Beyond Diitabiki

A few weeks before I left for Suriname back in 2008, my father and I took a trip to Washington to visit graduate schools for after my Peace Corps service. By far my favorite school was Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. I knew of Georgetown’s reputation as the elite school for those who want to work oversees, but the students, far from being aloof, were very accessible, collegial, and passionate about engaging where they could help others. Moreover, I was delighted to find that my international experiences and academics were about par with most of the Georgetown students. In my last days in Raleigh, I gathered the information I would need to apply to graduate schools. In Suriname, I worked on my essays for months before applying to five schools in September last year.

On March 17th, at about 8:00 in the morning, my phone rang. My parents called, which is not typical for the middle of the week. Standing in the back of my one room house, I heard that I had been accepted into my dream school. I wandered around my house in a daze, feeling a bit like Rudy getting into Notre Dame. After the Peace Corps I will attend the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown, studying International Business and Commerce.

On July 7th, I left Diitabiki, my home of two years. The goodbyes lasted for three days, and they were not easy. The time has come, however, for me to go beyond Diitabiki. The lessons learned were irreplaceable, the challenges monumental, the experiences unforgettable. Along with this chapter of my life, I now bring this journal to a close.