So
here it is, my final post about my travels in Mozambique and other
parts of Southern Africa. For those of you still reading these
updates after two years, thanks for listening. It means the world to
me that I had the opportunity to share my experience with you. If at
any point in the future you (or a family member or friend) has
questions about Peace Corps, life in Southern Africa, or my
experience there, please please email me. I love to share what I've
learned with others. Speaking of sharing, here are the top 100 (or so) photos from my two years in PC: https://www.facebook.com/
I
cannot believe I have already been home from Mozambique for over a
month. It seems nearly impossible that my time there has already come
and gone. I left for Mozambique over two years ago, and somehow all
that time has now passed without me fully appreciating how quickly it
was happening. There are days I wish I could have stayed there even
longer, but then I think of all my family and friends here in the
States and know that as much as I love all my new friends in
Mozambique, I was ready to come home.
Many
things have changed in the past two years and at the same time many
things are the same. I've learned a new language, gone on safari,
taught high school students English and young women self-defense,
painted public service murals, swam in the bioluminescent Indian
ocean, and so many other things that sometimes I can't even keep it
all straight. I've seen beauty, heartbreak, hardship, and love.
Growth and destruction, life and death. I saw all these things in
some form every day, and I will never forget the time I spent there.
I've felt lost. I've felt passionate. I've felt scared, alone, and
enraged. I have no doubt I have come home a different person for the
things I experienced, but I also have no doubt that the love I have
for every person and the belief I have in the overall good of
humankind will never be shaken, never be broken.
There
were days both in the past two years and before I ever laid eyes on
African soil that I wondered what was wrong with our world. How can
we (those of us fortunate enough to be born in the richest countries
on the planet) sit around while millions die of starvation and
disease when we have the ability to help and make a difference? How
can we not be outraged by the inequities and injustices that surround
us? I've learned that while things always seemed black and white when
I was growing up, nothing is simple. Helping others is not easy, nor
is it as straightforward as I always believed. Trying to do good in a
foreign country is especially difficult because even after living for
years in a culture and learning the language, there are so many
intricacies we cannot see and so we cannot fully understand or
appreciate how our efforts might affect things on a larger scale.
That
being said I have never regretted my decision to join the Peace
Corps. I know many people, including some of my loved ones, couldn't
fully wrap their heads around my reasons for doing so. And while they
were still supportive of my choice, which I very much appreciate, I
wish they could have been there with me. I wish I had the words to
properly explain how deeply I felt the need to see beyond our
nation's walls. To see how people on the other side of the world are
living every day, and to live with them, so that I will never forget
how lucky I am and I will never take for granted all the things I
have in my life. Food, shelter, family, education, freedom. Things
that so many of us have in abundance and are so easy to abuse and
mistreat. We are all so blessed and I needed to give back in any way
that I could to people who don't have those things. I know there are
some people in the U.S. in those dire straights, but there are
countries full of people who spend every day wondering when their
next meal will come or how they can possibly send their children to
school. They pray and they beg and, yes, sometimes they steal to make
ends meet and feed their families. But I try so very hard not to
judge them, even if it's from me that they're stealing. Because, just
like me, and just like you, they are just doing the best they can
with what they have.
I've
learned so much and seen so many things, and what I never understood
before I came here was that while I've tried hard to improve lives
here, my life has been changed far more than any lives I've changed
in return. I've worked hard and tried my best and honestly can say
I've made a difference, even if only in the littlest of ways: A girl
who now believes she can go to university and have a career. A boy
who has learned to use his skills for the greater good and not just
selfish pursuits. I know I will never forget my time here. I know it
will always be with me, helping me to try to do the right thing.
Whether it's donating to charity, volunteering on the weekends, or
spending my life campaigning for more foreign aid, I will not let the
people I've met or the hardships I've seen leave me. I will try my
best to do good, and persuade others to do good as well. Democrat,
Republican, Independent, or politically apathetic, we can all do
better to help our fellow humans wherever we are. And that's what
I've learned in the past two years, and that's the message I wish to
share with you all today. Do good things, big or small, because no
matter how much of a difference you make to others, the difference in
yourself will always be greater.
Estamos
juntos! (We are together!)
I
love you all and I wish you the happiest of holidays.
~Alissa
No comments:
Post a Comment