This is Just a Tribute

Our PC group, Nov06 Swearing in Ceremony at the Ambassadors House

Amanda, Hannah, Brett, Courtney, Me, Christina

Tiffany, Erin, Alexis, Jess, Nora, Carrie May

This blog is a tribute to my Sep06Uganda group. Peace corps is a job unlike any other. You apply not knowing which country you will be going to. You go to the country not knowing what kind of organization you will be working with. You go to work at your organization and are usually the only American for a radius that always seems just a bit to big. They say it is the toughest job you will ever love. Toughest is a light word… We struggle against/with cultural differences. We combat worms and intestinal parasites. We spend a lot of our time camped on public transport, twisting our bodies into shapes we never thought possible all for the cause of fitting that extra goat or chicken into the already crowded car. Yet, most of the time, we love the job because of so many reasons. When I came to Uganda in September 2006, I came with a group of 12 extraordinarily strong women. We are now a group of 7 as some have decided to leave the Peace Corps and return to America. First Nora, then Alexis, Carrie May, Tiffany and most recently, Jess who left Uganda for various reasons, but will never leave our hearts, nor the heart of the communities they worked with! They have given so much to their organizations, their communities, Uganda and to me. Their positive (and sometimes, but as equally appreciated sarcastic and realistic) attitude has helped me get through on so many occasions. We have grown so, so much together: two months of training, learning how to ride bikes in skirts (Alexis), learning how to use the impossibly small facilities (Nora), learning how be alone and still have ‘fun’ (Carrie May), learning how to be okay with talking to the lizards (Tiffany), learning how to open bottles with out a cork screw (Jess) the list could continue for miles. They will forever be part of our small, but mighty PC group and part of my heart. I love you girls, get ready for visits from me in the states starting January 2009!