August has been busy. In the beginning of the month, the editorial group of Hajde Hajde, the Peace Corps Albania newsletter, met to put the Summer 2010 issue together. I’m very proud with what we’ve created. After the weekend-long meeting, it was off to Tirana for the conference I’ve spent the last two months planning. It was nice to see people getting something out of it as well as to be recognized for the work it took. Now that all these things are over, I can actually breathe a little bit and enjoy the rest of the summer. And then there’s the birthday celebration in Berat again this year.
Birthdays normally aren’t a huge deal for me. Yeah it’s nice to get together and have a party, is it that important that another year has gone by? I look at my birthday like I look at New Year’s: it’s a time to reflect on the past year and think about the changes that need to be made for the next. Well over the halfway point, I’ve made a list of things I’ve learned this year and what I want for my “new year.”
1. The best decision I’ve made all year was living in a host family. They have been good to me, they’ve taught me so much, and they’ve been my light in the dark.
2. What constitutes a good relationship and how to maintain them. This year has been full of interpersonal inconsistencies, ups-and-downs, distrust and irresponsible or unreliable people. Some of this is situational due to the stress and inconsistencies of life here. It has lead me to reassess my life here and the people in it, hopefully learn from my own mistakes, and make sure that my second year here is a bit more positive on the interpersonal front.
3. Responsibility. Peace Corps doesn’t hold your hand. For the most part, you’re by yourself. No real performance reviews and limited visits from Peace Corps employees to my site. It is up to you to make the most of your service since a lot of it is just on an honor system. This leads to lots of volunteers milking the lack of any oversight for all it’s worth.
4. Emotionally complicated people and poor communicators. I’ve learned a lot about dealing with these types of people, enough to know that maybe I shouldn’t take any of these things personally. People handle their emotions and how to express them very differently. I need to be more patient with people that are different from me and definitely more empathetic.
5. Rediscovering the magic of reading (and reconfirming what my professors always told me: “Sofie, you need to be with an intellectual.”) Physically, I’ve been in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Egypt. Mentally and emotionally, I’ve been to: Africa; India; Barcelona; the Libyan Desert with Saint-Exupery; Uzbekistan; Chicago’s Wrigley Field; Italy; the Devil’s Highway; 1950s Iowa; and the former Yugoslavia. Not bad considering the flight to Egypt was $650 but all the other “travel” I’ve done was free.
6. Exercise. For the last couple months, I’ve done 30+ minutes of cardio and other exercise 5+ times a week. It’s especially helpful in dealing with stress, but sometimes it’s just a nice way to clear my head. I’ll probably end up with a gym membership (gasp!) starting in the fall to help with winter doldrums.
7. Simplifying my life. I think we’re all guilty of overcomplicating things, especially when it’s really unnecessary. Reassessing my life and relationships here combined with removing myself from negative, unnecessary situations has already gone a long way.
8. Not giving into the temptation of comparison. Everyone’s situation is unique. We aren’t in a competition to see who can do the most. We aren’t here to critique others who don’t do as much. We are just here and we’re responsible for our actions, and that’s enough to keep us busy for a while.
9. Looking at an international future. It’s time to start that job search again, and it seems like every article I read in The Economist is telling me more bad news about the American labor market. As much as I wish I could find a good job in the US, I’m not so sure it’s possible. In many ways I think the US is just done. Not that anywhere is perfect, but looking at numbers, cost of living, educational opportunities, etc., Germany still looks like a pretty great place. On paper it looks better than the US, without a doubt.
10. Not being able to please everyone. This is something I’ve always known, but never really had to learn like I’ve learned it here, especially in dealing with difficult people. Sometimes you just need to take a step back.
No comments:
Post a Comment