Letter to a Fellow PCV

Started writing this as an email to a fellow PCV who’s finishing his 2^nd year in Romania (Hey Marco), but then the internet cut out and I decide to turn it into a blog post:

Hey dude, sorry I haven't gotten to it sooner, but I imagine you know how it is. So, this is what Peace Corps is like. When I was getting ready to leave the US I had all the ideas and thoughts and expectations about what it would be like. How weird, strange, and different it would feel. But you know what? Today I forgot I was a PCV in Mozambique.

I didn't notice it until I was walking back from my sitemate’s house and snapped back into reality, but for a short time there I wasn't a PCV in Mozambique. I was just in Mozambique. After snapping back to reality, I was both excited and afraid. On one hand, it's great to finally be so fully immersed. After hearing so much about the importance of "cultural integration" and second goal activities, to finally not be worrying about it for a few hours was a relief. But, then the fear of losing myself came on, and the unknown territory that accompanies it.

What happens when I'm not sure if I'm a PCV in Mozambique? So much of my existence for the past 6 months, nay past 9 months, nay past 3 years, (when I first announced I wanted to become a PCV) was tied up in what a “Peace Corps Volunteer” symbolized. But today, I felt what it would be like to be without that cloak. Just like any other time you take off clothes, you feel at first naked and then liberated. Just in writing this note, I have gone from being scared of not knowing to who I am, to being excited about the opportunity to figure it out again.

Well here’s to the joy of discovery

Hope to hear from you soon,

Sam