This week had a very sad beginning. My Grandpa, Derold Parker, passed away on Monday morning. He had been battling cancer for almost a year. For a lot of this past year he has been doing really well, but the last 3 months had definitely gone down hill. I guess I sort of knew when I said goodbye to him before I left for Peru that it may be the last time I saw him, but it's hard to really say goodbye in that way before you really can say goodbye. (I'm not sure if that makes sense to everyone, but it makes sense to me) My Grandpa was a very unique man, and I mean that in a good way. I can't say I have ever known or will ever know anyone who is at all like him. He had a very big heart, loved to spend time with his grandkids, and had a lot of great stories to tell. I have many great memories with him. He is now resting in peace and has no more pain.
Last week, I talked a lot about the stress and long hours with my job. Well I guess it is true that hard work pays off. I had a very successful week at work and everything seems to be coming together with the job. I have taken in so much information about traveling in Peru, I feel like an expert on places I have never been. It must have reflected in my conversations with clients this week, because I closed 6 new sales. My boss, and our investor, sat me down and simply asked me, "How did you do that?" I guess in the past, it typically has taken a new agent at least a month before they are lucky enough to close one deal. Needless to say, they were very happy with me, and are now sending me on a free vacation to Machu Picchu the first of April! They said, if you can sell this good without even knowing the place, we'd like to see how much you can sell after you have been there. Ok, enough of tooting my own horn! I was pleasantly surprised with myself and feel much more confident in my abilities. So, I am looking forward to work this week. With all the busy hustle and buslte of doing bookings and working closely with a couple of the other girls in the office, I feel like I finally fit in. I am getting better at communicating in Spanish, and I think they really appreciated my hard work. Because well, frankly, the more the sales agent sells, the more everyone in the office makes.
This week, I took a taxi every day to work. And wow, I was in such a better mood. The taxi drivers are actually pretty nice and usually really like to talk to me. I enjoy this because it gives me really good practice with my Spanish! The reason I wanted to mention the taxis and being in a better mood is because I'd like to talk about the importance of putting yourself into a state of mind. After having a bit of a breakdown last week, I simply made up mind that I was going to make some changes. My attitude was completely adjusted and I looked at everything as an opportunity. I smiled, laughed, and enjoyed myself more this week than I can really ever remember doing. I know many of you have probably read books like The Secret or the Power of Positive Thinking, but have you ever really tried it? I can't say I believe one theory is exactly correct or that it really brings extra success your way, but I think it does make your life better. I'm struggling to explain this in words without making it sound really silly, but I think each morning we choose our destiny for that day. If you wake up dreading going into work, you're going to mope around all day at work. If you wake up excited about what your working on, you're going to find success and fulfillment. My thoughts go a lot deeper on this whole subject of positive thinking and living in the now, but for now, I'll just leave it at this. Remember to give thanks for everything you have, remember to smile at everyone you meet, and remember to take time to take care of yourself.
Again, I spent this weekend here in the city. Since I had such a great week at work, I decided I was going to dress up and head out on the town. On Friday night, Julio and I went out walking around the busy downtown area and stopping in a couple places to have a drink or two. I haven't really been out to the bars here yet, so it was kind of nice just to experience the atmosphere. We had a lot of fun, maybe a little too much fun, as Julio ended up almost having to carry me home later that night :). I can't say that going out here is really a whole lot different than going out in a big city in the US. Here, the parties just last until the sun comes up. On Saturday, I had to go into work for about 4 hours. ( I have to work every third Saturday from 10 - 2) After work, I kind of just walked around the city, went to KFC because I was craving some "American food" and went home to take a nap. The evening was spent pretty relaxed as well just watching a movie.
Today, Sunday, may have been the craziest day I have ever had. Crazy in a really good way. I woke up without any plans really, and then saw that my landlord had emailed me about a festival going on in the city. It was just a parade/carnival to celebrate summer. I thought sure, maybe this will be fun. It was a blast! I went with Julio and a couple of his friends. We then met up with my landlord and one of my roommates. This wasn't just a parade. It was a massive mob of people in crazy costumes taking up about 6 city blocks. The parade wans't something you watched, it was something you were part of. There were big banners, drumlines, tall charicatures, and about 10,000 hippies. There were also several bands playing at various locations, lots of food to share, and complete happiness! Oh, and I haven't mentioned paint! The main attraction of this parade was the crazy costumes and paint. There were water guns with paint, ballons with paint, and just buckets of paint everywhere. People just came up to you with globs and paint and threw it on you or drew on you. Everyone was covered head to toe in a beautiful canvas of paint! No one cared how they looked or what they were doing, everyone was just dancing, singing, laughing, and enjoying! It is hard to describe this experience as I don't think there could ever be anything like this in the US. My landlord, Gloria, took lots of pictures! As soon as I get some from her, I will put some on here. The funny thing about being covered in paint is that it made me feel beautiful! I think I was more beautiful today than I have ever been in my life.
I really hope everyone is doing well! This week, I got to talk with my family a little more than usual. Although it was under sad circumstances, it was really nice! I definitely miss home, my family, and my friends! I find myself having a little bit of an internal battle. I feel a little guilty for leaving everything behind, like it was kind of selfish for me to move to Peru. Yet on the other hand, I am absolutely loving it and can't imagine my life without having this experience. So I hope you all know how much I think of you and do truly miss you, please come visit me! I can probably sell you a vacation ;)
Unfortunately, I kind of forgot to take any pictures this week, so here is a couple more from my trip a couple weeks ago!
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| Sea Lions at Ballestas Islands |
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| Chillin on the beach |
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