Books written by Anita Perez

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Dia de Salud / Health Day

On January 10, 2010, 45 volunteer doctors, dentists, and veterinarians from the U.S., Costa Rica, and Panama descended upon my community. Classrooms were transformed into examination rooms, surgical centers (for spaying and neutering), and a pharmacy. Some of the vets made “house calls” to tend to horses, pigs, and cows on some of the larger farms.











Mi Casa es Su Casa

Jersey and I are ready to receive guests!















Thursday, January 7, 2010

My Latin Lover

I have always wanted a little white dog with a black eye like Petey from the Little Rascals. So when Lily's speckled dog had pups, I was eager to check out the litter. My first reaction was to look away from clumsy quints. I had been compiling a long list of reasons why I should not have a dog and I was afraid that the power of their cuteness would overtake my logic.


I retreated to my home and spent the next few days dealing with what I like to call The Peace Corps PILL: Pessimism, Isolation, Loneliness, and Listlessness. Variations on the following themes haunt me day and night:



  • I am surrounded by people but meaningful conversations are hard to come by.

  • Children yell out my name in the streets as if I were a rock star, yet no one really knows me.

  • I am here to help people to help themselves but the people are not really looking for that type of help.

  • I live at the same level poverty as those around me yet at least once a day I can expect to hear the words prestame (lend me) or regalame (gift me).

The Peace Corps is everything I thought it would be but daily I question whether or not I am capable of being the volunteer I had hoped to be. In the midst of it all, surfaces the same old longing for relational intimacy and in its wake, a gentleman who wants to be more than friends. He is attentive and kind but, in many ways, he doesn't fit the mold I thought necessary for the man in my life. Is there something to this relationship or is my vulnerability playing with my head?

Although I have not yet decided what to do about my Latin Admirer, I have decided to adopt a dog. So on my next visit to Lily's house, I went straight to the pups and picked up the little white one with the black eye. He was exactly what I thought I wanted but he was not comfortable in my hands. I talked to him and cuddled with him but he just wasn't that into me. When I gave him his way and released him from my clutches, his brother caught my eye. He didn't have the look that I thought I wanted but he was very cute. And when I picked him up, he curled himself up in my hands and drifted off to sleep. It wasn't love at first site but it was love nonetheless.

My new Latin Lover is ready for commitment and so am I. He promises to listen attentively to everything I say in whichever language I say it. He has agreed to treat me like a rock star and he will love me even when I'm not being very lovable. And although I do not have a good track record when it comes to selecting a man, for now I feel pretty good about the decision to share my home and my life with Jersey, the dog.

Grace and Peace,

Anita