Patience is a virtue...

Hello everyone! Lucas and I are at my tio Rafael's house reading and relaxing before the asado tonight. An asado is a traditional barbecue in the pampas regions of South America and for me is what my family does when they get together. This asado will have a tango theme as my uncle has become a tango fanatic.

Lucas and I have had reliable and FREE internet access for the last few days. I have been checking my e-mail every morning hoping that the peace corps will tell us what country we will be living in for the next 27 months and when we will be leaving. As of yet, we are still going to the South Pacific and we are leaving in September.

I know that the two programs that leave in September 2009 in the South Pacific are Micronesia Palau and Vanuatu. There could not be two more opposite programs. Micronesia Palau has had several volunteers terminate their tour early, so much so that the Peace Corps sent consultants to try to help them out while Vanuatu has the highest extension rate of any country in the Peace Corps. In Micronesia Palau, the main diet are things like turkey tail and SPAM with little access to fresh fruits and veggies while in Vanuatu most everyone has their own garden and fruit trees. We can eat pineapple with ZERO guilt because we are eating locally and in season! In Micronesia Palau married couples live with a host family their whole tour of service while in Vanuatu, we will have our own teeny tiny house. In our travels, we've talked to people that have gone to Vanuatu, and the first thing they say are how wonderful the local people are. I can go on and on.

As you can probably tell, I've spent lots of time researching our destiny on the internet. One of the best things I've run into where other people's peace corps blogs.

These are my people.

All the blogs reflect the process that Lucas and I have had to go through and it feels really great to know that we are not the only people who are obsessed with how hard it is to sit with the unknown (it's harder for me than for Lucas). And there's something else-- I feel like I am a part of this special community of people that are an interesting mix of crazy and incredibly responsible. The application process is long and competitive and not everyone would be willing to leave their comfort zone for twenty seven months.

I'm excited for my future colleagues!

Most of all, I feel so grateful that I will be sharing one of the most life-changing experiences of my life with Lucas (Hopefully in Vanuatu!!!!). We've made the decision that we will go anywhere we're sent and that we won't stay if it's really really bad (like if we are eating turkey tail every day, are being completely unproductive in our assignment, our host father is a total jerk, and there are no redeeming reasons to stay one minute longer).

For now, though, we look forward to learning more about organic and biodynamic farming! It's been a super fun honeymoon so far!
All our love to everyone!!!

Rafael & Daisy

Alex and I are living the good life in Adelaide, Australia. We are visiting Alex's Uncle (technically Alex's mother's cousin) who immigrated to Australia (from Uruguay) ~40 years ago. Rafael has a South American/Australian accent, drinks matte every night, has cases of wine in the kitchen, cooks asado every Tuesday and goes tango dancing three to four times a week. Rafael's daughter, Daisy, is finishing her last year of university and has a banking job lined up for after graduation. They are both super nice and accommodating. Alex is very much enjoying catching up on family gossip and I am reminded of my insufficient (nearly nonexistent) Spanish skills. We are both enjoying feeling at home for a bit.