Thursday, August 27, 2009

I'm Back

Yesterday I received notification, via letter, that my Peace Corps medical process is done and I am ready to go. Now, I just have to wait until I get my nomination when I will find out where I am going exactly. That should be some time between now and November.

Every staff meeting on Wednesday night the people who are leaving before the next meeting stand up and we all lay our hands on them and bless they're departure. Last night so many people had to stand up that there were more people leaving that staying. We had to make a circle around them. Sad.

Yesterday morning, however, at the staff meeting, Tom was talking about how hard it can be to watch people you love leave sometimes every day of the week and how emotionally exhausting it is. He said that after four years of watching people leave, he has found that we shouldn't be sad that they're going but be happy that our lives crossed paths in one way or another when it otherwise wouldn't have. We should be thankful for the people we have had the pleasure of spending even five minutes with and call ourselves better people for having done so. Well put Tom. That made me feel better about this whole transition from Summer to fall where people are leaving and not coming back. The village is just shrinking. For now, I'm still a little upset about all of the close friends of mine that have left and I might never see again, but I'm working on being glad that I got to spend the best summer of my life with them working hard...up in the mountains.

This has been a great summer and I'm excited for whatever else is to come from it.

I guess saying goodbye is just a fact of life.

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