The Departure

Well, dear readers, Paul and Eileen Whitman are en route to the USA, scheduled to land in Newark tomorrow morning. It was sad to say goodbye to them, although now I feel better about lying around in my current state of illness. I've developed the recent fear that perhaps I have contracted a parasite, and as a result, I plan on visiting one of the clinics in Cusco this afternoon (aka upon completion of this blog entry!) On the upside, I'm pretty sure that my two-day consumption of only water and about 10 saltines has caused my stomach to become attractively flat. :-) I've been trying to view my current state of illness as an opportunity to pray for peace. Although I'm definitely more inclined to pray when things are rough than when all is running smoothly, I don't know how much trust I truly place in the effectiveness of my prayers. Which I guess is all the more reason to pray! I've been particularly comforted by a song by one of my new favorite singers, Laura Story. The song is called "Perfect Peace," and I highly recommend listening to it! I'll put the lyrics at the end of this post.

This morning, I had the opportunity to see Emily Durham, one of my classmates/colleagues from the Penn Graduate School of Education. Emily did the same master's program as me one year after I completed it, and we had a few opportunities to interact over the summer between our programs to talk about working in international higher education and study abroad. What a small world that she now works for the Duke Engage program, which happens to have sent a group of students to Cusco, Peru through ProWorld! Emily had the great opportunity of visiting Duke Engage groups in Ecuador and Peru, and it was funny to greet her no longer as a fellow student, but as an international education colleague! She's delightful, and always a pleasure to see.

ProWorld will be busy in the next few days as we're expecting the arrival of most of our July semester and intern students. I'm excited to see them, and hopeful that I'll get to form some lovely new friendships. I'll be introducing a few of them to their places of volunteer work starting on Monday. This will involve my serving as instructor in "how to ride a combi," which I haven't exactly mastered yet myself. It will be interesting for sure! Meredith, one of my favorite interns ever, will be taking on a second placement at Manos Unidas, which excites me firstly because I love Meredith and I get to be the one to introduce her to the school, and secondly because it's a chance to get back to Manos Unidas and see what's going on there! I know that they're currently engaged in a pretty important fundraising campaign, which can be seen here: http://www.manosunidasperu.net/

As it tends to do, being sick has made me realize some of the things that I miss most about home. Obviously, saying goodbye to my parents was tough, and I miss them already. I also miss my siblings, my Grammom and Pop Whitman, and, of course, the Queen of the World/Grammy P. I can't wait to see my dear friends at home...my beautiful Diplomats everywhere from Hershey to Allentown to Vermont to NYC to D.C., and my beautiful Rachel Sage and Merry and everyone else around Haddon Heights. And the thought of making a chocolate chip cookie in a US oven at SEA LEVEL...oh, I can't even BEAR it. The cookie longing translates, as well, to all baked goods...you can't imagine what I would pay for a legitimate scone! And TAP WATER. It will be like drinking from the rivers of Eden.

Is it sounding like I hate Peru? Because I don't--really. I just love home. And not even home so much as what waits for me at home. Loving family. Dear friends. Not-as-scary food. It will be sad to leave, but joyful at the same time. Once I've determined what sort of crazy diseases are now crawling through my veins and eradicated them, I'm determined to make the most of my final 30 days in Peru. I will see Lake Titicaka, do a bit more hiking, and maybe even buy the beautiful poncho I've been eying for weeks!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and concern. You cannot even begin to know how much it means to know that not only do I have God "close by my side," but all of you as well!

"perfect peace"

stay close by my side
keep your eyes on me
though this life is hard
i will give you perfect peace

in this time of trial
pain that none sees
trust me when i say
i will give you perfect peace

and you'll never walk alone
and you'll never be in need
though i may not calm the storms around you
you can hide in me
burdens that you bear
offer no relief
let me bear your load
cause i will give you perfect
stay close by my side
and you'll never walk alone
keep your eyes on me
and you will never be in need
though this life is hard
know that i will always give you perfect peace
i will give you perfect peace