March 12th, 2012
Well, I’m still here. After being offered taking an Early
Close of Service, I came very, very close to packing my bags and calling it a
day. Or rather a few days. I remember
talking to other volunteers saying, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m ACTUALLY going to
be home within a month.” I even called our APCD on a Sunday to ask if I could
still COS despite the deadline being on Friday. He told me yes, and to call him
the following day. The next day came and went, and I didn’t make the call.
After battling sickness after sickness, all I wanted to do
was to go home. Okay, so I thought of a great analogy today to put my
experience into perspective for you all. Imagine being on a camioneta (bus) and
being horribly nauseous while crammed in a seat between two people who reek of
B.O and are yelling into a phone loudly in a Mayan language you can’t understand.
You can’t move at all. You can’t scream at the ayudante (bus helper) to get you
off because he’s hanging out the window screaming, “CHIMAL CHIMAL CHIMAL.” You
have to sit on this bus for the next 3 hours with a horrible headache, the
constant impulse to vomit, nostrils filled with body odor, all while the kid in
back of you is pulling on your hair and mind you, you’re trying to keep track
of your bags and avoid any pick-pockets.
So, this analogy relates to being sick and wanting to go
home. The camioneta is our service in general.
All these crazy sicknesses, flea bites, market waking you up at 4am,
people popping squats in your yard,
freezing cold weather, crazy hot weather, no indoor heating, no indoor plumbing,
lack of hot water, are all the prior things explained that happen on the
camioneta. Now imagine suddenly the camioneta breaks down, or Peace Corps
decides to offer Early Close of Service.
The ayudante suddenly gives you all your money back then offers to fly
you in a plane to your destination while offering you peanut butter pie,
buffalo wings, your cute little 10 month year old nephew, and beaches. It’s kind of like Peace Corps suddenly pulled
the break on the crazy camioneta.
You can get off. You can go home. You can get rid of the
diarrhea, nausea, headaches, flea bites, gripe, allergies, overwhelming body
odor, fijese que’s, and bad internet. You can have your SAFETY back. You can
have long hot showers. Hell you can have running water. You can even DRINK that
water- In the shower. Why don’t we even throw in a porcelain toilet into the
mix? In which you can FLUSH. You can see your friends and family at any
point you want. Take this free ride out of here. Go enjoy the luxuries you have
gone 10 months without.
After peeing blood out my butt for 4 days (¿TMI?), having a
fever of 103.2 degrees, and having too many flea bites to count, it was pretty
reasonable for me to want to jump off this damn camioneta ride and take that
plane ride back normalcy.
But wait, I am still here. I am still on the camioneta where
I have no idea what crazy turns will come. What hilarious things the people
around me will do. How much my tolerance, patience, and flexibility will be
tested. What crazy adventures the camioneta will take me through. How much
stronger the ride will make me. If I can just hold out the ride, how much of a
better person can I become? How much
better of a Physician Assistant will I be with all these crazy, strange, difficult
experiences I am being forced to endure?
Yes, I am still here.
I am excited to be healthy again and be able to jump right
back into work. I anxiously await all
the wonderful, breathtaking, eye opening experiences I know are waiting for me.
Each day here I learn something new – whether it be from the people in my
communities, from my site mate Jacob, from my boyfriend Venoni, about
relationships of all types in general, or simply about myself. Each day is a
new learning experience. There are books to be read, places to go, and
inspiring people to meet. At this
moment, I know I can endure this camioneta ride for at least a little while
longer.
Either decision is extremely hard to make but I am okay with
the one I did make. The goal now will be to stay healthy and be very busy with
work. As long as I have my mind busy on
a project it will keep me satisfied with being here. I absolutely loved when I could work as a
nurse tech on a twelve hour shift because you were constantly busy helping
patients while also making the jobs of nurses a little easier. I thought I could leave here and do that
again while getting in my clinical patient care hours for PA school. However, I
am only 22 years old. I have the rest of my life to work in hospitals. For now, I will try to occupy my constant
need for work by burying myself in secondary projects while building myself as
a person.
I mean, who’s willing at this point to give up all that
awesome Spanish music we’ve all slowly learned along the way while traveling on
the camioneta? Bring on more Spanish music because we’ve got more lyrics to
learn but please, dear Lord Baby Jesus in Heaven, please keep the sicknesses
away. And take the fleas and mice with it. Thank you.
Yours Truly,
Chelsea Charlie Chelise Chansi Chester Ana Leroux
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