So, I don't know much about life on the other side of the pond right now, but over here time seems to be flying by!
Ok, so honestly, the first few months were a bit slow. Very, very slow. It was kind of one of those experiences where each day felt like a week unto its own. Each day I found myself trying to find something to do that was worthy of journaling about, or at least just writing down on the calendar, so that I could actually feel like I was getting something done and making good use of my time here in Gambia. And I had a fairly liberal outlook on what constituted something productive. For example... sweeping the house, visiting a new compound, learning a new word, starting a book, finishing a book, learning a new name of a food, napping, not napping, visiting the school, greeting someone new, or cleaning my bike all became quite worthy of topics to write down to show a successful day. And the key was to not do much more than one of them each day, for fear of not having something "productive" to do the next day.
I know, I'm here for two years to work on community and small-business development through an agricultural context, but, quite honestly, it is not easy.
But things have changed. And for the better! Now, instead of waking up and trying to decide what to do during the day to stay busy, it just happens. And it's great! Sometimes it can even be a bit overloaded with activity! Instead of going into great detail at this point, I hope my previous blog posts do a sufficient job of filling you in with my past and current activities.
However, at this point in time, just at 7 months in, my service is just over 1/4th the way through. And if time keeps speeding up as fast as the temperature keeps rising, this next year and a half will truly fly by! At this point I'm starting to look at the many projects going on and that I would like to get started and hoping there is enough time to get them well off the ground before my time here is done!
Today is actually my group's 7 month anniversary of serving with Peace Corps, which inspired me to put in this blog entry just to touch on that fact. The time here has treated me well. I've learned a ton about many things I'd really not considered before. I have learned a ton on topics I thought I understood fairly well. I've become much healthier (oddly enough...) I've eaten some odd things. I've made some amazing friends. And I've had some truly life changing experiences.
Additionally, I have been receiving amazing support from you, my family and friends, back in paradise! I thank you very sincerely for the cards, letters, emails, packages, phone calls, thoughts and prayers. I am extremely thankful for all you do to support my time and work here. Thank you!
All in all, it's been a good 7 months and I look forward to the next 20!
