Every post probably has that crazy enthusiastic
one; heck, most countries have a lot of them.
Within Moldova, I was put definitively into that category on day two
when I turned to my mentor and asked “what’s the deal with extensions? I think
I want to do that.” She took a deep
sighing breath. It was a slow sigh, one
commensurate with the blazing sun and groaning under the dissonance thrust upon
her by ushering us through a jam packed arrival program in a country where the
pace of life is otherwise decidedly slower.
Having spent a year tamping down her pace of life and expectations, all
of a sudden she was surrounded by the height of American bustle and can-do
optimism. Without shaking her head, she
gave a small smile that shook it for her, “Slow down dude. You’re not even at your training site yet.”
Laughingly, I backed off, recognizing the
apparent ridiculousness of the word coming out of the mouth of a person who had
been on the ground for less than 24 hours.
That’s not to say I backed off of the idea; upon landing in Moldova in
June 2010 I already had lived abroad longer, spoke more languages, and
travelled the region more than many of the second year volunteers. So I didn’t back off, I just shut my mouth. (I said apparent ridiculousness, not actual
ridiculousness). Anyway, they had a point. It was day two. Of 800.
Plus or minus.
In the 672 day
since then – no plus or minus – there have been ups and downs on my feelings
towards extension. For most of the first
nine months or so I was up on extension. Way up.
So much so that my same mentor eventually decided I wasn’t just shot up
on coffee and jet lag that second morning, but truly seem to suffer from an
abundance of enthusiasm.
But then sometime
last spring the idea lost its appeal as the hard realities of small and
incremental contributions set in and the romantic sheen of service lost its
luster. It stayed that way for much of
the summer. Though occasionally punctuated
by the enthusiasm of the new volunteers and the ideas gained from working with
them, my down on extension was deepened by the palpable excitement of the older
volunteers who were leaving, a dread of returning to the classroom, and a
travel schedule that reminded me that my world outside Moldova moves very
quickly and without regard to my absence.
The fall fell
somewhere in between: summer left me energized and a raft of new activities
left me busier than ever at my site.
Meanwhile, one of my partners seemed to have taken on the appetite of
Goliath when it came to any collaboration possible. On the other hand, a sentiment lingered as I
talked to friends who were finding increasingly influential posts that I was taking
the long route, and reading job descriptions offered new adventures complete
with a lustrous sheen still intact.
Ironically, it was
just as I was preparing to go interview with Bosch in New York this last
January that the pendulum swung back in the other direction. It was exactly when other offers seemed most
tangible that staying in Moldova began looking most attractive. On the one hand, there were more potential
collaborations than ever. And on the
other, it seems to be winter when I finally started coming to terms with the
true meaning of incremental change on a deeper level. This was a nice consolation when Bosch didn’t
pan out. Instead of extension
representing settling for second best, it was a choice between a variety of
attractive options, with pros and cons on all sides. But that’s for Part II.
To be continued...
1 comment:
It’s never too early to think about the third goal. Check-out Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir.
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