Friday, September 11, 2009

The Pot is Broken. We Can All Go Home.

There’s an old Mexican saying that when the pots have been broken, we can all go home.

Earlier this week, the remaining members of Nam 27 got together at a four star hotel in Windhoek (with hot showers, real beds and huge buffets) for our Close of Service conference. We talked about what we would do in our last three months of service.

We talked with RPCVs about adjusting to life back in America. We filled out as many exit forms and as much paperwork as we did to get into Peace Corps. We talked about resumes and grad school applications, the most memorable moments of our service, and the reasons why, even when things got tough, we decided to stick it out. We said goodbye. And then, we broke our pot. The one we’d signed and decorated and filled with our hopes and aspirations nearly two years ago.

And now, we can all go home.


Nam 27

It’s hard to believe that in three months my time in Namibia will be over. Two years, said and done. And while I’m certain I’ll be able to recreate something similar to my former life back in NYC, I know that recreating this experience—the friendships I’ve formed, the adversities I’ve overcome, the personal growth I’ve experienced and the tragedies I’ve faced will be impossible.

It’s a "once in a lifetime".

And one I’ll be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have had.


Celebratory Springbok Shots Before We Say Goodbye

1 comments:

Max and Mandy said...

Wow, I guess I hadn't realized you'd been in Africa for 2 years! I'm sure you've left quite an impact with the work you have done. Congrats.