Hello Lee (and Pat),
Sorry for butting into your conversation. My name is Katie and I just found this post in a StubleUpon search. I am 19 and for the past 7 months have been living and volunteering in Peru. Lee, I totally understand what it is like to be moved to a different country where you are treated differently (I am an American too by the way.) As a natural introvert who is still a bit shaky on her Spanish skills, I am also finding it hard to make friends. To make matters worse it seems the friends I have adopted have been using me to get money. I am left feeling like an outsider who doesn't know who she can trust.
Being separated from my family and friends for such a long time has been really difficult for me, but there are a few things that really help. The first is my faith. The second is my volunteer work. When I am able to help someone else, whether it is by acting goofy and making one of the girls here at the home smile, or bearing a bit of the burden and seeing how I am making life easier for some of the staff members here, I feel that my life here is worth it. By helping someone else I usually end up helping myself just as much. Perhaps there is a volunteer group that you could connect with? Or just try getting out of the house and doing a random act of kindness for a stranger. You never know, you might just make some friends along the way!
Good luck with everything.
- Katie
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Hello Lee (and Pat),
March 5, 2010 - 7:14pmSorry for butting into your conversation. My name is Katie and I just found this post in a StubleUpon search. I am 19 and for the past 7 months have been living and volunteering in Peru. Lee, I totally understand what it is like to be moved to a different country where you are treated differently (I am an American too by the way.) As a natural introvert who is still a bit shaky on her Spanish skills, I am also finding it hard to make friends. To make matters worse it seems the friends I have adopted have been using me to get money. I am left feeling like an outsider who doesn't know who she can trust.
Being separated from my family and friends for such a long time has been really difficult for me, but there are a few things that really help. The first is my faith. The second is my volunteer work. When I am able to help someone else, whether it is by acting goofy and making one of the girls here at the home smile, or bearing a bit of the burden and seeing how I am making life easier for some of the staff members here, I feel that my life here is worth it. By helping someone else I usually end up helping myself just as much. Perhaps there is a volunteer group that you could connect with? Or just try getting out of the house and doing a random act of kindness for a stranger. You never know, you might just make some friends along the way!
Good luck with everything.
- Katie
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