"Peru taught me..."

I got to meet up with one of my favorite neuroscience professors from college at Regis University, Dr. Lafosse, in Lima. He's Peruvian and came to visit family here. Kind of crazy to find him all the way in Peru, plus all of us volunteers die to see a familiar face so of course I took the 23 hour bus ride from Tumbes to Lima just for a lunch, and it was worth every sole.

Dr. Lafosse is a mentor and guides me in life to make good decisions. I wish he kicked my ass a little bit more in college though, because being here as a Peace Corps volunteer, a teacher in the failing school sytems here in Peru has opened my eyes like no other. I want to kick myself for not appreciating college as much. I mean, I appreciated it...just not as much as I should have.

Dr. Lafosse reminded me of his parents immigration experience to the states ALL for him to go to college in the U.S. He reminded me of his feelings on his graduation day - how half of him was so proud of graduating, but how half of him wished his parents could feel as accomplished because, really, they earned it too. You can imagine that people sacrifice their language, their culture, their home and family for something irreplaceable, something you can't get anywhere else...that "something" is an education from the good ol' U.S. of A. My grandma from Ecuador also fought poverty and sacrificed the world to get to the states to bring my mom and her sister to the U.S. My grandma wanted her girls to go college and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, and you bet my mom and aunt made something of themselves they could be proud of. My mom is an architect and my aunt was an accountant. My mom talks about her experience in college so fondly. My mom truly appreciated her mom's efforts. My generation - not so much, and I feel like an IDIOT about it. But that's okay - can't dwell on the past! And that's why I'm writing about this, because I want to scream it at the top of my lungs to appreciate school. Anyways, in a sense I owe my graduation from college to my grandma. If it wasn't for her relentless efforts I wouldn't be in the shoes I am today. Years before we were born, my grandmother paved a better future for my brother and I, and now my brother is top 40 of his engineering class at UC Berkeley and I graduated a neuroscience major and am an aspiring doctor. Now I truly can say, I can't wait to go to medical school and take it all in, fully immerse myself in knowledge and the tools in life that make someone the utmost best they can be. I want to work harder than I've ever worked before. Peru brought me to this moment.

The reality is that school in Peru is for the rich and the rest simply don't get "dreams" - can't afford them. I talked to a mother that literally doesn't like to motivate her child simply for the kid not to face the pain in life of having a dream that is impossible to achieve. She said that it happened to her and it was one of the most painful things she has ever gone through. Can you imagine growing up without a DREAM? Dreams and school are a luxury in my new world. I wanted to cry for her children, for her but I am here just for that. We're constantly being reminded that Peace Corps volunteers are "facilitators" slash we are to always WORK WITH SOMEONE ELSE. Empower empower empower! I will empower this mother to help push her kid, because you never know what the future holds and I would at least like her child to try to get there. I believe in the impossible and sometimes I think hope is our godsend because it keeps us alive with wonder. That sense of wonder makes every day count. That's just me though. I may be one crazy volunteer thinking kids in a third world country have a chance in hell, but we'll never know for sure unless we try...right?

An eduation is the best damn thing a person can do for themselves.

If I had the chance, this is what I'D shout at every college campus in the states. PAY ATTENTION BONEHEAD - YOU HAVE THE WORLD AT THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS. Take advantage of it!!! The resources we have in the states is alarming. We are the LUCKIEST 20 something year olds walking on this earth for the opportunities available to us.

In rural Peru it is rare for a child to "go to university." The schools here aren't as up to par, accesible or accomodating as in the states. Here a child has to have a relative in the "big city" to stay at their house because that's where the universities are located. There's no such thing as "dorms" here; no one's kid lives in an apartment or house with their friends. The family barely has enough money to put food on the table, much less pay for school. Remember how school is a LUXURY? A child here truly fights for that luxury and the opportunity to make something of themselves, whereas in the states an eduation is practically given to us on a silver platter. SLAP!!! You have something most kids DREAM OF...yet there we are (if you were anything like me) showing up late to class, sleeping during class, not reading those oh so precious books that cost hundreds of dollars because there's a party or some mountain to go snowboarding down. Books cost hundreds of dollars for a reason. School in general costs a fortune for a reason...yet the vast majority of college students goes and does what it takes to GET BY. Getting by is not SUCCEEDING. It is not APPRECIATING.

To wrap this up, here's my point. Don't just get by. Succeed, because you college students in America truly can. Do it for the kids fighting for their dreams in my site, in Peru, and all over this world.