Close of Service Conference

Now this is not the end, but it is perhaps the beginning of the end. It was 22 months ago that 69 of us flew from USA to Africa to serve as teachers and health workers here in Mozambique and now with just over 4 months left of service, Peace Corps brought the remaining 59 of us down to the capital to start the close of service chapter of our sojourn. Its an emotional time for volunteers. Arriving in the lobby of our fancy hotel we bumped into colleagues, some we had not seen since our swearing in ceremony in December 2009. The hotel is shwanky, especially when something as simple as running water is such a luxury to us now, so a bathtub with hot water in our room is almost overwhelming and oh so enjoyable. Unfortunately the pool is being rennovated, but the meal service has kept everyone happy and full including Luc, who has a weak spot when it comes to buffets, especially ones with four kinds of dessert. We also have our own TV with ESPN and got to watch the Giants edge the Philies in the first baseball transmission we've seen on this continent. We saw the bill when we swigned for the room, each day here is the cash equivalent of an entire month in site! But we're not dwelling on that desparity, this is a celebration of making it through this at times very trying, but always amazing Peace Corps ordeal together. As far as the content of the conference is concerned there is plenty of bland paperwork and formalities to occupy our three days, like specifying how we would like to receive our readjustment allowance, learning what our medical care will look like post service, and filling surveys quantifying our experiences. There's also a psycological and emotional component. Peace Corps staff wants to prepare us as best possible for the stresses of saying good-bye to our communities that have been our homes for the past two years and how not to freak out if our friends start asking us for our bed or our shoes or anything else that might be hoping we'll leave behind. Plus there will be the reverse culture shock when we reenter America. Apparently some of us will suffer from "Supermarket Syndrome," which basically means having an anxiety attack when we come face to face with US consumer culture after our spartan existence in rural Africa. Janet is anticipating Luc will be susceptible to this condition. We'll also have a two year gap in technology and pop-culture to deal with open arrival. Most of us don't know exactly what we'll do once our Peace Corps lives are behind us and the state of the world economy is disheartening, but those of us who have made it this far are a resiliant bunch, so I think we'll be ohkay. So after the emotional reunion came the even more emiotional good-byes as we return to our scattered locations across this vast country to complete our service. Because of our flight schedule we had an extra day in the city, so we spent it soaking in everything this cosmopolitan African capital has to offer, snacking on gelatto and pastries at sidewalk cafes, strolling the wide Acacia lined avenues, and visiting the lively taxidermies in the Natural History Museum, which has the worlds most comprehensive collection of elephant fetuses representing the full 22 month gestation of the gargantuan animal. But we're not done yet. We are just on inter-trimester break, and still have all of third trimester and organizing our provincial English Theater competition left to do, so there is no rest for the weary here in Peace Corps service! We can catch up on sleep in December when we get back to America.