It’s been about one month since I returned to the USA, and almost two since I left Senegal. I miss my village, friends and host family dearly, but it is also wonderful to be reunited with so many loved ones stateside. I am honestly handling the transition better than I anticipated. Life in the USA is so much an engrained part of my entire life experience that it just feels normal. At the same time, my outlook on everything has changed due to the experiences I’ve had over the last three years.
I want to extend the biggest THANK YOU I possibly can to all of you who supported me throughout this journey with your letters, packages, skype calls, texts, prayers, and positive thoughts. There were many tough moments, and what kept me going was the love for my village and the knowledge that I had all of you in my corner.
As is often said in the Peace Corps community, volunteers end up taking away more from their host communities than they give, and I am certain that is no different in my case. The people of Senegal taught me many things throughout my Peace Corps service. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is best summed up in the children’s book “Old Turtle and the Broken Truth” when “…as the people met other people different from themselves, they began to see…themselves.”
Senegal is an amazing country filled with loving and caring people, and I have no doubt that it is just one example of many like it around the world. So in this tumultuous time filled with so much fear, hate, and doubt, please remember that we are all one, brothers and sisters united on this earth to bring peace and prosperity to all those who seek it.
I leave this thought with you in this final blog post and thank you all again for your everlasting support.
 |
| WOAH! We're done! |
Thanks for reading. Peace and love,
Lindsay
