Nicaragua: Surrender up my heart
Despedida. It translates to "farewell," and this past week has been full of them.
One of my sitemates (a.k.a. fellow Peace Corps volunteer living in the same community) ended two years of service this week and has bid us farewell. In our last discussions and chit-chats as fellow PCVs we came upon the following conclusions:
- Peace Corps gives volunteers the opportunity to spend two years doing basically whatever they want, within and outside of their respective project framework. On the contrary, in those two years volunteers can also decide to not do much. The opportunities await and the only way anything will ever get done is if you decide to just do it. Nobody can be counted on to do anything for you. Have a project idea? Just do it.
- Yes, the project opportunities are endless and limitless. However, volunteers will most likely be forced to stay humble. Failure is inevitable, and volunteers probably feel that their rate of failure is high over the course of their two years.
- In the first eight months of service, nothing makes sense. In the second eight months, volunteers get the hang of things and gain a sense of understanding. In the third and final eight months, we own the place.
- Throughout our entire service one of our main purposes is to simply build relationships with people so as to be a representation of the United States of America, learn about host country locals, and constantly participate in cross-cultural exchanges. Starting those relationships is tough, but leaving them may be even tougher.
Of course in retrospect the time passes by quickly; 25% of my service is already history even though it feels like I've only recently arrived. Experiencing the emotion of the "despedidas" this past week is a testament to my sitemate's service, and as terrible as it may sound, I hope that my future despedidas will be equally as emotional and tearful because it will signify a job well done.
One of my sitemates (a.k.a. fellow Peace Corps volunteer living in the same community) ended two years of service this week and has bid us farewell. In our last discussions and chit-chats as fellow PCVs we came upon the following conclusions:
- Peace Corps gives volunteers the opportunity to spend two years doing basically whatever they want, within and outside of their respective project framework. On the contrary, in those two years volunteers can also decide to not do much. The opportunities await and the only way anything will ever get done is if you decide to just do it. Nobody can be counted on to do anything for you. Have a project idea? Just do it.
- Yes, the project opportunities are endless and limitless. However, volunteers will most likely be forced to stay humble. Failure is inevitable, and volunteers probably feel that their rate of failure is high over the course of their two years.
- In the first eight months of service, nothing makes sense. In the second eight months, volunteers get the hang of things and gain a sense of understanding. In the third and final eight months, we own the place.
- Throughout our entire service one of our main purposes is to simply build relationships with people so as to be a representation of the United States of America, learn about host country locals, and constantly participate in cross-cultural exchanges. Starting those relationships is tough, but leaving them may be even tougher.
Of course in retrospect the time passes by quickly; 25% of my service is already history even though it feels like I've only recently arrived. Experiencing the emotion of the "despedidas" this past week is a testament to my sitemate's service, and as terrible as it may sound, I hope that my future despedidas will be equally as emotional and tearful because it will signify a job well done.
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