and I’m still young. Maybe life happens for multiple reasons. Each reason leading to a new reason.  Maybe we’re not here for a reason, but a collection of many reasons. As for now, reasons have lead me to where I am right now, and I cant wait to see what other reasons unfold or where the reasons lead me as I experience this little thing called life.

Just a little piece of my time in Peru