ETing

A good friend of mine is thinking about ETing, Peace Corps talk for Early Termination, going home early. I understand she’s having a hard time working in her site, and I don’t want anyone to stay if they’re unhappy, but I also hate to lose her. And it seems to me that lots of us are having hard times in our sites – teachers don’t want to work, schools close for rain, teachers put pretty pictures on their wall and think that’s all they need to do, people don’t show up for meetings, meetings get cancelled. It’s not hard to convince yourself that you’re not having much of an impact some days.

But there’s something in me that says, it’s still worth it. Maybe I need to focus for a day on the cultural exchange part of our mission, maybe I need to take a break and spend time with my friends, maybe I need to realize that my vision of what training teachers could or should be like is not the reality of my site. Somehow I get over the hump, and I eventually to and come to a place where I can feel good again about my service and my decision to join Peace Corps and my impact here in Tacuati. I hope my friend can get to that place too.