Es "hasta lueguito," no más

Right now I am writing this from the Peace Corps office in Quito.  I took a shower using the facilities here and felt like a diehard Peace Corps Volunteer because the water was FREEZING.  And I just blow-dried my hair for the first time in a couple years - by kneeling under the hand dryer in the bathroom.

It's been a long, exhausting, exhilarating week.  My training group - the people I arrived in Ecuador with two years ago, in June of 2010 - attended our Close of Service (COS) conference.  This is the last official conference we have as volunteers, with sessions on medical / administrative / readjusting to life in the States / future plans / reflecting on our time here.  Starting on the 19th of July, people will start going home and making the transition back to that nebulous thing floating in the air above our heads called real life.

Because I won't actually be leaving until December, seeing my friends go through their goodbyes and making all the necessary preparations for finishing work, packing up, and making one last jaunt to their favorite beach, etc., has been somewhat surreal.  Somewhat like the past two years have been.  So surreal, in fact, that my friend Claire and I wrote a whole series of haiku based on our experiences as PCVs in Ecuador and performed it at the talent show our group held during one of our last nights together.  Maybe I will post them here.  But only if you beg me to.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of my service thus far - and, I think, in sum - has been the deep friendships formed with other volunteers during the two years we've been abroad.  Upon leaving home, I'd venture to guess that most of us were focusing on what we wanted to accomplish as Peace Corps Volunteers: the relationships we wanted to form and the work we planned to do with natives of the foreign country in which we were placed.  I, for one, never expected to form such strong bonds with my training group (and other volunteers who arrived in country prior or since).  It will be hard to see everyone go.

But there were some really good things that came out of saying goodbye this week, such as:

- packing my apartment full of people before we all headed to the conference.  Hostal Jordan is free, hope you don't mind sleeping on the floor and the fact that there's no hot water.  But hey, we have fun.

- people stuffing their faces with marshmallows at the talent show

- eating Mexican food in Quito

- doing laundry for free at the training center

- people dressing up as ninjas and slicing airborne fruit with machetes at the talent show

- a bonfire and 5th of July fireworks (our apologies to the USA, but the 5th worked better logistically)

- reflecting on memories and anticipating the challenges of adjusting to life stateside with my fellow PCVs

- staying up way too late too many nights in a row playing improv games; conversing about things literary, personal, and lite; and getting our groove on

- watching in awe as people sang their hearts out and performed spoken word poetry at the talent show

- cringing in awe as one of my fellow PCVs got up on stage with a trash can and contemplated sharing with us his talent of vomiting at will (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he ended up performing rock ballads instead)

- walking outside at night to see the full moon lighting up the silhouette of the Andes against a starry sky

- cheering on my friends as they completed a half marathon

- doing a photo shoot with Claire and some llamas

- stuffing my face with five kinds of pie, and then going back for more (note: I did not do this alone)

- saying a big thank you to our program managers, who have been a great support during our service

...and who will continue to be so for me and a few others who are extending our service from anywhere from 3 months to a year. 

Though it's bittersweet to say goodbye, I can't help but anticipate what the coming months will bring.  And to all of you who are leaving: Ecuador won't be the same without you, and I will miss you.  I can't wait to see what you get up to stateside.  That also goes for friends who have already left, who may not have been in my training group.  I'm counting on you guys to pave the way and throw some advice and words of experience to those of us who have yet to cross that bridge.

Que le vaya bien - y con mucho cariño -
Jordi