The end of the (paved) road

In a few hours, our group will officially be ‘sworn in’ as volunteers, and yes, I fully realize how cultish that sounds. After what will undoubtedly be an overdramatic ceremony, we are going to spend the weekend at the beach celebrating. Come Monday, real life finally begins.
This last Monday was our last day in Santa Clara and that night we threw a big party for all our host families We did a big taco bar and I think the night was fairly successful. The next morning we left, and I’m not sure why, but I didn’t feel sad. Am I dead inside? I’m starting to think that what I’ve been calling ‘ability to adjust’ all these years is really an inability to connect. I don’t get homesick; I don’t cry at goodbyes. Maybe it’s because I have reasoned myself out of believing any relationship is truly special or unique. If I would have applied for the Peace Corps six months earlier or later, I would be in Chile or the Dominican Republic, probably feeling a lot of the same things, but the people and circumstances would be different. Some people in those hypothetical groups would be my friends, some would be acquaintances, some would bother me, etc. So it’s all a matter of coincidence it seems. Not that that is a bad thing, but I think it keeps me from feeling in the way I think I should.
That’s quite enough of that.
We’re staying, for these few days, in Ciudad de Saber (City of Knowledge) in Panama City, which is where we spent our first week waaaay back when we started training. It is truly shocking how my perception of this place has changed since August. The food was blah, the air conditioning broke, the hot water took forever, and every floor was cold hard tile. Now, the food is DELICIOUS and there’s AIR CONDITIONING and TILE FLOORS! Luxury.
Now the real Peace Corps experience begins, and this blog, in its current state, ends. I’ll still update it, but I’ll probably only be able to get to the internet every couple of weeks, and hearing about my work with the cooperative or teaching English will be even more boring than previous entries. I think this works out rather well however. Readership and interest is waning, and with good reason, just as I am running out of interesting things to say. Thanks to everyone who has been reading, and even more thanks to those who have been commenting. I’ll write more in a few weeks.