I have
less than 3 months left until my service as an Urban Agriculture
Extension Agent for Peace Corps Senegal is over. That is exciting
and terrifying at the same time. At the end of this month I will
have been living in Senegal for 2 years. In real time that seems
like quite awhile, where careers are started, families created, and
technology advances at a mind-spinning pace. I suppose in some way,
I too have experienced all of those things in my little town in West
Africa. Peace Corps will be a experience that I will continue to
draw on as I search out where my career may lead, with increased
knowledge, patience, and flexibility, along with an entire network of
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV's) that I can tap into for
assistance. I certainly have made a family here, not only by being
adopted into the Sylla household in Kaffrine, but also my Peace Corps
family, full of fellow volunteers who have shared my highs and lows
of service (only a fellow PCV can understand why we would call
pooping one's pants a gold star). My exit from this country will be
full of emotion. I have had to start some of my goodbyes already, and
they haven't exactly been dry-eyed. It will probably only get worse
the closer I am to leaving. As for technological advances, I have
seen children learn to use electronics that I don't even know yet,
and then watch them teach those around them. Villages are beginning
to use solar energy to power well pumps, boutiques, and much more.
People here have created ingenious ways to recycle everything. I
wish more people in the western world were willing to do that. So
yes, I guess 2 years really have gone by, and all around the world
people are living it as fully as possible. It seems to have gone by
far too quickly though.
I find
myself feeling that the Becca of America, pre-Peace Corps, no longer
exists, and that the Becca of Senegal won't fit in very well when she
tries to fit into her old roles. How do you explain that you are
still yourself, but very different at the same time? Perhaps saying
my former self no longer exists is not quite true, but I do feel like
my experiences the past 2 years have shaped me into a stronger, more
resilient individual. It may have been the most difficult 2 years of
my life for many varied reasons, and I think that if I were the same
person I was before I came, I wouldn't still be here. But I am, and
now the next step is to go on and find a new place for myself, full
of more experiences that will mold me into a better person. I haven't
quite figured out in all of the ways I have changed yet, and I don't
think I will until I am confronted with moments that question that.
Our minds and wills are malleable, our souls are eager for
inspiration. I decided that the only way I could shape my life into
what I want it to be is by pursuing those experiences that will force
me into a disequilibrium, the optimal place for learning.
So the
next step is to wrap up my service here, slowly make my way back
home, and then when I'm in a calm, quiet place, I can begin to digest
my experiences and use what I learn to choose my next direction. I
know it will take awhile after returning to find that lull, I have
many people and places I want to visit upon my return, but it will
come, and it will be good. Everyone needs some time to just sit and
ponder life. It is one of the things I love about life here: people
are willing to just sit with nowhere to go, and nothing to do for
that brief bit of time beyond loving that moment of tranquility. I
find it best when I sit in my garden, balancing on the edge of the
cement water basin, feet splashing in the cool water as I enjoy the
light breeze that rustles the leaves of the neem tree above my head.
A blissful moment.
The
blessing and curse of my service is that now I am in the height of my
abilities, my language is decent, people have come to accept and
trust my knowledge, the rains are active and helping everything to
grow and flourish, my projects are going well, and inchallah, the
harvest will be good. And so I will leave on a high note, but at the
same time, two years just isn't enough time to be really effective.
If I were here longer, there is so much more I could do, more people
I could work with, more communities I could serve. But two years is
all I can offer right now. My family back home needs me and I need
them. So two years will have to be enough. Perhaps later I can do
more.
With
all of that in mind, I intend to make these last few months as
memorable as possible. This month I was able to spend a fair amount
of time visiting some of my favorite places, including going to
Kedougou and cycling out about 50 km each way to reach the
breathtakingly beautiful Ingeley waterfall for my birthday. I also
went to an Training to teach English and have been holding informal
lessons at my house with the children in the neighborhood. Ramadan,
the month of fasting is almost over and we will celebrate by killing
and eating a goat. This weekend we will begin transplanting the 2000
trees we seeded and cared for the last couple of months. We are
preparing for our annual girls camp, which starts August 18th.
I just met with the families of all of the girls I chose from
Kaffrine to make sure they will be ready, and I'm working on lessons
I will be teaching. And in a month I will join volunteers from around
the country for the Mangrove Reforestation project. In the midst of
all of those things, I am finishing the paperwork to complete grants,
working in my garden, advising my master farmer, and managing the
affairs at our regional office. Soon I will will be phasing out of
my roles and working to install others to fill the positions, or find
a way for projects to sustain themselves through the work of
community members.
A lot
to do and to think about over the next couple of months. As of
October 31, 2013, I will get my “R” and join the ranks of RPCVs
around the world. Then, we'll see what life has in store next.
