Love the Low Moments

The most amazing and applicable advice I’ve ever received in my life (right next to “Never do more than one illegal thing at once”) is “Love the low moments.” To truly love the lowest moments of life is the most incredible thing I’ve learned after two months in the Peace Corps in El Salvador. It pretty much sums up my life here. When you hit those low low moments and you don’t know how this became your life and you just want to lay down in the middle of the road and cry, but then you just start laughing. And you think, “This is exactly what I want.” And everything is so absurd and so wonderful.

That said, I just got back from visiting La Paz, my site for the next two years of my life, and it was nothing but HIGH moments! My community was super enthusiastic and immediately loving. I got hugged and kissed by almost every single person in my community. It was sticky, but believe me after two months of hug starvation, I LOVED it!

Upon my arrival, I was gifted a chicken. So I killed it and ate it. Really. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but also a lot more disturbing.

My site is unbelievable hot. I didn’t know hot like this existed. I am in a painfully poor country, many people can’t afford education, and they have air conditioning in their houses. It’s that hot.

My counterpart, a teacher at the local school, decided my khakis weren’t cutting it and bought me some new super tight Salvadorean jeans with rhinestones on the butt. I had to talk her down from the ones with the huge rhinestone butterflies all over them.

I am really excited to live and work with these people for the next two years. During the highs and the lows.