On the occasion of Stage 26 swearing in as Peace Corps volunteers

It was this time last year that I first went to the ambassador’s house. It was this time last year that I was with the 56 other trainees in my group anxiously waiting to swear-in as volunteers. It was this time last year that I didn’t yet understand what my life would be here.

This year was about the same thing. The ambassador gave pretty much the same speech. The embassy served pretty much the same mini cheese pizzas. The group of new volunteers seemed pretty much as excited and naive as I was last year.

I could write another post about time passing. Another post about the cyclical nature of the Peace Corps and how, when there have been volunteers in the country in which you are currently serving for the past 55 years, it doesn’t always seem that you’ll be able to make much of a difference. 

Because time does, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Because it won’t slow down it I acknowledge how fast the past 15 months have passed. Because no matter what I write, I have less than 12 months left.

Around this time next year, I will no longer be here.