Well, things began to go terribly wrong in Mali, and I am writing now from Colorado Springs. Well, things went wrong for me, anyway. I went to our doctor with what I thought was a cold, which I still think was a cold, and was subsequently diagnosed with a condition that is incompatible with PC service. Well, the condition I was diagnosed with is incompatible with life, but luckily that was a bogus diagnosis. And I'd like to congratulate my brother, the newly minted Dr. Jones, for being the first to make the correct diagnosis, and for making sure that diagnosis was one (a) compatible with life in the short term and (b) completely curable.
So after the initial diagnosis, I had the opportunity to go down and spend a couple weeks in the new Regional Medical Office in South Africa, and that was fantastic, and I'll tell you about that later. And then I came straight home. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. It was a shock. A very unexpected shock, especially for a healthy 27-year old. But so it was.
I've been home for almost a month now, and I haven't updated my blog, even though I keep fielding veiled hints and outright questions. There are a couple reasons for this. Making the adjustment has been hard, in different ways than I expected it to be, even in the few days I had to consider coming home under these circumstances before I actually flew. I expected to be cold; I expected to miss the thrill of misspeaking languages all day long. I expected to be shocked by the over-consumerism, by the waste and by ignorance. But I haven't been. They say that will come, but for now, I appreciate so much of America, and I am appreciating the base that leads to these issues: that people are always striving for better, that people are free to express an opinion. And when I woke up to a dusting of snow the other day, I was nothing but excited. What I didn't originally expect was that I would come back here without that extra year to think about my plan, to start making connections and sending out letters and resumes and have an idea about what I would do. I didn't expect to be living in my parents basement because I have no money and am rejected from three jobs a day. I simply wasn't expecting to jump into this with no warning. Its kind of depressing, but I know that just means I haven't figured out what my new opportunities are, that in ten years I'll be able to look back and say, well, at least it meant I was able to do this...
But it is the other reason I have put off writing that is the really tough one. It is because I want so badly to be able to write one of those flowery, tear-filled, heart-wrenching celebrations of my time in the Peace Corps. But I can't. I just don't have those kinds of good things to say about Mali, and I really don't have those kinds of good things to say about the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is a great idea. And it has so many good people that have been and are involved in it. But I just feel that JFK, Sarge Schriver and the crew would be saddened to see the ego of the Peace Corps, to see how badly their five-year-plan has failed, to see the support that could be that isn't, to see that forty years in Mali without us having learned how to communicate our message is celebrated as a great accomplishment. There were obviously some great things about my service. I learned so much and met so many people and saw something I never would have seen otherwise and will never see again. There are things about the last year I would change in the blink of an eye, there are other things I don't think I'd want to change at all, and that the price might have been worth it. I hope that with time and the perspective I will gain in that time I will be able to articulate those ideas fully, but for right now, I can't say what I wish I could, and therefore have not said anything at all.
But so, yes, now I am back, no longer in the Peace Corps, and it has been nothing but thrills and giggles since I've been here. My immediate future is filling up nicely. Next week I'll start a yoga teacher training program with my old teacher at my old studio, which I am very excited about. I apply for dozens of jobs a week, and even though I'm not getting them, it is interesting and inspiring to see all the possibilities out there. It's great to be back with my friends here, and I miss my friends there, but you know what this means? It means I don't have to miss a single Christmas Cookie season (I had put last year's in the freezer before I left)! So you Mali PCVs expect a box sometime soon! And I've already written the 2012 winning Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe (unfortunately I missed the entry deadline for the 2010 Bake-Off - I am learning patience). So maybe I have already found my opportunities, and I now my job is just to watch them unfold.
And for those interested, I have included an important educational video, which will hopefully help to eliminate some of the confusion. Provided I can make the link work. I don't know how to embed this in my blog, so I just put in the link, and also there is no sound, so just watch, and you will learn what you need to know. Very educational, if I do say so, myself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUO0JyTjSSA
And once my stuff gets here from Mali, I have some other things to share, so hopefully (fingers crossed) in the next couple months I will be able to post some other interesting things.
