Peace Corps

June 08th, 2008

June 08th, 2008

Tim and I find ourselves in a similar place we were in last year… trying to figure people out, and still excited to get to know everyone. We’ve clearly remembered all but a couple of the 38! I am pleased with how responsible everyone seems to be; we haven’t lost any of them! I enjoy soaking up their excitement about the future, and re-assuring them of things in general. This is why I am here! But they are already so positive…I heard one of them say today, “I just got my first le blanc!”, about a word that often irritates volunteers in Africa. I envy their starry eyes when they talk about looking forward to becoming us. I wanted to be me one year ago. I am as comfortable as I wanted to be, and have grown into someone I didn’t even know a year ago. We have become so comfortable in this foreign place that even a part of us has become foreign. This experience reminds me of how important the 2nd and 3rd goals are, for my community, myself and now those that follow me. They have so much to learn, and although my training doesn’t end until I close my service, I’m seeing that I learned a lot in quite a short time. I love being host! I love being a smile that gives them confidence. And everyone’s smiling back so far…the group dynamic is so interesting. I’m curious to see how they evolve by the time that I see them swearing in.

About Tara

Tara received her degree in French and Communications before jetting off to serve Cameroon for 2 years with the Peace Corps. She has forever since been inspired to serve in humanitarian projects around the world. She's a writer, tour guide, business owner, property manager, wifey, dog mom, and traveler. Tara lives in Dallas, Texas, where she's happily married to the tech genius who keeps her website pretty.

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