Guess I'm doing fine

I'm doing well. It's almost been two months now since I left Peru. I still miss the country and people like crazy. School is keeping me busy and so are my weekend activities. Joined The Environmental Coalition at Tech and I've been enjoying the annual weekly meetings on Tuesdays. It's nice to be involved with something that is trying to make a positive impact on campus, our town, the country, the world. I don't have a job right now but I am working Tech football games that has been a bust one weekend and amazing this past game. Made over 180 dollars in three hours. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Well, october is approaching here really quickly and I have a couple awesome things to be looking forward to! Fall Break, two concerts, and some important birthdays! Woohoo! I get to see one of my future husbands on October 3 at Ryman Theater in Nashville, TN! I'm so excited! This is him below......

The one and only Matt Berninger

He is the lead singer of the spectacular band The National! Saw them in April with my good pal, Aaron Larson, and it was one of the best concerts I had ever been to! I'm so P-U-M-P-E-D to see them! I'll be going down to MTSU (Murfreesboro, TN) Friday early afternoon and will reconnecting with some old friends through-out the weekend! One of these may be one of the volunteers who lived with me in Peru...actually she was my roommate four 6 weeks! I'm sooooo excited! Then a couple weeks later my best friend and I will be going to see THE AVETT BROTHERS in Roanoke on October 22! Two of my favorite bands in two months! WOOHOO! I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing when I'm on break, which is October 13-17 but I have a little while to decide. I may make a trip to Richmond to visit some pals or just stay here and get ahead in school... I'm trying to get into the habit of running and I have realized that in high school I had it so easy when it came to staying in shape due to always playing a sport! Even during the winter break when I didn't do anything it wasn't that hard to get back into shape for the spring. So I'm working on getting motivated to run more often. I'm also trying to have time to read books that I have neglected on my book shelf. I just recently bought The Motorcycle Dairies which is a book about 23 year old Ernesto "Che" Guevara's journey through South America. I'm really excited to read a the words and thoughts of a great man. Well I got to get to class but I suppose when I'm done reading it I'll blog more about it!

Beautiful World

After months, I'm back to blogging...I'm sorry for those who tended to peek here to read about my adventuring in Peru and didn't get any result. I feel bad about not sharing all my adventures at the time being. I just got wrapped up in my daily life there and found it a lot easier to just write in my journal, mainly because there were always long lines to use the computer. Anyways, I figure I should try to blog some now and then. For those who are wondering, Peru was AMAZING! I honestly had the best summer I could ever imagine. After being there two weeks I remember thinking that I had to have been there at least a month. It didn't take too long to get into my new and exciting lifestyle there. Which usually consisted of waking up at 8:30 and getting dress real quick to gobble down some breakfast before heading to the community center where I was volunteering with a preschool class of 2-4 year olds. When I got there I had to help the kids take their shoes off and put on their classroom shoes. The teacher would then do songs and prayers with them. After a couple of weeks I was able to get most of them down. They would usually have a lesson afterwards and then an assignment following. Which were usually paper cutting or coloring... simple things. They would usually have some free time in the room before lunch. I would usually color or work out puzzles with them or simply sit there and let them jump on me. They were crazy kids. The teacher didn't really care what they did to each other. I honestly don't think 10 minutes went by where I kid wasn't crying. They were all really sweet to me but were so mean towards one another. They would hit and kick and bit one another. There were instances where there would be nose bleeds from hitting. CRAAAZZZZY. Oh, haha an example of how clean Peru is that were a couple of times where some kids would end up peeing their pants in the classroom, obviously going through their clothes...Well the teacher didn't pay any attention to it. I ended up going on a couple searches through the building looking for paper-towels because I couldn't handle seeing puddles in the middle of the classroom. Anyways, after some free time they would go eat lunch and I would have to help feed them and at times make sure they didn't die while doing so. The mothers of the kids would take turns cooking and sometimes they cooked things 2-4 shouldn't be eating. Like fish with tons of little bones still in it! TALK ABOUT STRESSFUL! After lunch they would have recess outside on their playground. We'd play soccer or jumprope or play with chalk. OR they would usually just torture me by jumping on my back constantly or sitting on me all at once. Then all the cuties would be picked up from their parents or siblings around 1. I was very fortunate because the location of the school was only a 10 minute walk there and back. I'd get home and eat lunch real quick, shower, possibly nap for a bit, and then leave for spanish class. I only took spanish for a month but when I was taking it I went from 3-5. After I'd come back and hangout with the rest of the volunteers in my house until dinner. I really feel in love with my house mates and the staff who cooked our meals and cleaned our rooms. We were really spoiled. But we definitely appreciated their hard-work and commitment to us. The workers really fell in love with us and we REALLY fell in love with them. There was a big group of us that left at the same time and the workers cried and told us how much they would miss and loved us. I didn't cry until I had gotten on the plane for Lima. Seeing Cusco for the last time in the plan hit be really hard...not knowing when I'd be back. It'll be a month here since I've been gone here real soon and I still feel like something is missing. Peru was such an amazing country and I'm so proud to have been born there. I wish I was better at finding the right words to explain how much this trip meant to me. How much the people I met touched me, not to mention will be missed by me dearly. I guess what is keeping me going here in Blacksburg is just knowing that this trip was my first independent trip, making it the first of many more to come. There are just so many beautiful countries and so many different kinds people to meet and their cultures discovered. I can't see myself ever being content in not exposing myself to as many new places as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if I never spent another summer in Blacksburg...at least that's what I'm hoping for! One more quick thing; For those who haven't traveled anywhere alone I would definitely recommend it. You WILL learn a lot about yourself. No question about it.

Restless Tree

I leave a week from today and I AM FREAKING OUT in a good and bad way! I have so much to do and get before I will be ready to leave! AUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm feeling so many emotions at once and being a girl that's typical but I feel like this is more than usual! I am so nervous, excited, sad, anxious, worried, scared, thrilled, stressed, happy, etc. I'm trying to fit time in with seeing folks (and FAMILY TIME) while getting packed and buying articles for the peruvians there as well as for myself! It may not be possible to make time for everyone but I'm going to try! Packing for two months is a lot harder than I thought it would be! SO MUCH TO DO SO LITTLE TIME! Wish me luck!

Dents

I feel that my first blog might have come off a lot selfless than I had attended it to. As much as I would like to say my intentions to go to Peru have nothing to do with me, I know that isn't the case. I don't like admitting it but I probably am one of the most selfish kids I know. I hate that when I type my feelings and thoughts I tend to only type the good and caring thoughts. I am going to try my best to include all of what I am thinking and feeling because I want this blog to be real. I want to be able to show you the true Elena Marie Johnson, whoever that may be.
Well the weather is beautiful in Blacksburg right now and I really wish I could go sit in the fields of Brown Farm and ponder life but for now my back deck will do. Hmmm..I finally got my tickets to and from Peru! I leave June 4th and return the August 2nd. Man oh man, this whole trip is still pretty surreal still but I am sure as the weeks go by, that feeling will slowly change. However, I think there is a good possibility I wont be able to grasp the realness of it until I step foot in the Lima airport.
There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think about this trip at least three or four times. I find myself thinking about why I am going a lot of the time. I really want my heart to be in the right place when I leave because I know this trip is not just about me but I find myself forgetting this from time to time. I try to keep telling myself I need to remember that it's also about everyone who I will come to interact with while I am there. This year has been a real struggle for me. I've had to adjust to a lot of changes around me and even within me. I think that one of the major reasons I started looking into leaving the country was more of a selfish thought of a need to get away from everything and everyone. There's a good possibility that it still is. Then there is this other part of me that knows that I am ready to do something like this. That God has provided me the right heart and mindset from the beginning of my existence. Haha, that may sound kind of silly to some of you but that was the thought that kept coming to mind while I read The Alchemist...After I finished the book I knew I needed to follow my heart. And my heart was telling me that I am supposed to go somewhere this summer to serve and of course Peru was the first country I thought of.
I like to think that I have one major theme in my life. This being that I am supposed to love everyone(no exceptions) and try to let them know that they matter to this world. But this year I have felt that I haven't done a very good job doing this. Mainly because I haven't really loved myself this year. And I honestly believe that you can't love, like really love and care for someone when you don't really love and care for yourself. I really haven't gotten to know a lot of the people I hang out with on a personal level this year and I hate that a lot. I used to really love and enjoy getting to know someone on a deeper level. I think that the love and joy for that is still in me but because I have let the anger, hurt, and sadness overtake me this year it's been a real challenge for me to want to do that. And because of that I have felt further away from knowing who I am then ever before. My best friend and I were actually talking about this a couple days ago and we came to the conclusion that life itself is a nonstop process of getting to know who you are, discovering who you are. I am hoping that being away from my peers along with my every day surroundings,and parents, that this trip will help reveal things I never knew about myself. My faith in God used to be some what of a big part of my life, of who I was, and this year I have lost that want or need for faith. I have pushed myself away from God almost entirely because I have been ashamed of the person who I have turned in to. I'm sure there will be a couple of you who are reading this that didn't even know that I believed in God....and that is an example of how I feel like I haven't done a good job to have true and meaningful relationships like I used to. I am really hoping that through this trip I'll be able to really think for myself on what the meaning of having faith is along with what God is really about, like what he cares about. I want to be able to discover what I am all about and what kind of gal I want to strive to be without having people I know be there and influence me in one way or another. This trip is going to be a life changing experience in more ways then I know or expect. I don't know if it's right to have expectations for this trip but I can't help that I do. I guess I'll find out....

Reasons Why

Hey you guys! Since I have decided to spend most of my summer in Peru I thought it may be a good idea to start a blog for those who are interested in reading what I am doing, feeling and seeing while I am there. I have never been one to blog so I am hoping that if I attempt to blog occasionally until I leave, I may be able to grasp the talent of blogging on a regular basis while I am there. Well for those who do not know what I am doing, I will tell you. But first, a little background information! I am guessing if you are reading this you probably know me fairly well. Incase you do not there are a couple things you should know. I am a very blessed gal. I was born in Lima, Peru and very soon after, was adopted. Since then, I have grown up in a family who has traveled to third-world countries for as long as I can remember and have been exposed to the brutal, but true, lifestyles for most people in the world. Because of this I have always wanted to travel out of the country and helping those less fortunate than myself in some way. It was not until I read "The Alchemist" a couple months back, that I decided that I knew how I should spend my summer. (Oh, and for those who have not read "The Alchemist", I would definitely recommend you do so) Ironically enough, to volunteer you are going to have to pay to do so (I have yet to find one where you have not needed to) and a lot of organizations I looked at seemed to come off more beneficial for them. But after a long search I found an organization called International Volunteer HQ. I would also suggest that if you are interested, or ever interested, in international volunteering that you look into this organization. Here is their website www.volunteerhq.org.

SO I will be volunteering in Cusco, Peru from June 6 to July 31!! The IVHQ has it set up so there are 5 different programs you are able to volunteer doing while in Cusco. I have decided to volunteer in the Childcare Program where I will be LOVING on all the little peruvians as much as possible! Along with this I will be helping them with homework, organizing activities and games, and educating them about HYGIENE! I have yet to find out where I will be working and wont find out until I get there because they place volunteers where they are most needed at the time! But I could be working at a community center, ORPHANAGE, a daycare center, or a school!! I am REALLY wanting to work at an orphanage but I am sure wherever I am placed I will absolutely love it!!

My living situation while I am there will be a traditional family-stay! These are all pre-approved families of course and most likely have been hosting international travelers like myself, for years! I am super stoked about this part of the trip! Being able to experience Peruvian family traditions and routines will be so fascinating! I can not wait! I have to remember to keep an open mind during this trip because I am sure there will be some obstacles that come my way that I wont be particularly thrilled about! With this being said, I have decided become a VEGETARIAN for this trip! AUH! So, for the next couple of months I will be savoring my meat!

I am so excited to be doing this and SOOOOOOO grateful that my parents are funding me! They are great! This is honestly a dream come true! I cannot wait! The next couple of months will be pretty hectic/busy with school and trying to great ready for this trip! I was going to say journey but I think the whole process of getting ready for the trip is apart of the journey! I know I am going to Cusco in hope of helping others but I am sure they will be the ones helping me in the end! I hope that this did not completely bore you!

Until next time,

Elena