To New Adventures

As is typical in the Peace Corps, time continues to fly by. I returned from my Arizona visit about one month ago, and I quickly finished my school project with one last graduation and a special trip for the Escojo leaders. After many discussions and hours of brainstorming, Sarah and I finally decided to take our 9 leaders on a trip to Santo Domingo and La Romana. Within 36 hours we visited a hospital in Santo Domingo, a clinic for teenagers in La Romana, toured La Romana, AND swam in a nearby beach! This trip was a quick one but a lot of fun, and a well deserved treat for our youth who volunteered to teach Escojo in their local schools.

Now that the school year is over and our Escojo school program has ended I am left with very few responsibilities. I am trying to occupy my spare time by studying for the GRE and looking for jobs post-Peace Corps. This probably sounds surprising, as I recently told my blog readers that I would be moving to Portland for graduate school in August. Yet my life plans dramatically changed during my visit to Arizona. For several reasons I decided that it’s best to delay grad school - and those scary loans!! - for a year or two and take some time to figure out exactly which job is meant for me! When I was in Arizona I realized that it will take a while to re-establish my life in the USA, and I don’t want to rush anything before I am ready for the next big step. Plus, I miss my family!!! Spending some time in Arizona couldn’t sound any better right now, so that’s what I am going to do. So - back to Peace Corps. Luckily, I have occupied myself quite easily in the last week or so. I participated in the Lownbrau half-marathon in Santo Domingo on Sunday, and despite the hot weather I had a blast and was pleased with my race! Just as last year went, I loved running in a Dominican road race, thus combining my old and new lives. The atmosphere was awesome and surprisingly the pain didn’t settle in until about kilometer 18. I am wondering if that means A) I didn’t push myself hard enough or B) I ran the long race as I should have. Caitlin, give me your opinion! Two days after the race (yesterday) I visited Sarah to help with her bridge construction project. This was a little ambitious given my body could barely move up/down hills but I had a great time and learned a lot about how to build a bridge! I also learned about an entirely new aspect of Peace Corps service and the difficulties that arise in physical projects. I scrubbed the ribarb, scooped up gravel, helped to create cement, and found a lot of rocks to fill in a big empty hole. I was totally out of my element the entire day but I enjoyed myself and learned a lot in the process! Tomorrow I will return to help make more cement and fill the bridge mold.

I know I will miss the constant change and infinite learning opportunities that Peace Corps offers on a daily basis. Where else could I run a half marathon and then build a bridge? My official Close of Service date has been approved for October 1st, so in three months I will be leaving Hispaniola in search of new adventures. I am both scared and excited to see what awaits me.