earning my 'R'

It was recently brought to my attention that I haven't made my "farewell" post yet. For those not in the loop, November was my last month at work, and December 19th was my COS date. So yeah, I'm done. Despite having internet access the whole week before then, I neglected to write anything here. Leave it to me to wait until I'm in the airport getting ready to leave, dead-tired because it's nearly 1 in the morning.

The past 3 years have changed my life. Deeply. So deeply, in fact, that I can't bring myself to write about it. Maybe after Christmas, when I'm home and I'm caught up on sleep. You'd think 2 days in a 5-star beach resort in Dubai would revitalize you, but I was there on Friday night. December 21st. Which was notoriously marked as an "End of the World!!!" date. So yeah, I went out to an "End of the World!!!" party. Was it worth the 120 AED (about $32 USD) I spent on 3 beers? Probably not. But who stays in their hotel room on a Friday night in Dubai? Nobody does that.

posts from the past: reclaiming joy

I've been going through my backlog in recent weeks, and thought you guys might enjoy rereading -- or maybe reading for the first time if you're a newbie -- posts from earlier in my service. One of my favorites is reclaiming joy, because it has great pictures and references some shadowers we had in Singida -- most of whom have just COS'd! My how time flies!

unaweza kunichukua?

Even a Peace Corps Volunteer fresh out of Pre-Service Training can understand the meaning of this question. And it's a loaded one when it comes from the mouth of a kid.

Since the beginning of November, I've been away from home supporting the TZ21 field office in town. It's hard to be away that long, so I've tried to assuage the sting of living out of a suitcase by staying at the beach house, where we PCVs have most of our holiday gatherings. Two days ago, I went out for an evening swim after work, and I met a kid who was already out in the ocean practicing his doggy paddle. As is customary among the children you meet on the beach, he wanted to show me all of his swimming techniques and the neat tricks he could do underwater. We did this exchange for a while, until I got concerned about how dark it was. This kid was alone, so I figured he had a long walk back home and I didn't want him to stay late on my account.

"Where do you live?"

"I live near a hotel in town."

"It's getting dark now. Aren't your parents worried?"

"I don't have any parents."

I had a feeling I wasn't going to like where this was going.