One month from today, I will be in Praia, signing last minute papers, officially ending my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I have been looking through some pictures, both mine and those taken by people working at the SOS and have decided to share some of them with you. (Below)

The closer and closer it gets to the ‘end’, I find myself thinking ‘‘I cannot believe this two years is over!!’’ But it is really interesting to look at these pictures and see all that has happened and I can see how much I have changed. No I am not really all that much tanner… that is something that has not changed, mostly because I religiously apply sunscreen everyday.

For one thing, I haven’t dyed my hair in two years so my natural hair color has grown in. It is an interesting strawberry blonde, which I really like. Secondly, I can see that I am more fit, not skinnier, but fit, as a result of doing yoga and tennis (yes, I know tennis in Africa! Crazy! But it is one of those really nice things that the British left here, along with a cricket field and a golf course!)

But other then the physical differences I see, I know I have changed a lot as a person. I have learned to be more patient. Working with children always requires patience, but working with children in a different language requires a whole new level.

Did I mention the amount of patience you need to do sometimes the simplest things? Like going to the supermarket or bank where depositing money can take 3 hours, you start to think, do they want me to put money in their bank or not?

I’ve learned to take a step back from a situation and analyze it before judging. As a foreigner it is very easy to say ‘‘this, that and the other is wrong.’’ But I am not in America and it is not fair to apply the same standards. There are some things that perhaps I will never understand, but I know that I have to look at these situations in a different light. For instance, there is a beneficiary of the center who is 26 years old and has four children, all with different fathers, none of whom help financially. Because she works, selling vegetables on the street she cannot look after her children during the day. The older child occasionally helps her sell vegetables in the city and her second oldest child, who is six years old is responsible with brining her two younger sisters (2 and 3) to the Center everyday. It is all too easy to sit back and judge and say ‘‘why does she have so many kids, she doesn’t have any money, all with different fathers?!’’ But that is really not the issue, what is done is done. The only thing we can do here is help her help her children, ensure that they go to school so that they can be better educated to make good decisions when they are adults.

Sometimes it is not easy being away from your home, your culture, your family and friends. I miss the conveniences of life in the U.S., like running to Dunkin Donuts and getting an iced coffee, or wanting Chinese or pizza at midnight. Sometimes waiting in line here drives me crazy, especially if I forgot to bring a book. But at the same time, I love that I live so close to the beach, I love that it is sunny almost everyday, I love that people who you barely know will invite you into their home for a catchupa just to talk to you and I love how I wake up every morning to one of the most beautiful views in the world. Sometimes it is those things that make the inconveniences not so bad.

(getting ready to visit a family) (my first day of work)
(Christmas)