Welcome to the new cohort of Peace Corps Lesotho volunteers. At the end of September, 59 new Americans arrived in country, ready to start their three months of training and then two years of service. I got to meet them when I arrived at training to lead a few of the sessions and they seem like a good group. I didn’t spend enough time with them to really get to each one, but I am excited for this coming week when everyone learns who is moving where. My district is getting a bunch of newbies and we are psyched!
While I may not know the new group very well yet, their arrival has prompted a lot of self-reflection. Their arrival marked the one year anniversary of my own arrival in Lesotho. At times I still can’t believe that it’s been a year. I still feel like I am new and only arrived yesterday. Time has flown by so quickly. Other times, though, I feel like I have been here for forever and can’t wait to go home. There’s been a lot of ups and down the last few weeks, trying to come to terms with how far we’ve come and how far we have left to go. I am still enjoying my time here and I have no regrets about choosing this as a path, but I also miss home and all things familiar.
As I watch the cohort before me ready to leave, I feel stabs of panic. They are getting jobs and going to grad school. They are moving on with life and the prospect of doing the same in a year from now is a little terrifying. So I plan for the future, and while I wonder, I try to remember to enjoy what I am doing and make the most of time here. It will be over before I know it, I’m sure.
So I am one year in. I am saying goodbye to friends who are moving forward and greeting strangers who I hope will become new friends. It’s been a hell of a year. Here’s to another!
Mountain Tales 