The Invitation: Camila's Next Big Adventure

It’s 9:30am, first day back at work after the summer break, and I’m about to fall asleep at my desk as the teachers around me debate the schedule for the week. The schedule for the week! Isn’t that something that you should have ready to go when you start your Monday? Coming from the U.S. where individualism is king, I’ve found it a challenge to adapt to a culture in which communal decision-making rules all. Every decision we will make this week as we prep for the school year must be made as a whole, in consensus. We'll often spend more time debating and revising a proposed plan than executing the plan itself.  It drove me nuts for a long time—couldn’t the director of the school just tell us what the schedule for the week is to begin with and go from there? Couldn’t it just be emailed ahead of time? Two minutes to read it and done. Instead we’re here debating whether classroom decorating will be done Thursday or Friday.  But then something happened that changed ...

“Blood runs thicker than water” “For better or for worse” “In sickness and in health” There’s the family you’re born into and the family you marry into, but there’s one other family that  you don’t always come across: the family you choose. Well, in JVC’s case, it’s more like the family they choose for you. And I’m not talking about host families — that could be an entire post in and of itself — I’m talking about community .   When you commit to JVC International you are not just committing to two years of service, you also commit your life to at least three other strangers who will spend the next year or two years together with you. In a foreign setting, especially in Tacna this means they are about the only three other Americans you’ll see in town (although a casual run in with Mormons has become a common occurrence).   Enjoying our homemade, hodge-podge Thanksgiving feast. Family: you love them, you fight with...