"Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible" -Thich Nhat Hanh

 I have been thinking a lot about impermanence over the last couple of weeks.   Buddhist teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh remind us that its our want for things to be permanent that makes us suffer, not impermanence.  

The semester came to a close last week.  The last couple weeks were an even more hectic end-of-the-semester push than usual; in addition to finishing up my 3 classes, I was also trying to pick away at the packing and work my way through the online work/courses for the Peace Corps.  Fun fact: hurricane season starts today!  

It has also been a time filled with saying goodbye.  And while I plan on returning to this place after my service, last week the impermanence of everything hit me like a ton of bricks (on multiple occasions, lol).  But here's the funny thing about impermanence--those feelings of sadness and loss are also impermanent.  I have been filled with gratitude for my mindfulness practices that have helped me stay in the present moment and truly live in the experiences of the past few weeks--all of it--from the goodbye dinners and happy hours, to the last classes and toasts with students, to the hellscape that is packing.  

On to the most common question of the last few weeks: Where exactly is it that you are going? 

I'll be starting on St. Lucia (image from google maps) and will be there for the 1st 4 weeks of training.  After that, I might stay on St. Lucia, but I could go to Dominica, Grenada, or St. Vincent & the Grenadines.  As I write this, it is 85℉ with a dew point of 76℉ in Castries, St. Lucia (I am sweating just writing that)!  While the national language of the islands is English, I will learn French Creole as it is what is spoken in homes and communities.  Each island has its own dialect--so for the 1st four weeks I will learn St. Lucian Creole and then learn the dialect of what will become my "home island" for the second part of training.  We learned last week that this first phase will be training-in-residence, which is a fancy way of saying we'll be living at the hotel where the training occurs.  For the 2nd phase of training, I will live with a host family.  

All of that is yet to come.  Right now, I'm still trying to figure out how to get all of my stuff into 2 suitcases (45 lbs each) and 1 carry on (10 lbs).  Those weight restrictions are a little tighter due to the inter-island flight that I may have to take.  A shout out to Patty and Paula who have taken me in (I had to leave my apartment yesterday) and let me take over their sitting room with all of my s***.  Today and tomorrow I'll be putting all my backpacking packing skills to use in getting things ready to go!    Then an early morning flight and staging begins at 5pm!!