So, we're coming down to the time when a Peace Corps volunteer asks themselves; what next? I have about 6 months to figure out what is next. I have a few ideas of what I am planning to do, but the biggest thing I've learned from my experiences so far, is that you should always be prepared for the unexpected.
Ideas that I am taking more seriously than others:
1. Grad School - I am very interested in design and buildings particularly have me excited right now. I've looked at a lot of Architecture programs back in the states and if this is the path for me, I think I'll be West Coast bound in 2010, where there are a lot of great Master's of Architecture programs focusing on sustainability. Interests are peaked.
2. Travel is of course on the list. Now having lived in 2 foreign countries, I've officially got the bug. I am very interested in checking out the world. I think I could happily spend the rest of my life living in a different country every 6 months or so. I have yet to win the lottery and the rich uncle I never knew about hasn't called, so I'm focusing on smaller trips at the moment. South East Asia is looking like it will be the first stop after Peace Corps. Something that seems to draw so many, is drawing me.
3. Island Life is officially part of who I am now. I would like to come back here to Vava'u and have a go at a non Peace Corps related life. I've given this a lot of thought and to do this I need a plan and I haven't come up with something viable yet. Some great ideas, but nothing that I'm passionate about...yet! The most important thing is that I want it to happen and so now I just need to manifest my want into my reality.
Okay, so those are the biggest things on the mind as far as where I'm going after Peace Corps. As I've mentioned these are the three most frequented ideas. I've have so many and am ready for the unexpected as well. It's exciting to have options.
I've talked about where I am going, but more importantly... what am I doing right now???
I've had some strong challenges in my Peace Corps experience, as all volunteers do. Though I didn't actually ever get a job description sheet, I was told by the powers that be in the beginning of this experience that I would be a computer teacher. Well, I'll start by saying, this is finally true... kinda. The first year and a half, I was a computer teacher without computers. I would have tried grants or donation programs, but I was always told that computers were coming and sure enough 13 months into my service as a volunteer, there were 5 IBM computers delivered to the school. I now started to plan my computer classes and was excited about the prospects of being a computer teacher with computers.
It was all put on hold. I had an Appendicitis and had to be medically evacuated to Brisbane, Australia. Now that sounds pretty dramatic. In all honesty, I was feeling really good by the time I left the country and was feeling like I might show up in Australia to be told I had had a bad stomach ache or something. I was taking the whole thing very lightly; too lightly it turns out. I had a severely infected appendix that was very susceptible to rupturing in Tonga or even worse... 30,000 feet up in the air on a 7 hour journey to Australia. Hmmm, that doesn't sound good at all! Luckily I have very smart and cautious friends, family and Peace Corps staff that insisted I have this all checked out, outside of Tonga.
(I will write separately about my trip to Brisbane, but for now moving on with with getting to where I am right now).
Returning from Oz after 3 weeks, I was back to school, having spent about 4 weeks away from school. Upon returning I got back into the swing of things. I started teaching my computer classes, working on my schools library, helping my school's principal with administrative work, tutoring my class at the local university and the routines of socializing with my friends. About 3 weeks pass and I start to get these really bad upper rib pains. When they don't go away for a week, I fly down to the capital city and get checked out, thinking it has something to do with the surgery (I had the exact same pain right after the surgery, while I was still in Australia that led me on a trip back to the Emergency Room). In the past three months I've spent more time away from school, than at school. This has created a huge problem of detachment. I spent a week back in Vava'u without going back to school. My friends took the stance of kinda laughing at my laziness, I think there were some moments people thought I was getting ready to throw in the towel on the whole Peace Corps experience (cough, Jason) and of course the jokes and fear let me ask the question myself... WTF am I doing?
My Peace Corps site has had many issues, I've had many struggles, but at the end of the day, I enjoy working with kids, I feel like I've been a positive addition and I can still get some cool things done in my last 6 months. I am continuing with my computer classes in the afternoons. I WILL figure out recycling in Vava'u and get the schools program back up and running. The library that I have organized so many times, will get one more attempt put forth at a sustainable organization program and I am now going to be assisting Class 1 pretty much full on in the mornings. My principal thinks its the best place for me, because they will really benefit from hearing a native English speaker so often. My next 6 months is so different than what I pictured for my Peace Corps experience. Expectations are something that I never held onto, through this entire experience and it's done me well. I'm excited about knocking these final months out and am excited for what lies ahead. The future is full of possibilities and I'm going to enjoy getting there.
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