Setbacks.

So, I wanted to do a post about the 4th of July, my favorite holiday, spent in Peru and spending it in Peru. I had pictures of my community celebrating with us, equipped with sparklers, hot dogs, watermelon, and all the essentials. I wanted to include photos from my family’s now-annual 4th of July celebration and the cutest nieces/nephew.

Believe me, it was going to be great.

….And then my purse got stolen while I was in Lima this last week. Both cellphones, IDs, debit/credit cards, makeup, cash, sunglasses…everything. It’s been a frustrating week trying to figure out how I’ll replace everything that was taken. There were sentimental things on my phone and in my wallet that I won’t be able to get back. Some of my favorite items won’t be found in Peru. As frustrated as I am, I’m lucky it was only *things* that were taken. I’m safe and however much I miss them, they’re still only *things*. I’ll buy new items and make new memories. Even luckier, I have a boyfriend back home handling my entire insurance claim (woohoo!), with family and an awesome friend willing to do whatever they can to help.

Instead of wallowing in frustration from a minor setback I’ll share a few of the positives of the last week or two. We had a visit from the US Ambassador for Peru last week, Brian Nichols. He was a down to earth, intelligent guy who had some really interesting perspectives and facts to share about his job and this country as a whole.

Although not pictured, Mr. Nichol’s security posse was almost as big as his Peace Corps posse. He is a foreign service office with the US State Department, which happens to be the exact job I dream of. I’ve started reading up on world history, international relations, development, news, and all sorts of other topics in preparation to take the FSOT (foreign service officer test) while I’m here. I won’t put all my eggs in one basket and plan on it working out exactly as I’d like, as the selection process is extremely difficult, but I’m going to give it a go. It was even more exciting speaking with Mr. Nichols and joining him for lunch knowing I have an ultimate goal of joining the State Department post-Peace Corps. We’ll see what the next couple years holds.

One of the more entertaining tidbits about Peru is the…old wives tails?… that exist here. I hesitate to call them superstitions or old wives tails because that implies at least a small level of lightheartedness and these beliefs are SERIOUS. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, drink water after drinking papaya juice. Your stomach will explode or spontaneously combust or something, but whatever happens, you will certainly die.
• Do NOT shower at night. You will wake up deathly ill.
• Do NOT drink cold water or other beverages. You will be near-deathly ill.
• Do NOT eat fish at night. You will be unpleasantly ill.
• Do NOT drink orange juice while on your period. You will be slightly ill.
• Do NOT eat cheese while on your period. You will probably be ill.

I have no idea where these beliefs came from but I discover new and always hilarious ones pretty often. I’m watching out for your health so I’ll update the list as new ones arise. Can’t argue with science.