Two very very exciting things in the life of a PCV. When the truck comes up to your site and you haven't seen an American in who knows how long, and they give you the Peace Corps Times and local Newsletter written by PCVs with important announcements etc., and then that's it... no letter, no care package, no nothing. It makes you wanna cry a little. I mean the Worldview Peace Corps magazine and Peace Corps times and newsletter are better than nothin. But it still hurts. Even when that white Peace Corps vehicle pulls up just to give you one letter on top of all that, it lifts your spirits so so much! So I'm sure I will be embarrassed about this post in due time. But while I'm here I feel like I have to plea, a little bit. I'm not in the capital much and hope it stays that way as I get super stressed out and find myself to be overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of city life and copious amounts of American time with fellow PCV's, which is nice but just so very different than village that it can be a difficult adjustment. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to take a break once and again but I enjoy taking my breaks out of site up country where I don't have to spend three hours or so on a wobbly ferry.
Given that I'm up there more so than not so, and thus only get mail and such every other month:
Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct
where I have only nine more months before my COS date! Time is flying. Anyway I just feel like I have to say/plea that receiving mail via letters, especially when it's the primary form of communication for me, is so incredibly incredible! I feel like people think they have nothing to say because I'm living it up in West Africa and they're living it up in the states and that I know the states and thus don't want to hear about it. This is a very unfortunate misconception. Being far from home, and missing home, I would like nothing more than to hear about it, including mundane small details like weather, shopping, food, pets, etc. I'm not even a little bit joking. I think I can speak for just about anyone serving overseas that it makes our entire day if not week, if not month, to receive love and support from back home.
I know for a lot of my close friends, we don't really come from a generation of letter writing so much anymore. But the ones I've received have been so great! I also know everyone in America is pretty busy all the time. So I too will try to be a better corresponder! But anyway, what it comes down to is, please please please keep em coming! I miss you all so much and love hearing about everything that is going on in your lives. Really really really!
On a similar note- my mom's class of I believe sixth graders has sent letters to exchange with probably some grade eight and nine students at the basic cycle school in my community. We hope to exchange letters and thus culture etc. If anyone else is a teacher and wants to do a letter exchange with my students in the bush in W. Africa, Bissimmilli! (you are welcome!) I hope to have the themes be mostly about environment to trigger those discussions as well like what wildlife is in Arizona (where my mom teaches) vs. The Gambia, what environmental issues is Arizona facing vs. here, and how are the ecosystems and ecology similar and or different. Things like this. I'm really excited about it. Sorry for the perhaps desperate sounding plea. I'm going to stock up on stamps and cards today Inshallah to practice what I preach!
Wishing you all the very best. Thank you for the continued support and interest. Hope to hear from you soon! Very very best!
Given that I'm up there more so than not so, and thus only get mail and such every other month:
Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct
where I have only nine more months before my COS date! Time is flying. Anyway I just feel like I have to say/plea that receiving mail via letters, especially when it's the primary form of communication for me, is so incredibly incredible! I feel like people think they have nothing to say because I'm living it up in West Africa and they're living it up in the states and that I know the states and thus don't want to hear about it. This is a very unfortunate misconception. Being far from home, and missing home, I would like nothing more than to hear about it, including mundane small details like weather, shopping, food, pets, etc. I'm not even a little bit joking. I think I can speak for just about anyone serving overseas that it makes our entire day if not week, if not month, to receive love and support from back home.
I know for a lot of my close friends, we don't really come from a generation of letter writing so much anymore. But the ones I've received have been so great! I also know everyone in America is pretty busy all the time. So I too will try to be a better corresponder! But anyway, what it comes down to is, please please please keep em coming! I miss you all so much and love hearing about everything that is going on in your lives. Really really really!
On a similar note- my mom's class of I believe sixth graders has sent letters to exchange with probably some grade eight and nine students at the basic cycle school in my community. We hope to exchange letters and thus culture etc. If anyone else is a teacher and wants to do a letter exchange with my students in the bush in W. Africa, Bissimmilli! (you are welcome!) I hope to have the themes be mostly about environment to trigger those discussions as well like what wildlife is in Arizona (where my mom teaches) vs. The Gambia, what environmental issues is Arizona facing vs. here, and how are the ecosystems and ecology similar and or different. Things like this. I'm really excited about it. Sorry for the perhaps desperate sounding plea. I'm going to stock up on stamps and cards today Inshallah to practice what I preach!
Wishing you all the very best. Thank you for the continued support and interest. Hope to hear from you soon! Very very best!
I am enjoying your blog and feel I could write you a letter, but will I actually do that? You are so right with all your thoughts about letter writing. I am 63 years old and miss letter writing, but usually just stare at the paper with a blank, stuck mind these days. Letter writing is almost a lost art.
ReplyDelete