a year ago today

I arrived in Romania a year ago today and what a year it has been. The one thing that I have learned it that no matter what Peace Corps country you are in there are always going to be challenges. I may not be in the middle of Africa or on some island in the middle of the ocean but I am no less isolated. My site mates will be gone and though the nearest American is only about 4 hours away it is too difficult to get there. Yes I have many of the amenities I had in the US but I still have to make all my own food, I have to light my stove and oven by hand. Despite to physically being in the middle of nowhere I am still in the middle of nowhere.

In the last year I have gone through so much and it all seems to have happened so fast and yet moments I thought things would never end. I have dealt with crazed students; compete technology break downs and countless other problems. I don’t think anyone could ever expect what it is like to live in a world not your own. The loss of language and culture is nothing that can be prepared for. I thought that I could manage just fine out here all alone. I guess you never know how you will react to a situation until you are in it.

I have learned more than I ever thought I could here. Kids are kids no matter what country you’re in and life does not stop just because you’re a world away from everything you know. This is an endurance test like nothing found in the world. In Romania the hardest thing is not being able to see the difference you are making and accepting that you can only measure your success by how your work changes you. A year ago I was a different person and a year from now I will be a different person then I am now. No matter the hardships and the time when I wish I could just go home I will never regret my life here. I am livng in the middle of nowhere and in 13 months I will return to a world I no longer understand.