Packing

I have less than a day before my adventures begin. Tomorrow morning I will fly from Raleigh to Miami for a two-day staging event, and on Saturday around 1 AM I will be in Suriname. During staging I will meet my twenty-something fellow volunteers and receive a short orientation to the Peace Corps in general. Most of my training, however, will take place in Suriname itself as I am immersed in Surinamese culture, language training, and jungle survival (they call it “safety,” but jungle survival sounds better).

With the exception of my backpack, the Peace Corps limits me with two bags at a combined maximum of eighty pounds to last me twenty-seven months in Suriname. This is on purpose; Americans showing up with a lot of stuff may not send the right message! I have to be careful with the number of books I can take, and while I am prepared to make sacrifices, the prospect of living without Calvin and Hobbes for over two years is starting to hit home.

I took a trip to Hillsdale College last week to see many of my friends one last time before leaving the country. I was able to play Frisbee, swing dance, and tell a myriad of stories with friends, making my final visit just about perfect. Since I graduated in three years, I was able to watch all my friends that I entered college with walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. It was a little strange to sit in the audience, but at the same time it was encouraging that once again we all were starting major chapters of our lives together, though in many different places. Adding alumni, professors, and parents, I suppose that I had never before been among so many of my friends in any one place. As I was so close to leaving for Suriname, I realized that graduation would be the last I would see of my friends for at least two years. We will all be different when I get back, but the permanent things of friendship will not, and that holds good hope.