Last week was the last major benchmark before the
end of our service, our Close of Service or, because Peace Corps loves their
acronyms, COS Conference. The 39 Moz
17ers gathered all together for one last meeting in Maputo, a bittersweet time
filled with the excitement of being together in the capital city and sadness in
knowing this was the last time.
As my mom pointed out, Peace Corps is probably the
only organization that helps you prepare for what comes next, providing you
with incredible resources whether you want to pursue the professional or
academic route after your service. The
conference opened with a slideshow, reviving memories from our first days in
Mozambique and followed with a time of reflection on how it felt those first days
in country and those first days at site.
We discussed our accomplishments, what to include and highlight in our
resumes, how to search for jobs or figure out what you might want to do after, and
how to close out our service including all the paperwork and documents to be
completed. There was also a Q&A with
a career panel, including two RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, my title
after I finish here) who are back in Mozambique working now, the director of
the International School in Maputo and two of the teachers there. Our directors even invited us all over to
their houses for dinner both Wednesday and Thursday nights! Some sessions made me excited, realizing my
freedom in being able to really begin to research what it is I want to do next
and others more anxious, realizing it’s about time to start figuring that out…
I think for almost everyone, it’s hard to believe
that the end is really almost here! When
we first arrived in country almost exactly two years ago, COS seemed like this infinitely
far away, intangible thing. Now,
everyone is counting down only two or three more months left in country,
knowing the time is most likely going to fly by!
I’m going to save my thoughts and feelings on
leaving for a later post, mostly because I don’t quite want to admit to myself
that it’s happening quite yet. So, what’s
next for me? Here’s what I have planned
so far… My ticket home is purchased, and has been for a while now. I leave Murrupula around 11 weeks from now,
spending a week in Maputo for final medical work and to turn in final paperwork,
and then I leave country November 30th to meet my mom and family
friend Jane for a trip to Botswana. Then
it’s about 30 hours of flights home and I arrive in LAX on December 10th
at 1:30pm.
After that?
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’m not really sure. Grad School? Maybe eventually? A job?
Probably, because our Peace Corps earnings won’t really carry me for too long. But, I’m not letting, or at least trying to
not let, the unknown stress me out too much.
More importantly, right now I want to focus on these last 11 weeks here
in Murrupula, finishing and strengthening projects like the library, English
Theater, and REDES. I want to focus on
those moments with my neighbor children, playing hopscotch and Slap Jack, and
just spending time with friends, students, and colleagues. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like saying
good-byes and making that last drive away from my little villa, let alone what
it’ll be like arriving back at home again, adjusting back to my life in the
first world! It still seems like a dream
world away, and I am comforted knowing that I am lucky to have a home to go
back to and so many people who support me.
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