Towards the Setting Sun

Hello everyone,

As I culminate my term as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have been reflecting extensively on the time that I have spent in Dominica.  Throughout this twenty-seven month adventure, I have been through many unforgettable experiences and have grown tremendously in many ways.  This entry will be the final post as my status as a Peace Corps Volunteer or “PCV” will be changed to a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer or a “RPCV” very soon.

Working full-time with the objective of positively developing and nurturing at-risk youth has taught me many valuable lessons about responsibility and duty for people who are in vulnerable situations.  My parents and mentors throughout my entire existence have always instilled the value in me of assisting others who may need a bit of help as it is the ‘right thing to do.’  Since my inception as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have been fervently putting their words of advice into practice while being the best servant and resource person that I could be for the Dominicans.

The ChildFund staff members and I have accomplished fantastic outcomes from our efforts within the communities on the east coast of Dominica.  While tackling the most difficult issues pertaining to Dominica, we have made enormous strides in positively impacting and altering the perspectives of thousands of youth through our programs and initiatives.  Their battle will continue into the future but they have assured me that my impact on them as development workers, professionals, and individuals in general has been immeasurable.  They know that, in turn, their guidance and presence in my life has changed me for the better, as well. 

I will post the transcript of my Peace Corps Description of Service in a link between the ‘Home’ and ‘Dominica 2012’ ones on the top of the page for those interested in reading it.  After the Country Director of Peace Corps in the Eastern Caribbean sends the Description of Service to the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C., it will be on record and available to access publicly for sixty years.

The most rewarding aspect for me of being in the Peace Corps has been building the close relationships with people in the community where I was assigned.  A few select individuals in Castle Bruce have not only become more than just acquaintances or close friends to me but they feel just like family.  While I am excited to return to the U.S. to see family and close friends, my heart aches when I think about departing from the Dominican people who I love and care about so much.  The loving kindness, compassion, and generosity that they have bestowed upon me make me yearn to be around them forever. 

The people who are just like family to me have transcended me to another level as a maturing young adult.  By interacting with them, I have made several realizations about my own life just from the wisdom and insight that they have imparted upon me.  Their acceptance and trust in me in their lives has reiterated the fact to me that I have the potential to be a wonderful, impactful individual for many other people throughout my entire adulthood. 

At this juncture in my life, I have been focusing on ‘spreading’ my proverbial wings in search of gaining life experiences, knowledge, and wisdom.  I have spent the past many years concentrating on personal expansion with accruing a major cost of not remaining as close as I probably could have to family and close friends.  The Dominicans who I developed the family-like relationship with have reawakened my appreciation for valuing the people who I care about in my life.  The adoration and kindness they show one another and me in their family settings is very comforting.  With them, love is always shining.  Their belief in me coupled with loving and accepting me into their lives has led me to great strides in increasing my levels of self-confidence and self-love.

Even though I will be leaving them soon, I know that their presence will be with me wherever I will go.  They have resolutely etched themselves into the depths of my heart.  I have limitless love for them.  I may heartbreakingly not be able to be in their general proximity very soon but they understand that whenever they need me; I will always be available to them.  Connections define one’s life.

In closing, John F. Kennedy, while giving his Inaugural Address which created the idea of the Peace Corps over fifty years ago, once famously stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country.”  His words  resonate presently in a world of people that more than ever need to adopt his ideals towards assisting each other in any capacity possible.

The Peace Corps gives Americans and people from other countries the opportunity to adopt more acceptance, tolerance, and understanding of one another.  With respect, kindness, and compassion comes peace and unity.  I am honored and humbled that I was able to successfully be part of something with such an esteemed legacy like the Peace Corps. 

Thank you to the countless individuals who have supported me throughout my Peace Corps campaign.  I really appreciate all of your kindheartedness and assistance while I had the opportunity to live through this life-altering journey.

All the best,

Joe

An Island Excursion

Greetings everyone,

My dad and younger brother visited me in Dominica recently.  I took vacation days from work so I was responsibility free for the duration of their stay.  As I organized their itinerary, I realized that this wasn’t going to be one of those “stay on the beach and soak up the sun while consuming exotic beverages” types of vacations that many people picture when they decide to travel to places like the West Indies.  I had a much more aspiring plan for them which involved plenty of hiking and exploring the nature isle of the Caribbean.  Besides the intense trekking of mountainsides to witness breathtaking views, I wanted my father and brother to experience the illustrious culture of Dominica, as well. 

The first night that they arrived, I immediately brought them to meet the Dominicans who I now consider as family.  After exchanging pleasantries, they prepared my dad and brother one of my favorite local dishes of salt fish and green banana with a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.  They tremendously enjoyed the meal just as I do.  We extensively hung out with this family each day that my dad and brother were in Dominica.  Kenson, a young adult in the family, offered to drive my dad, brother, and I around as our tour guide for the week.  We graciously accepted his offer as Kenson would be a fantastic edition to our touring journey.  Another phenomenal development that occurred during the first evening was that one of my closest friends, Clydel, who is Kenson’s cousin, said she would be available to join us for the week, too.  Knowing that Kenson and Clydel were going to be with us for the excitement, I was confident that my dad and brother would have an unforgettable week in Dominica. 

As I alluded to earlier, my dad and brother’s visit to Dominica was filled with awe-inspiring views and exhilarating adventures throughout the week.  We scaled steep slopes, plodded through ferocious rivers, and relaxed in naturally-heated sulfur springs.  We even successfully completed the dreaded boiling lake expedition, which many loyal readers of this blog may know that my mom and I fell short of accomplishing that endeavor when she visited me.  My brother, as someone who thoroughly enjoys exploring natural landscapes, easily adapted to the uneven terrain and tough conditions of the hiking trails.  My father impressively held his own, too, despite not having as much experience as my brother with hiking or rock climbing.  They both cherished seeing all of the remarkable natural landmarks Dominica has to offer especially the several waterfalls. 

Besides having Clydel and Kenson’s added presence to the vacation, we also met up with several of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers.  Steve and Afua, a married couple who are volunteers serving in St. Lucia, joined our group during the week as they decided to spend some vacation days from St. Lucia to sightsee around Dominica.  Besides the visiting PCVs from St. Lucia, my dad and brother were introduced to nearly all of the Dominican volunteers as many of them joined us on different days around the island.  Just like my friends from my village, all the other PCVs that my dad and brother were fortunate enough to meet greatly improved their experience in Dominica. 

As I reflect on the week, I think about how appreciative I am of my father.  Throughout my entire life, he has always been a supportive and compassionate figure for me, my brothers, and my mom.  The manner in which he treats others with the utmost respect and dignity is something that I strive for with my own interactions with people. 

His visit to Dominica was a prime example of the benevolence he bestows upon others.  Essentially, he treated me, my brother, Kenson, and Clydel as royalty throughout the week.  Many people who have lived in Dominica their entire lives rarely get the opportunity to explore their country.  Simply, transportation is not only extremely expensive but it is also very sparse.  Kenson had previously visited all of the areas where we took my dad and brother as he is active with Scout Troops in Dominica.  Clydel, a nature enthusiast in her own regard, rarely has the opportunity to visit the sites in her home country.  I loved watching the pride and exhilaration on her face as she witnessed the beautiful parts of her country not just in a picture but with her own two eyes. 

Besides giving us the chance to travel to all the different places, my dad treated us all to lavish restaurants while we were touring the island, as well.  Kenson and Clydel had never been to many of the restaurants where my dad took us as they are quite extravagantly priced.  They immensely relished the opportunity to experience the food and to see what it is like to eat at some of the ritzier places their country offers to people like tourists.  I felt quite honored with the way my dad treated my close friends just as they were like his own family.

Since I launched my tour as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have always tried to focus fundamentally on adding more happiness and comfort to Dominicans who I interact with on a daily basis.  Clydel mentioned to me how my family’s visit was one of her most favorite weeks that she can ever remember.  I am overly delighted that my dad and brother’s vacation could offer those types of fantastic memories to someone who I care for so deeply.

My dad and brother got an experience of a lifetime when they toured around Dominica but so did Kenson and Clydel.

Thank you for reading.

Be well,

Joe

Flowing to the Ocean

Hi folks,

As we enter into 2013, many individuals perceive the idea that they get a “fresh start” on their current life situations.  They look forward to transforming themselves in some aspects of their lives when the New Year begins.  Many people even make “New Year’s Resolutions” to impact their lives in an immediate fashion. 

Some people can expect major life changes depending on their personal circumstances for 2013.  For instance, several of my friends who got engaged in 2012 are anticipating and looking forward to their eventual wedding dates in 2013.  Other friends are culminating their experiences as university or high school students in the spring of 2013 and they will have major lifestyle alterations to embrace, as well.

As for me, I will be going through the transition of returning to the US from Dominica in the early part of this coming year.  I’ll be traveling to St. Lucia in a few weeks for my Close of Service conference where Peace Corps officials speak to volunteers about the end of their time working in their assigned countries.  At the Close of Service conference, the officials will assist the volunteers with topics including:  Phasing out of daily work with their local counterparts, returning to the US, and saying goodbye to close friends, among other important matters of discussion.  Peace Corps gives the volunteers a few months from their Close of Service conference to the actual departure date so that the volunteer will have some opportunity to consider their post-Peace Corps plans.  

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I have already initiated seeking for my next opportunity after serving in Dominica.  I haven’t actually applied for any jobs as of yet but I have sent out a few emails to some contacts with the aspirations that they may know of some job openings where I could be a competitive applicant.  I plan on increasing my searching efforts for opportunities after I return from the conference in St. Lucia in late January. 

Even though I haven’t applied for any jobs hitherto, I’ve definitely been mentally preparing for the upcoming changes.  I’ve realized that I will potentially have some difficult choices to make that could take my life in many different directions.  For example, should I prioritize to return to “the comforts of my hometown” where many of my family and close friends are still located?  Or, should I be open to moving to another city if an ample opportunity arises?  These types of decisions are going to be tough calls for me in the ensuing months.  Each choice that an individual makes leads to effects that can directly alter their lives in a major way. 

As people are faced with making potential major life-changing decisions, they should focus on prioritizing their life goals and aspirations.  However, they need to realize that a speculative character is inherent while making their choices as their decisions could lead them to unanticipated results.  As people have unique life experiences, they value things in distinctive ways relative to others.  In fact, their own value judgments can change rapidly when introduced to new perspectives or when their life circumstances transform in a certain manner.  As people’s lives are in a constant state of flux, it is paramount that they continue to assess and reassess their situations upon what they value.

In my opinion, one of the signs of maturing individuals is their ability to make choices not only looking at short-term, instant results but to account for long-term, eventual outcomes, as well.  For instance, I was recently video-chatting with a close family friend who is about to graduate from high school.  She is excited to continue her education as a university student after she completes her high school requirements.  As she has been accepted into several universities, she’ll soon have to decide which one she will attend next fall.  She and I were discussing her rationale for which school and majors she thinks would be her best options.  I was very impressed with her that she is choosing to study a major on the basis that it has a solid job placement rate in her hopeful field for when she graduates.

I know many friends who are struggling to make their student loan payments each month as they’re saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.  Thus, whenever I speak to eager high school students about their choices for universities, I always bring up their personal financial situations. If the student has to pay for their higher education with their own resources, then they should be more conscientious about how much debt they will accrue in student loans at the end of their college career.  Many people learn this lesson the difficult way but by making an informed decision from the onset, future students who do not have the luxury of something like family financial resources to pay for their college experiences may not have to put themselves in such precarious situations in the long-run.

Just as my friend hopes to make the best choice about her post-high school opportunities, I, too, hope that I will make a precise, educated decision for my post-Peace Corps plans.  Even if things do not go as I expect, I believe that my personal circumstances can always improve when I am not satisfied with them.  When I need to persevere through something difficult in life, I have found myself thinking about the adage from the movie Vanilla Sky, “every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around.”

Thank you again, everyone, for supporting me through my time as a volunteer.  I am now starting to feel how challenging the next few months will be to depart from the individuals who I immensely love and care for from Dominica.  These people have touched my life in many ways and I believe that saying ‘goodbye’ to them will not be an easy task for me.  I suppose that everything that has a beginning must also have an end.

Take care,

Joe

P.S.  Congratulations to my close friends, Joey Meicher and Brianna Seidlitz for getting engaged recently.  I am very elated for the two of you!

A Family of Volunteers

Hello everyone,

Each year on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day provides people of the United States with a wonderful opportunity to come together with family members and close friends.  While people move to different parts of the country, the majority of individuals will travel to their hometowns to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Whether people are attending schools across the country or they moved away from their hometowns for personal and/or professional reasons, people make the effort to return home for this occasion.  Consequently, Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travelling periods of the year.  Anyway, this is the second consecutive year where I, along with several Peace Corps Volunteers around the world who commenced working as a volunteer around the same time as I did, have missed out on the traditions and festivities surrounding Thanksgiving with our family and close friends from home. 

I’ve recognized that Peace Corps Volunteers make realizations about how much we appreciate events, like Thanksgiving, that we are absent from while we’re in our countries of service.  Volunteers speak to each other in length about our own unique, traditional practices surrounding Thanksgiving and how much we miss being around our loved ones as they spend the holidays without us. 

One interesting aspect about being with the Peace Corps is the relationships the volunteers develop with one another.  Even though the volunteers enter our Peace Corps journeys as complete strangers, the need for assistance and support while we encounter similar difficulties and obstacles allows for us to build nourishing relationships with each other.  Volunteers essentially become family with each other while we are serving together in the same country. 

While the volunteers are longing to be near their actual families for Thanksgiving Day, we decided to choose the next best alternative for our current circumstances and spend the day with each other.  Arianne, a close friend of mine and fellow volunteer in Dominica, reserved a private dining room in one of the nicest hotels in Roseau, the capital and main town of Dominica, for the volunteers to share a Thanksgiving meal with each other.  Interestingly, the hotel offered a traditional Thanksgiving Day meal as many tourists from the United States were demanding that the hotel offers one while they were visiting Dominica.  For the record, the food was absolutely delectable!

As Arianne organized the event for the Peace Corps Volunteers, she and a few others came up with an exceptional idea.  They extended an invitation to the volunteers that work in Dominica from the other parts of the world to join the Peace Corps Volunteers for our Thanksgiving celebration.  Currently, Dominica has volunteer relationships with organizations similar to the Peace Corps from Australia, Canada, Germany, and Japan.  The volunteers from the different countries will sometimes collaborate on projects but we all rarely get to spend leisure time together outside of work.  Occasionally some of us will hike the different trails with each other.  Anyway, several volunteers from the other countries ecstatically joined the Peace Corps Volunteers for our US holiday feast.  With the Dominican Peace Corps staff members in attendance, a total of six different countries were represented at our dinner.  The volunteers had great conversations with each other as we all have the underlying perspective of wanting to assist Dominicans with the development of their country. 

One of the fundamental goals in Peace Corps is to promote a better understanding of Americans to people from other parts of the world.  Well, the cross cultural sharing that was taking place between the volunteers from the different regions of the world was a fantastic opportunity for the Peace Corps Volunteers to showcase an aspect of our American culture.  Also, all the volunteers from different countries had a phenomenal experience getting to know each other better in a relaxed, social atmosphere.

Even though I was unaccounted for at the Thanksgiving celebration with my family and friends in Wisconsin, the unique experience of celebrating Thanksgiving Day with fellow volunteers from around the world is an occasion that I will always look back on fondly. 

Happy holidays,

Joe