(August 6) Orderly Chaos of the Next Two Years

Eventful doesn't begin to describe the past 36hours or so. We started in Philly around 9 and then took a 3hour bus ride to JFK which I had passed about 4 times before during my visit with Kelly earlier in the week, but that's neither here nor there. We stayed at JFK for about 7hours, 2 of which was waiting to check-in and the rest was waiting for a delayed flight. Despite our greatest hopes, we did reach our Brussels connection flight, but still had time to down some good Belgian beer. I couldn't have asked for better travel buddies for the flights. Thank you to the two eloquently beautiful women, Sami and Courtney. To sum up, 36 hours, 4countries, 4airports, and I believe 4 bad airplane meals. Now for more serious issues...There has been talk of who some believe will be leaving the program, this is bound to happen because on average 30% will quit the Peace Corps and there will always be gossip and that need to sort out the mystery before it willing reveals itself. Now this is a public blog which anyone can read, so I will not be listing names of who I've heard maybe leaving or who said it, but there are some underlying issues that must be accepted and solved if someone is going to be successful. The person you are now will not be anywhere close to who you are in 27months. This fact is true to everyone going through something profound, but somewhat unique with an experience like the Peace Corps because we will not have our loved ones or even our culture to fall back on when we shake at what's in front of us. If we use our most recent experiences to help solve problems, physical and philosophical, then our way of ourselves will change dramatically as we gradually move through the 27months. If you do not have constant contact with someone over the 27month commitment then the changes you've experienced will seem drastic for the other when you get back. I personally feel that no one will be in constant contact and thus, that tremendous change will affect the relationship eventually, despite your best hopes. Now this does not matter much for relatives or friends. A father will still be your father no matter what you believe, and a friend will most likely see you as just more interesting and able to have better conversations helping them build and grow. However, when it comes to intimate relationships, where the other half has seen your deepest core soul, whether through your emotional interactions during tramas or through intense physical connection, there is an expectation that you will not change in relation to how the other person views you. Meaning that A and B being in the same environment, staying constant and going through the same experience will grow in similar directions. However, the a Peace Corps experience is meant to take you out of that and therefore, you will grow at a different speed and possibly a different direction then what would have been. Now if you believe in the one true love idea, then God bless you and none of my argument holds weight. However, if you are more of a realist, then it's a rationale to ponder. When you took on the commitment you knew the risk to not only your physical well-being but also your social well-being as you saw prior to traveling to Philly. No matter what you thought your feelings were for somebody before you joined the Peace Corps, there is no denying that those feelings for the person and him/her for you are toward the you and the other that will be 2years 3months outdated. If you're here that means the experiences and people you'd meet with the Peace Corps outweigh any possible changes to your former status-quo.