Monday, January 9, 2012

I looked back and realized that it has been several months since I wrote anything here. I always meant to and then pushed it to the side in favor of something else. I would like to say that something else was always work... but no, sometimes I just needed a movie break :)
Many of the volunteers told us that the second year goes by very fast. They said that in general looking back the whole 27 months tends to have gone by faster then you would think it would, but the second year in particular is quick. And for me, so far, that has been very true. The fall semester was full and it seemed like every time I turned around it was a new month, a new holiday, a new project, something that kept me busy. Of course it gets tiring after 4 straight months like that but it is also a blessing. Being occupied gives meaning to the whole experience and helps pass the time. I have felt purposeful, I have felt fulfilled.
This year I have been thankfully free of debilitating sicknesses (don't worry I have still been plenty sick, just the nice manageable sicknesses though) and I have been able to get a lot down. That's not to say that food poisoning and giardia aren't fun, oh wait, they aren't, but having the sniffles doesn't put one out for a couple weeks at a time. My time as a volunteer has been filled with more strange bodily reactions then any other time in my life. And I sincerely, soulfully, wholly hope that it is the last time I have such a range of reactions. Beware those looking to become a volunteer, be prepared for the oddest things to happen to you. That doesn't mean it will be all awful or hurtful, but it will be weird. If there is any way to mentally prepare for that I suggest you start working on it NOW.
Back to the work front, I find myself getting more and more involved in the English Education program as a whole. I am, in fact, in the process of applying to extend in the position of Peace Corps Volunteer Leader (PCVL, gotta love those acronyms). It means a third year but it has more flexibility in some ways then continuing to focus mostly on teaching. It means helping the program develop more, working more directly with more volunteers on work, life at site, and training. I have to say that I am really looking forward to it.
It is of course a very "square" thing to do. To be so satisfied and to enjoy one's work so much. To feel like you have found just the right path in life. I think, as I have long thought about Peace Corps in general, that that this was the right thing to do, at the right time, for the right reasons. I would also give this advice to people looking to become Peace Corps Volunteers: look hard at the reasons you want to be a volunteer. Of course you should want to work with people and create a better understanding between you and others, but you also need some personal reasons. Something that can help you through the times when you are lonely, frustrating or just plain feeling fed up. You should also consider becoming a very stubborn person, someone who says "I refuse to give up". Life gets you down sometimes, as life is want to do, it does not mean that it won't turn out all right in the end.

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