Back in the USA

As I transition back to living here in America, I hope to use this blog as a way to reflect publicly on my three year experience living and teaching abroad, and make connections to what's happening here. As people have been asking about my transition home, there's one word I've used a lot: overwhelming. The pace of life, attitudes about competition, the engrained sentiment that we have to 'succeed' at all costs, unending work weeks, communication styles I'm not used to - I should probably keep going and get it all out. At any rate, I'm in the thick of my transition back to life here in America, and it's been a tough adjustment in some ways. In other ways, my iPhone has made connecting to friends and family very easy, driving on US interstates is indescribably better than on Weno roads, and dressing comfortably is a far cry from the same pair of tattered yellow & grey shorts that I kept from the beginning. And when I freak out because the wireless at my house blinks off, I have to remind myself - first world problems. I kept a journal while I was in Micronesia, and it's my hope that I'll be disciplined enough to beginning posting some of those posts here, in lieu of having done it over the course of my time on .25 square mile islands. I'm also going to integrate my work at Baldwin Center into this blog, because this new adventure working for a faith-inspired, human services non-profit is a continuation of a professional journey in relationships. When asked what the best part of the Peace Corps was, my answer has never changed: the relationships I formed with my Mochese family, friends, church, and coworkers at the school. Now I'll be making relationships with people in Pontiac, Michigan, with the goal of feeding, clothing, educating, and empowering folks who are in need. So, stay tuned as I tie together the old and new, the Micronesian and American, the island-life with the city-life, and the sand with the snow.