Life recently has had a tendency to operate something like a bicycle that lost its middle gears: either the pace of life and work is extremely relaxed [read "slow"], with much looking ahead to future milestones and goals...or suddenly everything seems to happen at once, and all of those once-distant milestones and goals have come rushing at me together -- leaving me exhilarated, but also fighting maniacally to keep the bicycle upright!
As I've written before, the process of adapting to a new culture and a new understanding of time and scheduling generally means learning to relax, and breath, and appreciate the process as it evolves. It often means letting go of one's own expectations about how things should get done, and by when, and charting future "goals" more as focus areas than as fixed points. I have most definitely come to appreciate this flexible approach, even when it means calling up more patience than we think ourselves capable of. And so after a year and a half of preparing for our park renovation, and with the sidewalks and benches already replaced, we suddenly found ourselves with cash-in-hand, ready to buy and plant our trees and shrubs. And in the blink of an eye, it was all done (see photos) and, in my opinion, looking fantastic! Standing there, gazing around at this beautiful revived park of ours -- the young saplings stretching skyward, townspeople chatting quietly on the benches, flowers and birds set against the blue sky -- it occurred to me that these are the moments we strive for. These often too-short, too-transient instances in which everything seems to coalesce, and imbue itself with logic and meaning, and our labors are validated. These are the moments we live for, as rare and fleeting as they are. And I was (and am) supremely happy that I could be a part of it.
Of course, following this "all-at-once" theme, I had to leave right in the middle of tree-planting to attend my Peace Corps Romania group's "Completion-of-Service" Conference, which traditionally takes place 3-months before our service officially ends (in late July). All of us in PCRO Group 21 arrived together way back in May 2006. And although there were plenty of post-Peace Corps topics to discuss at the conference (employment...gulp), most of us enjoyed the opportunity to get together one last time and simply reflect on our experiences. Out of our original group of around 75 volunteers, we have lost something like 13 (for various reasons) over the past 2 years. And it's important to note that 8 from our group are extending their service in Romania, anywhere from 6 months to a full year. Whenever we have all chosen to finish our Peace Corps service, I think it's clear none of us will be returning to our "other" lives as the same people -- if we return at all.
And then of course, immediately following our conference in Sinaia (in the southern Carpathians), I headed directly to Istanbul on the train, with a group of friends and fellow volunteers. As has been written about exhaustively in the past, Istanbul truly is an extraordinary city -- one that sits astride two continents as it straddles the Bosphorus. The city and its people represent a wonderful melding of Eastern and Western culture (dating back to the melding of Byzantine Christian and Ottoman Muslim culture). Not to mention the fact that they are unfailingly, perhaps even agressively, hospitable! Yes, store-owners and restaurateurs are very vocal in their sales tactics (traditions learned from the bazaar perhaps), but once they have your business, they outdo themselves in service, generosity and good-humor...even when serving miserly Peace Corps volunteers like ourselves! As in other cities of the world I've visited, my advice in Istanbul is to not get too caught up in the guidebook "checklists" scuttling you from one main attraction to another. Yes, Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern are all wonderful things to experience. On the other hand, I felt I had learned as much about Istanbul and its people -- more, in some ways -- by simply wandering its alleyways and neighborhoods. Sometimes I think it's easy to forget that these places we visit are not simply a collection of static monuments, but a living, breathing organism. And whether in the seething dynamism of the bazaar district, or afloat on the glistening Bosphorus, Istanbul is most definitely alive.
But I couldn't stay. I had to return to Timisoara for a friend's wedding, and after two straight days and nights on the train (and an amusing 3-hour layover in a tiny Bulgarian town), I made it. Of course 2 days after that, I found myself on the train again, heading back to Bucuresti for the Swear-in Ceremony of Peace Corps Romania's newest volunteers, Group24, whose training I had helped with back in February and early March. It's always a pleasure to see the energy and optimism that a new batch of Peace Corps volunteers bring with them. Indeed, after 2 years as one myself, I may be a more experienced and realistic volunteer -- but I would like to believe that my optimism and energy have not diminished.
All in all, these have been a hectic but invigorating past few weeks, filled with the sort of chaotic but somehow graceful experiences that have come to define my time in the Peace Corps: always learning, always improving (well, ideally), and always coming to a better understanding of yourself and the world you inhabit...even if just for a fraction of a moment.
I wish you all the best, and can't wait to see you again.
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