I realized this week that Peace Corps (PC) is my ‘college experience’. I never left home for college, I never experienced dorm life. I commuted from home my first year of college, then I left school to marry, by the time I went back I was single with 2 young boys. So, PC is my ‘college experience’, moving away from my family, sharing a dorm room and a large communal bath even though it was only for a couple weeks since I am now living with my host family.
Granted, it is not the same experience at 61 as it would have been at 18 but there are similarities. That 18-year-old is still in me and we approach relationships in much the same manner. I am friendly and pay attention, but I also hold back and don’t get too close too fast. I am more like the tortoise than the hare in most aspects of my life. In Pre-service Training (PST), like those first few weeks in college I imagine, things move a bit faster since you are truly separated from your family, friends, and everything ‘normal’ in your life. You find a few people that you can laugh with, commiserate with, and make sense of your new reality. Time will tell if these become my lifelong PC friends, but I think they will always remain a key element of my PC service.
The other thing I realized is that I have never truly lived alone, I have never set up a room just for me or a household just for me. I married Steve when my boys were still young and after I finished college. Of course, I set up households and rooms in the household but there were always other people, other loved ones, to consider.
I am looking forward to moving into my site as my first home alone. However, when I say it like that, it makes me sad because I would much rather be sharing my home with Steve.
Where's GranEllen? 