Estoy aquí para servirles.

I saw a man walking down the street with a UCLA Bruins T-shirt on, navy blue with the classic yellow-gold lettering. I was pretty excited. He, however, was very unsuspecting of its significance, and so it goes with most of the clothing bought in Guatemalan PACAs (second-hand stores). It gets so ridiculous to the point that we volunteers had a PACA shirt contest during our Reconnect back in February. My shirt said “Alien Sex Fiend Club” with a picture of a man with what looked like numerous spikes coming out of his head. I did not place, but Des’s “I’m horny” unicorn shirt was a fair winner. Keep in mind that people wear these shirts all over the country having absolutely no idea what they say. It’s pretty entertaining for us volunteers. I wish I could tell you more, but they are so many that I can hardly keep up.

…

So, starting on August 29^th, I will have 14 months left. It is true what they say, that things pick up after your first year. I have had probably the best “Peace Corps” week since I’ve arrived in Guatemala.

My first victory this week: I won the representative position on the Gender and Development (GAD) Committee of volunteers for the Sustainable Agriculture program. This means I will be facilitating the sharing of information on how to incorporate Gender and Development charlas and activities into our projects, and will become a primary resource for the other volunteers in the Sustainable Agriculture program. This will add such depth to my service, as it has already given me the boost in self-confidence I need to start giving more charlas and building better relationships with the people I’m working with. AND, my counterpart is interested in working on this WITH me, since he has spent many of his years creating his organization (ADICTA) with a focus on development, devoting much time to providing opportunities to the groups of women in the surrounding communities. For this I am VERY excited.

Second victory: On Tuesday I gave a charla on Commercialization and all of the necessary steps to successfully commercializing your business idea. We started with a small skit and then did a rompecabezas (puzzle) to put all the pieces of commercialization together. The end result was a picture of a Guatemalan Quetzal (basically a dollar bill, but worth a lot less). They had fun doing it and I had fun sitting with them afterwards to eat our bread with jam and tea, chatting about life and ourselves. I LOVED it, in fact. When I left the house to go wait for a taxi to pass outside, it was drizzling. The house was located on a dirt road in a river valley, surrounded by trees with huge jungle-like leaves and forest-covered mountains. It was so serenely beautiful to just stand there in the drizzle watching the water drip off the leaves, the water pulling them down as it fell. Then I received a free ride back to the municipio from a passing minivan, of which the drivers were related to my counterpart! Or so they say. It is Guatemala, afterall. J

Third victory: Tuesday night, I chatted with my host family about how they felt about hosting another volunteer once I moved out. Their first response was, “will they be like you? We only want them if they’re like you.” It was the nicest, most validating thing – especially since I spend the majority of the time feeling like I’m an extremely rude, totally culturally insensitive gringa. I felt very loved/loving. Afterwards I went to “Noche Juventil” at my host family’s church and had my ears just about blasted out of my head by the absurdly loud speakers. I’m surprised they don’t have to buy new ones every week for how loud they insist on playing them. Aside from the difference in viewpoint and opinion on many real-world issues and the obnoxiously loud music, I thoroughly enjoyed spending the extra time with my host sister, Rosmil and the sweet girl that works in the family’s store, Vita. It was really a great experience.

Fourth victory: This morning I went running again!! And I did two miles, walking parts of the second mile. It was so absolutely invigorating and refreshing to get up early, blast my iPod (with some EXCELLENT old school hip hop to boot), and watch dogs fighting over each other as I made my laps around the super muddy soccer field. It is so nice to be able to feel the blood flowing through my thighs again as I seemingly effortlessly take one step after the other. It makes me SO nostalgic for those marathon training days. Anyway, I ended up being completely splashed up with mud—haven’t had such a glorious shower in quite some time.

Fifth victory: Today we had a meeting with the Junta Directiva. FAO came to ask them a questionnaire about their roles and to give a charla about Market Investigation and its importance. I sat through it with everyone and felt nice to be a part of the group. Towards the end, the secretary asked how one might go about doing an investigation, or writing a survey to take around with them. Don Víctor, my counterpart, chimed in, “well, fortunately for us Amanda is here. And she is FULL of conocimiento about just how to do that sort of thing. I recognize that I haven’t spent very much time working with her or showing her the ropes since I’m always in and out of the office in various meetings, but it would be to our great advantage to work with her. She is here to help.” Paolo, the Italian volunteer from FAO who came to give the charla, added very fervently, “ADICTA is SO lucky to have someone with this conocimiento at their disposal ALL of the time. It is really important that you make use of what she has to offer, especially since she will be here for only another year. AND, she’s here for free!” And much more. This was a victory because much of my previous despair and troubles came from my not doing anything in ADICTA. It was so hard for me to accept that it wasn’t my fault and that I wasn’t just some lazy volunteer – it really does go both ways and if I hadn’t proved I was willing to work by making my own plan and following through with it, I would likely have continued to go unnoticed. But now they notice. And they appreciate. And I feel like my decision to stick this out was the best one I could have made. I am happy, I am finally comfortable being who I am here carrying on with what I know is important and expecting nothing in return. This is the greatest relief.

And so, here’s to continuing on the up!

…

In much of the spare time I do have, I have begun to draw a little bit here and there, and am the proud artist of my friend Charlie’s brand new tattoo! It’s a starfish, inspired by “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley. You all should read it. This is why I love Charlie. I am also working on one for my dear friend, once diaper buddy (a whole half sleeve!!!)… I’ll let you know how that turns out.

I have also done extensive research on graduate programs of study. After much consideration of my extreme passion for nutrition (have read several books in their entirety in one single day) and its effects on physical AND mental health, and my obsessive interest in psychology, I searched long and hard for a program that would combine this love for nutrition and its psychological effects. I am excited to be seriously planning on starting from scratch with the many science prerequisites I need to be accepted into the MSNCHP (Master of Science in Nutrition and Clinical Health Psychology) at Bastyr University near Seattle, Washington. This is the first dream I can clearly see carrying through the rest of my life and I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have finally gotten ahold of it. Pretty sure this one will stick, but don’t hold me to it. J Afterall, I still have a whole year (+ two months) in Guatemala to change my mind…

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I love you all. And I miss you. 

Long stretch no write.

Last weekend of May Pacaya exploded and made a mess of things with ash all over Guatemala City and the surrounding areas, IMMEDIATELY followed by Tropical Storm Agatha. Ash turned to goo and landslides, compounded by mudslides caused by the torrential downpours all over the country. Houses were filled with mud to the roofs, people buried alive in mud, and lockdown all over the country for lack of transportation. It was horrible. My location was relatively unaffected.

That weekend I was “stuck” in Xela for floods, mudslides, and roadblocks. What a weekend it was. There’s something wild about not being able to move amidst downpours and streets-turned-to-rivers. We didn’t let it get us down and enjoyed almost literally swimming around town. Fortunately Xela stayed open: we weren’t the only crazy ones taking advantage of the disability to do anything else besides relax and enjoy ourselves. Those couple days will never leave my memory.

Then HOME. At last. Greeted by tears and terribly-missed family, I flew into San Francisco on June 10th. From that point forward I immediately started in on the must-do’s: Lagunita IPA, Stone Double Bastard Ale, Stone IPA, Stone Ruination IPA, and Sailor Jerry & Coke. Oh, and I also very much enjoyed seeing my family and friends. Such wonderful therapy. I gave a short speech about tolerance and the Peace Corps to two different groups and felt good about what I had to say. I attended a family party with friend afterparty and talked way too much about what I do and don’t do in Peace Corps, re-fell in love with Sailor Jerry, and saw so many of those that mean the most to me. OhHowIMissAndLoveThem. I flew out after probably the most amazing night of my life and back to Guate I went. Maybe a relief, maybe not. But here I am.

Almost right afterwards was the 3rd of July party. What to say besides beer, debauchery, and spending too much money? Said goodbye to Alex. A new experience dawns here in Guatemala. I had the MOST fun since I’ve been here and am relieved to have had a few weeks off of alcohol. I also have new VERY amazing friends.

The past couple of months were not easy ones. Probably the roughest patch I’ve ever been through in my life. But the seemingly unending “crisis” culminated with a newfound motivation to do what I came here to do, and recognize what it was I originally wanted from coming here. I am happy to have seen the other side of this funk and to have reestablished my commitment to serve Guatemala and mySelf. It helps to remind myself of this from time to time, as this kind of adjustment doesn’t stop evolving until it’s over. I greatly look forward to the euphoria that will come for having finished this gargantuan task of performing the toughest job I’ll ever love.

Meanwhile, I’m going to Huehue to visit some of those very amazing friends and see Tricia!!! She FINALLY comes back from her very long surgery visit to the states. I love her.

And I love you. I miss you. Can’t wait to see you again.

March 26, 2010

Today I learned how to make chocolate cake the Guatemalan way. I carried a few ingredients on my 1 hour school-bus ride and 50-minute walk to Shalanshac where I met the unsuspectingly large group of Guatemalan ladies. As I walked to the town from the bus I enjoyed the immaculately clear view of the miles of cobalt blue hills and ravines and innumerous sheep and lambs grazing on the unendingly steep hillsides. I spoke with my walking company about chocolate cake and family until we arrived to our destination, and was asked to accompany the 4- or 5-year-old girl walking with us in her graduation next October. When we arrived I ducked through the kitchen door to find 15-20 women with bags full of this or that ingredient, but never all of the necessary parts. We started by greasing and flouring our sauté pans (in which we were going to bake the cakes) while the HUGE bread adobe oven heated up. Soon we mixed the ingredients while measuring everything by eye in coffee mugs and table spoons and fought over who got to use the cocoa I brought with me before it ran out. We finished before the oven was heated and so proceeded to make frosting, of which only two out of the 15+ were able to achieve the necessary creamy, spreadable texture. Everyone else put in too much milk/water because they were afraid that the difficulty they had stirring it warranted more liquid. And of course there was not enough extra powdered sugar to go around, so they all ended up with icing instead. Then they rushed to feed me my two hard-boiled eggs, peeled tomato and peeled potato before I had to catch the bus back to town while fighting over who was going to reimburse me for the ingredients. Eventually it all came together one quetzal short of the total amount and I headed out the door. I had to leave before they put their cakes in the oven, so I’m anxious to hear how they turned out. Vamos a ver.
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The rainy season started to come in a few weeks ago. I have enjoyed my naps under the daily afternoon torrential downpour on the tin roof quite thoroughly. I’ve also LOVED the thunder cracking ferociously right above my head and wading through rivers on my walk home from work. I just don’t think I’ll get sick of it. LOVE it.
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I continuously grow more and more excited for my short visit to home. I get so excited with my insatiable hunger for your hugs. I need them. It will be difficult going from this wonderfully temperate climate to 110-degree Sacramento summer days, but well worth the sweat. I love you, thanks for reading.

Así es mi vida.

Welp, I got to Mexico a little late because I came down with some incredibly horrible illness that had me bed-ridden an entire week, almost. My ears felt like someone was constantly piercing them with needles, painful to the point of hearing loss for almost 3 days. But, with a few antibiotics, a pharmacy in my purse, and determination like you wouldn’t believe, I made it across the border on Saturday the 24th. And enjoy myself, I did, indeed (even without a camera to document).

Crossed the border after about an hour of walking around with packs and luggage in probably 90-something degree weather with at least 100% humidity. Pretty disgusting, we were. Started the first night with dancing and all the other necessary shenanigans.

Took a boat ride down a river through the Cañon del Sumidero with walls 700 meters straight up, a crocodile, spider monkeys, neat birds, crazy rock formations… very beautiful. Topped that off with a 60:40 rum:coke (the only way to do it right) and the world’s best shrimp ceviche with the world’s most painfully spicy raw jalapeño. Ended that day trip with a live serenade of La Bamba, requested courtesy of our good friend Des.

Saw some Mayan ruins (Palenque) and swam in some unbelievably beautiful waterfall pools (Parque Nacional Cascadas de Agua Azul). The water was an aquamarine blue because of the sediment deposits in it, which formed pools you could walk around in and hop from one to the next barefoot. So serenely beautiful. Loved it.

Trip ended with Cha Cha’s birthday and carrying all our crap very hungover across the border. Very worth it.

Enjoyed pretty much every moment of the trip, even with ears still plugged from being sick the week before. One of those treasures you never forget.

ALMOST back to reality. Home for one night, then back on the road to a welcome party for some newbies and then to In-Service Training for the next week. Much needed girls’ night at Shani’s before a week learning how to make organic compost, lombri-compost, tire gardens, strawberry jelly and pickled veggies. Picked up lots of reading material on rural and small businesses and simple accounting and felt ready for work at the end of it. Finally.

Work should be good, now, with all the information I have to share and practice with my counterparts and the association.

I spent today baking cakes with a group of ladies in a nearby aldea and am very enthused to return two weeks from now with another baking project. They sounded pretty excited about maybe commercializing the practice eventually, and I got pretty excited to help them maybe achieve this developing goal of theirs. Even more excited that they want me to come back, and that I want to go back. Something else to look forward to.

I will spend the rest of this week helping my counterpart elaborate some project proposals to submit for review to several contributing NGOs and am thankful for the more open and comfortable relationship I’ve developed with myself and also with my counterpart. I feel SO MUCH better about the prospect of actually accomplishing something while I’m here.

I am thankful for the brothers I’ve found that I have here, I am thankful for feeling like I belong in this town just a little bit more, I am thankful for the enthusiasm and excitement I have for the life ahead of me, and I am thankful for all of you who continue backing me in this crazy endeavor to change the world, one small step at a time.

Oh, and I’LL BE HOME IN ONE MONTH. Four weeks from today. For ~two weeks. Can’t hardly contain my excitement.

I love you.

This Past Month...

Well it’s been very eventful.


Semana Santa

I started the week making pan with Joe’s host family… I only rolled one bun cause they were sticky and covered in grasa to make them easier to roll, but it was fun. Traditionally the whole family gets together to make the dough, roll, and bake the bread. And they make a TON of it. They make it for their extended family and neighbors and friends and basically that’s all they eat all week. It’s delicious.

Then I went to Xela to celebrate with my friends and had a very great time, up until my purse was stolen. In it I had my camera, my NEW iPod, NEW phone, debit card, and all the other daily necessities. I was VERY angry and didn’t quite know what to do with myself, but luckily was with good company who helped me out the rest of the week until we got home. No one was hurt and no legal documents were stolen, so it could’ve been a lot worse. Just VERY unfortunate.


Birthday Week

Needless to say, it put a damper on my excitement for my birthday the following week. It wasn’t all bad, though.

The day before my birthday, Matt & Meli made me DELICIOUS vegetarian lasagna and probably the BEST carrot cake I’ve ever had in my life. We made the frosting for it together and OH MAN. It was so good. They’re such great company and wonderful friends to have as sitemates.

The morning of, I was woken up at 5:15am with Guatemala’s traditional firecrackers right below my bedroom window, singing right outside my bedroom door, and chocolate cake with strawberries on top which I was taken downstairs to eat at about 5:30am. It was awesome. Later that morning, my host sister, Rosmil, asked if I had been listening to the radio because THEY HAD JUST ANNOUNCED MY BIRTHDAY to all of Tejutla. She had called it in earlier in the morning. So sweet! Later in the day I shared a traditional birthday lunch of Pepian, a delicious chicken and rice dish, with Joe’s host mom and host sister, whose birthdays were also that week. THEN, I got two packages from mom & dad in the afternoon. It was amazing. It all added up to be incredible, except for when I went home at the end of the day wishing to see my family and friends from home.

Day after: Mandatory Regional Security Meeting for Peace Corps. I got to see all my San Marcos friends and Joe announced my birthday to everyone there. It was really nice. We went out for micheladas (bloody Mary mix with beer instead of vodka) afterwards and celebrated just a little bit longer. When we got home, a couple of the friends Joe has made working in the Muni (and that I’ve run with a couple of times) came over to Joe’s house and we all had a little bit of rum to celebrate true to my nature. It was a very great night.

Friday I went to Lake Atitlan with a couple more friends and relaxed in the serenity that its beauty brings. Didn’t get too wild since I was so worn out from the preceding anger (it’s really exhausting) + festivities, but enjoyed myself nonetheless.

And, I’M 25!!!


Last Week

As soon as I got to the office Monday morning, my counterpart asked how I’d like to go to Guatemala for a Capacitación in his place since he had other obligations to take care of. It turned out being an all-week affair, leaving Tuesday morning, returning Saturday afternoon. I’m very glad I went—it was about Business Planning, specific to agribusiness. Very informative, and I got a diploma (huge thing in Guatemala)!! I look forward to sharing the info and materials I brought home with me with my counterpart, and hopefully getting him excited about doing things the more effective way, too. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I stayed with a bunch of other Guatemalans the whole time and enjoyed getting to know them on a more confianza level. It really is what makes this whole experience worthwhile. We did a group activity where each group had to create the same “products” with the materials given them, and our group won! Each group didn’t actually receive all the necessary materials and had to try to produce the items with what they had (this was done on purpose). When asked what happened and why it didn’t work out so well for each group, they mentioned things such as not having all the right materials, not having the confianza to ask the other groups for help/to lend materials, lack of manpower and limited time, and the last thing they said was, “it’s because we didn’t have the extranjera (foreigner) in our group!” As a joke, of course. Pshh. It was fun times.


This Week

I’m going to Mexico!! With (most of) my favorite PCV’s. I can’t wait. We’re going for a week just to relax, celebrate Charlie’s and my (belated) birthdays, do a little site-seeing, and just your general vacation shenanigans. I can’t wait. It will be so nice to just get away for awhile on a REAL vacation. I can’t wait. I’ll let you know how it goes, but unfortunately won’t have any pictures (of my own) to share since the camera was stolen. There will be others on facebook, though, I’m sure.


Needless to say, I’ve been busy. Next month should be more work-busy and I look forward to it. It will be nice to get back into the flow of a “normal” routine (as normal as it can be here in Guatemala). I hope to start progressing with what I’m supposed to be doing here, though have been reassured by several more seasoned volunteers that the first year is mostly spent learning—especially since you start from Zero here. So I try to keep that in mind as all my ideas continue to cook.

It’s comforting to acknowledge how much the time flies here. I do look forward to returning to my most normal, comfortable life and not have so much time to be spending alone, but also am grateful to spend the next year and a half figuring my shit out (18 months left as of May 1st!) without so many distractions. So great to have you to share it all with. Love you very much.

March is ending already...

Friday, March 12th was my 7-months-in-country anniversary. April 1st will mark my 5-months-in-site anniversary. It’s unbelievable how the time has flown. Just a little over 19 months to go! But who’s counting.

It’s been a little bit of a blur, still trying to sort things out in terms of what kind of work I’m doing. But, poco a poco I’m figuring it out. Still. A bunch more has been lined up with the women’s group who makes all the products we sell at my association’s store so I’m excited for that.

If nothing else, just spending the time getting to know them makes coming here totally worth it. Spending time with Guatemalans, in general, makes everything worth the trip.
...

Earlier this month I participated in a Medical Jornada as a translator.

A bunch of doctors, translators, and medical helpers came down on their vacation to help give free medicine, surgeries, etc. to many Guatemalans in the area. They actually do this all over Guatemala, among other projects. The group is called Helps International, if you’re interested in participating. I may look into it when I’m out of the Peace Corps—it was so amazing.

I spent half the week translating between doctors and patients, and I think the most gratifying part was being able to communicate on a level beyond just understanding the language. Having had the opportunity to learn the culture in a way that keeps me sensitive and understanding makes communicating with Guatemalans so rewarding. They’re the most openly loving culture—I’m so blessed to be here fostering my desire to be doing the same. (The Jornada group also fed us all week, food cooked by Americans. SO DELICIOUS, and so nice to have a taste of home).

...

Yesterday I travelled to one of the other departments nearby to help a volunteer who’s just finished her two-year service give an HIV/AIDS workshop to some of the students she’s been working with.

I spent an entire afternoon doing activities and skits and sharing information with the high-school-aged students. Also an extremely rewarding day. I hope to be redoing this workshop several times throughout my two years—it’s exciting to see how well they learn, how interested they are, and that the information will carry on. I am thankful to be a part of spreading the word.

...

My host mom, Sarita, had her baby on February 15th. He was TINY. His name is Nember Ismael Aguilar. SO CUTE. I look forward to watching him grow, learn to walk and talk… so exciting. She’s a happy mom.

Sarita & Nember.

Rosmil & Nember.

…

As for my personal experience, I mentioned it’s been a blur. I can’t say it’s been easy, though there’s nothing about being here that makes me unhappy. I very much love it and feel almost completely at home. I just keep waiting for the day where my work will fall into place and I’ll know what kind of impact, in that regard, I will be leaving. I know it will come. I’m just a little impatient, I guess. Finding peace with food has also been a challenge, especially since I have a lot of time to myself. I’m doing work to get over this, and have enjoyed more and more getting up early in the morning to run. I have hit three miles, which still is no big consolation since I’m used to being able to do a whole lot more. But I have to keep reminding myself that asthma, altitude, and weight gain are making the rise a little bit slower. It is getting better though. Those mornings when I DO drag myself out of bed, I always feel so excellent about the day. The early morning “I really just love my bed too much to get out of it” is what challenges me. Getting there, though.

I have been able to learn a lot and practice a lot of awareness; there’ve been many lessons. Don’t hold yourself to so rigid a goal. Don’t let the things that worry you rule your day. Don’t worry so much. Remember what you want and remember that it is yours already. Remember who you are—this is all you need to be. Remember that you make your day what it is. Breathe, you are alive. Love. That is all there has to be in your life.

…

I’ve made some amazing and lasting relationships that I couldn’t be more thankful for. There is just so much we share in common, even if only the experience we are going through. I relate to these other volunteers on a level I couldn’t have dreamed of before, especially for only having known them for 7 months. It’s pretty great. I’ve been enjoying more and more my time with Guatemalans, feeling just a little bit more comfortable being myself each day. They’re so open – when I feel bad about something they say, “what does it serve you to feel bad about it? Don’t worry about it.” So wonderful.

…

I never cease to be amazed at how lucky I am to have so many people at home thinking of me. Needless to say I feel very loved and very blessed to have such beautiful people in my life. It keeps me going, especially on those bad days, to know that you are there. I love you, thank you for everything.

Haro!

Rosmil: Vamos a hacer un baby, ¿quieres venir?

Me: Whatwhatwhat? You’re going to make a baby!? And you want me to come?!!! (exasperated surprise) Or, do you mean you’re going to go with your mom to have a C-section and you’d like me to accompany you?

Rosmil: Yes. Do you want to come?

Me: Ummm, I’m not sure that I’m comfortable with that.

Rosmil: Well, you think about it and let us know. It’s going to be Wednesday at 5:00. And it’s a surprise.

Me: Are you sure she’s okay with this? This is quite a thing to spring on someone.

Rosmil: No, it’s customary here to hacer un baby. We’re going to do it in this house here (as we walk by).

Me: But, isn’t that real dangerous?! That only ever happens in hospitals in the US…

Rosmil: No, no, it’s fine. Let us know if you’re going to come.
…

The next day:

Okay, so, Rosmil, does “hacer un baby” mean she’s going to have the baby, or what?

She proceeded to explain in clearer detail that it meant they were having a Baby Shower. I mean, what was I supposed to think? Nevermind it sounding like some baby-making activities. I tried to move beyond that by guessing it meant they’d be getting that baby out, but man was I confused. A LOT gets lost in translation.

So Rosmil is the 17-year-old daughter of my host mom, Doña Sarita, who is going to give birth sometime this month to her second child. She and some ladies from their church threw a really nice baby shower for Sarita and I really loved it. We made blouses out of tissue paper, guessed the width of her stomach by tearing off pieces of toilet paper, and presented gifts one-by-one with some nice words. I said, “Púchica, ¡que emocionante!” This, I knew, would make her laugh since she thinks it’s hilarious that I’ve somewhat acostumbrarme’d to Guatemala and their sayings. It was wonderful, I am so sad I didn’t have my camera with me.
…

So I’ve decided to stay with my host family for another year, at least until M&M leave and I can have their little apartment. I’ve grown much more comfortable and finally feel like I’m at home all the way (besides missing all of you). I’ve been eating most of my meals with the host family and we spend a lot of time chatting, laughing, and eating chuchitos and paches (they’re both like tamales in the states… but paches are made with potato instead of cornmeal… what they call tamales here are made with mushy cornmeal and are bigger).

Anyway, I’m feeling like everything is finally starting to be the way I thought it would in the Peace Corps. I’m working (I’m actually working!), usually busy at work these days, feel much more at home around my counterpart and coworkers, and love that when I stop to think about it, I’m where I’ve wanted to be for a long, long time. I’m feeling like family with the Guatemalans I’ve become close to and I speak Spanish! It’s great.

I’ve also been becoming great friends with my fellow PCV’s and am looking forward to the two years we have together. Way too much fun, especially when you all are doing something this crazy together. It makes you feel closer. Plus, they're pretty amazing people.
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So I can’t tell you how much I miss being there with all the things that are changing in all of your lives, how I miss running with Team in Training (it’s a little tough up in these mountains without those excellent people), how I miss just talking to my people daily and sharing with them the latest, how I miss bickering with my mom, going to happy hour with my favorites and drinking what I can only imagine is "hopsoup"…

I miss you all. And I appreciate SO MUCH the letters/packages/emails/facebook posts/thoughts. You are all thought of constantly. I long for the day I can come home and say “hi” in person.
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Happy February! Love you.