Life after Peace Corps

As my time comes to an end, I am starting to think about what I would like to do once I am home. When I say that I am thinking about what I want to do, in this instance I am not referring to my future, although I have thought of that, but rather the activities I would like to do for enjoyment. Being in the Peace Corps for two years has seen my life revolve around simplicity.

The other day I was sitting in my town on a hot day and all I wanted was a pool. I dream of a hot summer day in California. No work and a bunch of friends and family surrounding the pool in my backyard. I dream of a barbecue cooking burgers and hot dogs with a bag of chips surrounding fresh guacamole, a cooler full of corona and music playing in the background. As the day moves on it gets too hot to handle and I am forced to do a front flip into the deep end of the pool to cool off. Although it rains a lot here in Panama I was unfortunate enough to be placed in a community that doesn’t have a large river. There are several creeks that flow throughout the town but not one of them deeper than two feet. For this reason I dream of a pool. I grew up around the water and there is nothing more refreshing to me than to submerge myself completely in cool water on a hot summer day.

I want to go on a bike ride. In the middle of my service the government came and gave all of the children in the school new bikes. They obviously ruined them within a couple months but still I was jealous. I am allowed to ride a bike here but never thought it to be a reasonable purchase. Likewise I want to drive a car. I have gotten into going on long walks because it is the only form of transportation I have in which I don’t have to wait on slow, lazy, Panamanians. I dream of the ability to go where I want to go when I want to go there. The hours of my day could be so much more usefully if I had my own car.

SURF. I WANT TO SURF! It has been hard being here because I can’t surf when the waves are good. I missed a great El nino right when I got down here and was forced to hear about all of the great waves I was missing. Secondly, I was placed within an hour of an island that does have some good waves, only to be able to visit this island once every three months. Don’t get me wrong, I have surfed a few times and I did get lucky with some good waves but compared to the amount I used to surf I am hurting on water time. I want to surf. I can’t wait to get home in June and go straight to the beach. I don’t care how small the waves are, if there are waves I am going to surf.

I also look forward to the ocean in general. I am going to spend all of the time I can at the ocean. If there is no surf I am going to go fishing, diving, or swimming, whatever I want to do. I am going to enjoy the ocean and all of its glory. Being here has made me realize that when I finally settle down I am going to have to live near the ocean.

Those are a couple of the things that I want to do. I want to enjoy the things that I miss the most in Panama. I want to return to the life I had before I came to Panama. I know that I have changed as a person and will return to the United States stronger and smarter but my desires and the activities I enjoy haven’t changed. Being without the ocean and water for two years has been a strain on me. It was one of the things that I never thought would get to me the way it has. I was raised in the water and I will always be around some sort of water.