My New Resume

Serving as a Peace Corps volunteer gives you a lot of new skills to add to your resume.  Some of them have a direct correlation to a future job, while others have a direct correlation to making people laugh.  There are plenty of articles that talk about the broader benefits of hiring a Peace Corps volunteer, but I’m going to share with you the real story on what I bring to the table after almost two years in Mexico.

Specifically, I’ve gained the ability to:

• Speak and understand Spanish
• Flush a toilet with a bucket of water
• Better appreciate the positive aspects of working with both millennials and retirees
• Communicate without the use of email in an office environment
• Navigate a totally different work culture (and life culture)

I navigated a local trail to see how construction was coming along on this place of worship up in the hills above town. 

• Be prepared for anything – Heading out for 12 hours en el campo with 5 minutes’ notice? On a bus that breaks down? Experiencing a non-pleasant reaction to that new food you just tried?  I’ve got snacks, an extra roll of TP, a book to read and a bag full of medicine at the ready.
• Practice sufficient patience to wait 15+ months to get a kid’s activity book printed (I'm still waiting on that but maintaining faith!)
• Be flexible about things getting canceled/scheduled at the last minute
• Keep plants alive - ok, I did kill a cactus and 4 of my original 9 plants, but the survivors are thriving!
• Walk slower 
• Embroider tortilla towels and cross-stitch  

So much time spent working on super important projects like good ol' Bugs Bunny here. If you hire me, this could soon be yours. 

Using a fan to get the sparks flying on the grill - always be prepared! 

There was no way to prepare for this large gathering of birds, but it was cool to watch them all take off together.  

• Create wall art using fabric and a staple gun
• Caulk windows
• Light a hot water boiler
• Take a bath using cups of water heated on the stove
• Make applesauce and soup from scratch
• Navigate public transportation in a foreign country
• Live without a car    
• Teach English to adults
• Teach kids about composting
• Take a nice, long, leisurely lunch break – and I can totally convince you why that’s important

I recently enjoyed a delicious lunch in this new restaurant, courtesy of my friend Marcel, complete with homemade hummus!

• Write a blog
• Read an entire book in one day
• Cook for two years with only one pan
• Make really good papas verdes and salsa
• Stay up late for the sole purpose of eating really good, homemade food lovingly cooked by someone else
• Disinfect fruits and vegetables with bleach or microdyn
• Really appreciate the small things – Do you have an office bathroom that always flushes, has a seat, and isn’t located right in front of someone’s desk?  How private! How fancy!  Can you give me my own desk and chair? Super fancy!

It was totally worth staying at the office until 9:00 PM to enjoy this delicious tlayuda made with fresh ingredients my coworker brought back from Oaxaca last week. 

Add a few squirts of this to a bowl full of drinking water, wait 15 minutes, rinse, dry, and enjoy your fresh produce!

• Find the best work-life balance (i.e. more life, less work)
• Respond to last minute requests without having an anxiety attack
• Wash clothes by hand
• Make coffee - finally!

I'll have to get all fancy when selling my volunteer experience with future employers by talking about the formal skills gained from my volunteer experience, such as: an aptitude for learning new things, a willingness to take (calculated) risks, adaptability, flexibility, the ability to embrace uncertainty and change, patience, tenacity, and an understanding of Mexican culture and customs.  However, I'm sure they'll also be impressed to know I can get that toilet flushed in a pinch, and probably keep an office plant alive.  Let the job offers pour in!  

Swimming with Iguanas

I went home for Christmas and got to meet my newest niece, who is a perfect, tiny little bundle of joy!  It was great to see all of my Arkansas family but I was also happy to leave the cold, snowy US to ring in the new year with warm, sunny, Mexican weather.  Speaking of the new year, 2018 has already delivered some great moments and we're only 11 days in! For example: 

• I spent New Year’s Eve with my BFF and her boyfriend, who were visiting from California, complete with a huge fireworks show right outside our window.  They introduced me to the funniest movie I have seen in years, and gave me a portable charger for my phone.  Sure, a guy behind me in line for coffee commented on how old my phone was and how he had never seen anything so tiny and asked did that thing even work, but I now have a super cool portable charger for my super dated phone.

Ringing in the new year with lots of color! 

Another sunny, colorful day in Mexico. 

Sunset for the new year. 

I resolve to start every new year with a tropical sunset. 

• I went swimming in a pool where you could swim up to a bar and order fresh sushi.  I’m pretty sure I reached peak bliss for the year eating sushi while floating in a pool.
• I had my first wildlife sighting and it was a good one.  2017 ended with an up-close view of a crocodile while walking around a marina, and 2018 started with three giant iguanas swimming in and walking around the pool where we floated with sushi.

 A crocodile to usher out 2017.  I took a quick pic and then took off for higher ground. 

Iguanas to kick off 2018.  While we didn't have our cameras with us as the pool, we found plenty of online examples of iguanas at our hotel pool, like this one. 
Note - this photo is courtesy of TripAdvisor.  

• I had a visit from my fellow-volunteer Becky!  We got to eat a piece of the largest rosca in the state and watch a clown orchestrate a balloon-popping competition between pairs of women, which had us in stitches!
• After Becky discovered that my apartment had no running water at 7 AM, I got to sleep in and enjoy flowing water a few hours later.  Poor Becky did not get to shower or enjoy a flushing toilet on her last morning at my house, but luckily, she’s a hardy volunteer who has endured worse.  Also, she’s like the nicest person you’ll ever meet and kept giving me more and more gifts during her visit and was so appreciative that I lived somewhere warm.

Me and Becky waiting for a bite of that tasty rosca! 

Volunteers cut off the end of each loaf and sealed everything together with what looks like jelly in a squirt bottle. 

As you can see, that table kept going and going....this was before the whole town joined us.

• Becky told me that she always thinks of me now when she sees sunsets, which is just about the best compliment you can get.  The next day, I booked a vacation to visit a beach rumored to have the best ocean sunsets.  
• I finally found my favorite cheese, queso borracho, and was able to share it with Becky, who loved it as much as I do.  If you’re looking for a strong, flavorful Mexican cheese, this is the one for you.  

We were super excited for the tasty cheese and because we figured out the timer on my phone's camera.

• My friend Connie sent me a care package with a great book and two packages of Starbucks Via Latte packets!  All you need is hot water for a little taste of home. 
• The third season of Lovesick was released on Netflix and I binged for two nights.  I thought it wasn't quite as good as the first two seasons until the very last scenes in the very last episode, which got me right in the heart. 
• The first day back in the office, we celebrated a coworker’s birthday and the new year with our very own rosca, a special chocolate with cardamom drink and fresh tamales that were moist and flavorful.  The next day we celebrated another coworker's birthday with another cake, which then generated a never-ending series of What's App messages about the need for an office weight-loss program. I don’t know where I’ll end up after the Peace Corps, but I really hope I can find an office culture that values eating and celebrating together as much as this one does!

Office party to kick-off the new year.

I didn't find a figurine in my rosca so I don't have to bring tamales to everyone on February 2nd, but I did get to enjoy a delicious tamale on January 8th! 

So there you have it: 2018 is off to a great start.  We started getting information about preparing to close our service and setting a specific date to fly home, so I'm trying really hard to stay focused on the present and to enjoy every morning that requires no alarm, every street taco that demands to be eaten and every visit with a friend here in Mexico.  And I'm planning how to use every remaining vacation day to enjoy as many Mexican sunsets as possible.