Ways in which being a PCV in Colombia is like riding a roller coaster:

1. Bad for digestion.

2. Generally take place among fried food (churros, arepas) and sweets (cotton candy, jugo).

Just had my midservice dental exam.  Got myself some Colombian cavities.

3. Begin with a long wait--several hours in line for a roller coaster, several months in applications for Peace Corps.

4. Continue with a really awkward, controlled period of anticipation--that clickety upward climb on a roller coaster, three months of PST (Pre-Service Training) in Peace Corps.

5. Up and down and up and down.  Sometimes predictable, sometimes less so.  Loops.  Gravity, torque, forces on your body and mind that might cause you to wonder whether humans were really built for this kind of thing.


6. Often accompanied by very loud music.

7. Lots of screaming children.

8. Give you a very different perspective on the world--in some cases, while you're hanging upside down and blood is rushing to your head.

9. When it stops, you may experience physical/cultural whiplash.

10. Exhilarating, terrifying, absurd, fun, and/or ridiculous, depending on how you look at it.

Colombia to Southern California in…eighteen days.  Oh hey, vacation.