When I say that I want to use everything, I am not speaking metaphorically about contributing the remainder of my positive attributes or energy to my service. I am mostly talking about the crap that is sitting in my bedroom. I have a little over three months left here and I am not about to spend it mentally packing my bags or worse yet, thinking about eating my welcome home meal (lasagna and apple pie a la mode). A hundred days, a small portion of an over two year commitment, is still a good chunk of time. I received a package from my mom in September 2009, sixteen months ago, a baggy of twelve mechanical pencils, a little blank moleskin notebook, sassy hair ties and a floral printed nail file (among many other things and packages, thanks to the best mom in the world). The blank moleskin, eight remaining mechanical pencils and brand new hair ties sitting in the pristine Ziploc are evidence that I may be holding back a little too much. This marks the time to break out the mechanical pencils!
I also want to make sure to pour out all the glitter I have doing art with kids because I can. I have an American education that encouraged creativity. If there is one thing that I have learned here, it is that we are so lucky for whatever schooling we have gotten in the states. The time, quality, materials, and attention of our school system are astoundingly better than those of so many other countries. I will do my best to continue to share simple projects that teachers do not have the background or the initiative to employ. For my valentine making party, I cut 150 hearts from pink poster board, went through my craft box, where I keep the markers and glitter I am sent, the tempera paint I buy here, and anything shiny or reusable like snack packaging, wrapping paper and egg cartons. I gathered old magazines, broke out the brand new doilies and ribbon (also from my mom) that I have been saving, and spread the word. There was the inevitable paint eating, glue on the walls and confetti greed. Overall, however, there was a lot of pride and excitement. Really, what is more beautiful than a valentine? Nothing.
I will continue to throw art events. Masks, crowns, and Easter eggs are all on my list along with the constant push of the environmental coloring sheets I have been working on. I will also teach one more formal English class. Of all things, that is something that I have and they want. While I do like to hear “I lub you baby!” shouted at me in the street, I want to augment their repertoire with a few more vocab words.
Beyond education, I am aiming to make some final connections. With the Peace Corps program, I have a cache of resources and ideas. There are other types of water filter projects, recipes for making soap and menthol (a surprise favorite), and places that just give books away. I am under no illusion that I have the power or time to do everything that could be done but the least I can do is pass on some phone numbers. I am in conversations with a priest, a nun and a motivated twenty-two year old who has assisted my filter and latrine projects. The common phrase, Things will change if God wants, can be disempowering while instructions to make cleaning solvent might just counter that. It’s worth a try!
So this is it, one last semester to try! I will break out the sharp colored pencils, brush up on that good old community development manual and teach the verb “to be” for the eleventh time. That being said, I have three months left on a gorgeous Caribbean island and I have spent the better part of two years in the dirty desert border of Haiti where our only water source has Cholera! I think I can say I have done my time. Right now, I am headed to the lush cool north to translate for hernia surgeries while spending nights eating real food and taking hot showers. It is also whale season on the Samaná peninsula, the region often given the title of most beautiful beaches. In these last days, I hope to break out my swimsuit, jog without a dog defending stick, and visit friends who have been blessed with snazzy sites. While my life is sounding a little like an action movie or at least one that someone might watch, the truth is that my real most exciting moments last week were cracking open Entertainment Weekly that I had been saving (entertaining indeed!) and the night the power went off at the usual time and then came back on. The whole town cheered.
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