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The posts below this are from a trip I took to Africa for my work as International Christian Science Group Coordinator at The First Church of Christ, Scientist.  Posts after this will relate to my preparation for and service in the Peace Corps. 

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October 23 - Dancing for Small Change in the Marketplace

  I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.   My theme song for Peace Corps so far has been “I hope you dance” by Lee Ann Womack.   I’ve listened to it so many times on my ipod, especially when I need a little encouragement.   It doesn’t always feel easy to dance – to live all the experiences here whole-heartedly, instead of holding back and “sitting it out” every now and then.   But the rewards have been moments of amazing sweetness and inspiration. There’ve been literal chances to take this song to heart.   One of these, a favorite day in village so far, was October 23 -   the day I made about 50 francs (around ten cents) for dancing in the marketplace.   When learning about Benin, I read that although about one third of all Beni...
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February 24 - What Peace Corps is Like Now

Was the last post I wrote really about Ramadan?   It’s certainly been a while.   I remember during our Peace Corps staging how we were told that you find lots of first year blogs online, about all the struggles of getting ones service started, but the writing falls off sharply once volunteers get into their second year.   I guess I’ve fallen into that trend.   So many things have happened that have made me think “what a good blog post topic!”   But that’s as far as the ideas have gotten.   So to get things going again, I’ll write about a very simple topic – what is Peace Corps like now, 4 months since I last wrote, and 6 months until the official end of my service?   1.        Peace Corps is Comfortable   It doesn't feel like a major accomplishment to get through a day now.  Sure, I have hard days - but it's sort of the same as having a hard day back in Boston, or in college - just a tough...
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June 15 - Why Peace Corps is Hard

A lot of you have probably heard the “Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love” slogan about Peace Corps.   I’ve been here about a year now – one year on June 27 – and have done my best to share the experience through this blog.   I think most of my posts have confirmed the “love” part of that slogan – I do love this job.   It’s a truly amazing experience.   Whenever I leave or return to my village, I ride a motorcycle along beautiful red dirt roads, through fields that are now turning green again, past herds of white cattle and groups of brightly-dressed girls and women carrying big basins of water on their heads.   Dozens of people – the girls carrying water, men working in the fields or relaxing in the shade of trees – wave and call out my name.   “Gorado!   Gorado!”   The name I’ve been given means “One who has been sent from far away to achieve a mission, and returns with a good result.”   What a vote of confidence!   I have spent much of ...
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