Goodbye?

Sometime in September, I packed my stuff, got in a Peace Corps vehicle and traveled 70km south from Pfukoni to Sibasa, my new home. The driver came 2 hours early and I was six hours ahead of schedule with my packing. No emotional departure, just a wave and a promise to return.

After traveling through Lesotho (need to make that a separate blog post), putting in two weeks at my new assignment and unpacking half of my junk, I was back in Pfukoni.

Oh, you had to go back and monitor your assignments, right Sean? Right...

I went back and observed a Scouts meeting and talked to the new volunteers, especially the one running the library. Yet, I really just needed to eat a real meal again, so I crashed with my old host family. It was great and plus I could cross of the promise to return off my list. Jk?

After serving two years, I always wanted to sneak out of Pfukoni quietly. Looking back, I think I accomplished that. My school had a going away celebration with the chief showing up, great gifts made by local folks, speeches and delicious food, but I think this was more for the village. For me, I just wanted my work to not have an end mark to it.

How does it not have an end mark?

Quiet you. My projects, in their weak existence, will continue on (non enthusiastic cheering). I will continue to talk with my host family, guide my host brother and visit. I extended for a year at the University of Venda to work with an office that focuses on getting resources into communities like my village. I am in constant conversation with the new batch of volunteers in the Venda region who just started working in similar schools and my former schools this past September.

A lot of romanticism with the Peace Corps is this sweep into a village, make a change and then sweep out. This exit is usually marked with a clear note whether that is a celebration (like my own), a public demonstration (funny stories I could share) or something else with symbolism. To me, this symbolic event always felt like saying, "Time to wash my hands."

I was recently talking to a fellow volunteer who finished their service and was reflecting on development. We talked about the need for people to work in the field. So much of our lives are spent theorizing, which is good and helpful. Yet I can't help but think about all the positive things that non-native people are doing in the corners of the world in countries with poor performing governments. The simple connection to the outside world these people provide is immeasurable. By outside world, I don't just mean foreign countries working with impoverished communities. I mean non-native people connecting impoverished communities with wealthy communities that already exist in their country.

Many Peace Corps Volunteers end up being these non-native people. They fall in love with a country and rock it out. I love coming across these people. They are deeply integrated, fully committed to their work and making a difference.

Stay or go, Peace Corps people are great. After two years, I leave my village not knowing much more than any other Returning Peace Corps Volunteer. We all leave with faces on our minds when people bat back and forth concepts about how to improve the state of countries. We all cringe when we see resources being misused, especially water. We all have a deep respect for circulation. We've all left. I don't feel like I've said goodbye, but I don't think I'll ever live in a hut again.