For a person as fickle as me, Peace Corps is either the best or the worst opportunity possible. A majority of PCV’s worldwide described their service as a chaotic bi-polar adventure with high-highs and low-lows. It is the strangest thing in Cape Verde, some mornings I wake up exhausted, desperately chug coffee and am positive the day will be tiring and miserable. Then, with some mysterious batting of a butterfly’s wings in Indonesia, my day is perfect. I walk with confidence, my Creole is fluent, and I have the secure feeling that there is nowhere else in the world I am supposed to be in that exact moment. Of course then, there are days when I plan and prepare an event and no one comes except a creepy teacher from the high school to hit on me and I shut my eyes and imagine myself in the air-conditioning in Starbucks ordering a double-tall skim Hazelnut Latte. I can never predict what sort of day I am going to have and this is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. I do know one thing about myself, I thrive on this sort of nervous, indecision. I hate it but it keeps me engaged and interested. Unpredictability makes life interesting.

I went to the plant research in the part of my town where I supposed to live. As much as I try to be Zen and accept things happening however they happen, I can’t help but swallow bitter resentment that I was not placed in that part of town. It is set amidst rolling green mountains, there are several stores, the houses are located close to one another, it is a compact self-contained charming town. My zone is much more spread-out with less amenities. I was visiting the plant research center with another PCV, who wanted information on tree grafting and pressing sunflower seeds for oil. We were instructed to visit the extension nursery closer to my house. There we were warmly received by an older woman I knew but hadn’t realized worked there. She walked around with us, showed us the various fruit trees and demonstrated the grafting process. She showed us an almond tree—I had no idea almonds were grown in Cape Verde! The visit re-energized me and reminded me of all the possibilities, different areas I could focus on here…

I think this is the way the last few months of a PCV’s service are. It is a nostalgic time, to look at photos of yourself from a year and a half ago (how clean, how thin you looked!), to reminisce fondly over your service’s Greatest Hits (Photos- https://picasaweb.google.com/108337471352380659295/GreatestHits2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCIS4lubA9-fQDA# More Photos -https://picasaweb.google.com/108337471352380659295/GreatestHits20102011?authkey=Gv1sRgCP-x6Zi1n_69yAE#)

I remember talking to a PCV nearing the end of her service last year, everything she said was positively roses and I remember hating her for that. Isn’t that a funny manifestation of human nature? I suppose it’s a preservation tactic that we look back warmly about something we invested a lot of time in and that we all feel over-all positively about it.

While I do not yet have an actual C.O.S. (close of service) date, my projected one is for September. The days are passing much too fast. The weather has become warmer to compliment my newly found optimism and I’m torn between spending my days trying to plan projects or tanning while sipping Brazilian cocktails on the beach.

As much as I miss sushi and driving, I don’t think I am quite yet ready for America…