Rebecca Maureen: RPCV

That's right, folks, I am officially an RPCV- a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

There are so many emotions whirling around me... I officially closed my service September 24th, but due to a visa mix-up, I have been stuck in Manila for more than three weeks now.  Luckily I fly out tomorrow morning!  Off to India I go!  I'll be journaling a lot while I travel throughout India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, so I will probably post those once I get home in December!  I'm not sure what my internet access will be like til then.

Part of me wants to just GET HOME!  However I know I have some incredible things to see during the next 8 weeks... so Massachusetts can wait for a little while longer.  Thanks to everyone who kept up with this blog during my Peace Corps service; I hope it provided some insight into the culture of the Philippines and the life of a PCV.

If you watch 'The Office,' you know Andy Bernard, and how he was notorious for talking about how awesome his college experience at Cornell was.  In the finale episode, he reflects on his years working at Dunder Mifflin (the office), and how much he loved it.  He said now he saw his time there as the "good ole days."  Then he adds something like, "I wish you knew that you were already in the "good ole days" while you were still in them."  Well for me, I've known for a long time that Peace Corps is my good ole days.  It's going to be really difficult to find another job that gives me the freedom to do so many amazing, important projects all the time.  And a job with more than 100 colleagues whom I care about deeply.  And a job that teaches me not only professional skills but also about myself: who I am, who I want to be, and what I want in my life.

At the beginning of our training, Peace Corps Medical Officers tell us about the "Peace Corps emotional roller coaster."  It's a model of how your time as a PCV will, like roller coasters, have highs, lows, and in-betweens.  There will be times that throw you into exciting loop-de-loops, and others into downward spirals.  I'm not exactly sure what's in store for me once I get home in two months, but I hope I can find something that excites and challenges me as this experience did.

Anyways, again, thanks for reading!  I hope you enjoyed my chronicles-- look for more in December.  Although I won't be a PCV anymore, I might continue this blog if my life is still interesting enough to write/read about.  Haha :)