At the beginning of my service, the Peace Corps staff and former volunteers would always tell us that two years of service would fly by. I never believed them until now.
At the end of September, my training class and I attended our Close of Service Conference to commemorate the successful completion of two years of Peace Corps service. 27 months of Peace Corps service was by no means, an easy task. By the time of our COS Conference, only about half of our training group remained. They had left Peru for various reasons over the course of the past two years. Some left for medical reasons, some for family emergencies, while others just realized the Peace Corps life just wasn’t for them. There were even times when I thought I may leave too (mainly for the whole ordeal I had with my tooth) but I’m glad I stayed. I have never been happier in my Peace Corps service than I am right now. No, it’s not because I am now getting ready to leave but because I finally feel truly integrated and successful in my work. Former Peace Corps volunteers always said that things have a way of falling into place just as you are getting ready to leave, looks like they were right.
Now that my service has come to a close and the time has come to leave Peru, I’d like to reflect on some highlights during my second year of service…
My dance and exercise groups

Soledad

My students

My dog, Zorritos

My family coming to Peru

Becoming a “Madrina”

Friendships
Making it to COS
Although there have been many difficult moments over the past two years of my service, the hardest part was leaving and saying goodbye. I never imagined it would be so difficult. I have developed many close relationships with people in my community, some of which I consider family. But as I told them before I left, “this is not goodbye, but see you later”.
Thank you, Peru, and Peace Corps for giving me one of the best experiences of my life. Hasta la próxima…! (until next time).
you are an incredible human being