Skip to main content

“We can never know about the days to come but we think about them anyway” -Carly Simon

 As a practitioner of mindfulness, I work to be present in the present moment.  But this last week or so, I’ve had to more consciously bring myself back to that place.  I find that my mind is wanting to look ahead to the next stage of this journey.  Part of my practice is to examine why I seem to be straying from the present and I think I’ve figured out a few different reasons.  A big part of it is exhaustion.  The best way I can explain what this is like is to ask you to remember the hardest, most intense meeting/conference/workshop you’ve ever participated in.  Now imagine doing that for 9 weeks straight. Half of that time you’ll be with 27 other people nonstop and the other half you’ll be living with a family of total strangers.  The mental, emotional, and physical work of that is HARD. 

I think another piece of the puzzle for me is that I really want to get into the work that I was brought here to do—the work that I feel called to do.  We finished up our teaching practicum last week and it was one of the biggest professional challenges I’ve had in years.  But I loved it!!  I can’t wait to be in a school and working on the Peace Corps literacy project.  

I also got to go to my home community this week!  I got to see my house (home tour coming after I move in) and meet my principal and some of the teachers at the school.  We did a walk through the community and I got to meet a lot of folks who are going to be my community for the next two years.  And that was EXCITING.  
On my balcony!!
The week ahead holds a lot—the last days of training, assessments on competency for service and Kwèyol.  Swearing in where I take my oath as a Peace Corps Volunteer!!  And last, but not least, moving in to my home.  I don’t want to miss out on what any of those experiences has to teach me, so I have to just remember my mantra—BE HERE NOW.  

I leave you with a little collage of some of the teaching materials that I generated during mode school.  Just a little bit different than my usual set up! 😉


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver

Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog.  I am excited to share my Peace Corps journey with you all!   When I tell people that I'm going to serve in the Peace Corps, there is usually an initial reaction of "that's really great" followed by something along the lines of "and at your age!"  It's true--I am in definitely in the minority in terms of age when it comes to volunteers--only about 7% of volunteers are over 50.  Serving was something that I wanted to do after college, but for several reasons, the time wasn't right.  Fast forward a couple decades and I find myself called to service and in a place personally and professionally where I am able to answer the call.   So in just a couple months, I'll pack everything into a storage unit and move to the Eastern Caribbean for twenty-seven months.  I'll be serving as an English literacy resource volunteer in a primary school.   Watch this space--my goal is to share my experiences...
5 comments
Read more

“The most valuable thing we can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of room, not try to be or do anything whatever.” ― May Sarton

 I’m writing this on the last day of our spring break.  We had two weeks off, and for reasons that are a whole story in and of themselves, I couldn’t travel off island.  So here I’ve been—all too aware of the last time I had so much time off of work and how I ended up in a not-so-awesome mental space.  But this time was different—I made a very deliberate choice to engage in “conscious escapism”.  Usually, escapism is a mechanism to avoid dealing with reality and the feelings associated with reality.  Conscious escapism, in contrast, recognizes the feelings and emotions followed by temporary solace in your activities of choice.   For me, that has meant that every day I’m still practicing mindfulness and meditation, but then I just sort of “checked out” for the majority of the day by watching telly or reading.  I did spend some time working on projects for my return to PLU because I’ve missed that work and it nourishes me in a way that nothing here ...
2 comments
Read more

"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience" Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I decided to apply to serve in the Peace Corps (PC), I knew that it was going to be a lengthy process.  It was late in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic surged ahead, and I was still doing my job from my living room.  There were a lot of uncertainties--not only in my life, but for everyone, everywhere.   One of the positive outcomes of the pandemic was that Peace Corps had a lot of online panels, workshops, and meeting opportunities.  I took full advantage of these!  In addition to attending panels with returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), I also went to online office hours with my local PC recruiter from Seattle.  PC provided a fantastic resume and personal statement workshop; and the local recruiter read over both and gave me feedback.  I also got feedback from colleagues; for anyone thinking about applying, I  strongly encourage  you to solicit impact from multiple folks on your application materials.  I finally submitted my...
5 comments
Read more