Free Falling

Exhaustion has finally set in--permanently. It will take me weeks to recover from the activities of the past couple of days. However, I’m not sure if the excitement of my arrival in Saint Lucia or the Dunkin Donuts coffee I just chugged is the reason for my current rush in energy. Hence this blog.

I’m not confident that I packed an appropriate amount of clothing. I get an awful feeling that I am missing something--besides my make up. I almost feel bad for the other volunteers. For the next 27 months I will be battling a caffeine addiction sans make up.

The diversity within my training class has given my projected experience an interesting twist. My impression of the Peace Corps was altruistic, single 20-somethings, fresh out of college. However, most of the volunteers have been out of college for a couple of years. And, about 20% of the group is over 50. Two retired married couples, one celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, are here as well. They are probably two of the happiest couples I’ve ever met and definitely the most interesting. I think this would be an awesome experience to share with someone you love. I’ll save that for when I’m 60.

A volunteer and I were talking yesterday about all of the things we wanted to do while living in the Caribbean, so I have put it in writing. Now I actually have to complete it…

Learn how to grow avocados
Have dreads (for a little bit at least)
Try the local beer in each of the islands
Learn to surf
Learn to read Creole (the native language in St. Vincent)
Get a dog
Travel to a different country every month
Take a ‘vacation’ to Haiti
Find the best SCUBA spot
Build a boat (..not sure if I am joking yet or not)
Learn to play the guitar
Live alone--and be ok with that.
Catch a fish and actually cook it

Ok, coffee has worn off. I will try and post again after I get some more training out of the way.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek”--President Obama