29 August 2009

To Begin Again

Here I am, back where I started a year ago, facing a new school year in a town that is not my own, teaching kids who, more often than not, don't know what school means. I made it through the summer, which turned out to be pretty awesome. Coming into summer, I was inches away from calling it quits and returning to the friends and rich lifestyle I left back at home in the Pacific Northwest. My fondness for that home hasn't diminished this summer. Rather, the vacations, the visits from friends and family, the warm interactions with a new group of local friends, and the discovery that I have a fairly large amount of control over my situation here have all contributed to a much more positive outlook on the coming school year.

A lot has changed for me, this summer. The things that keep me here are no longer those which brought me here. I've lost a lot of my original passion for teaching and my organization, but I've also gained a language, a new world-view, and a handful of invaluable people in my life. I have thrown a lot of my ideas about the future into the wind, and drawn new plans that may take me in directions nobody would have guessed before. My concept of "home" has become scattered. The possibility of living carefree and single into perpetuity gradually loses its appeal.

So, I begin again. A new school year. One more year of service with Peace Corps. Twelve more months to figure out what to do after this time next year. Suggestions?

4 comments:

Suzette said...

Hi Jeff,

I am really glad you decided to stay. Glad to have met you and share that day in the forest with you. Hang in there buddy. When you are done I will have a whole other year to go. One thing I have found here in Moldova is that time flies really fast. So... degraba!!!

Deborah said...

Hi Jeff,
Good to see a new post and read some of your thoughts about where you are and what you want to do. I am glad you have decided to stay and finish your commitment to the Peace Corps, even if it isn't exactly what you had in mind and even though teaching high school students isn't what you want to continue to do. Sometimes just the process of sticking something out no matter how hard it is is worth a lot and can lead to wisdom about what you'd like to do next. Put your whole heart into this year and perhaps it will help you discover what you will do next. I think you are wonderful and I'm so glad I got to spend some time with you this summer. I miss you and think about you a lot! Much love, Deb

Unknown said...

...

Seattle?

Comeon....

Jacqui said...

A neat thing about being human is that you need only choose what to do next. Save the decisions and permanence for funeral plans, I say!