PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER ! ! !

After some soul-searching, a job resignation, adventures that took me across the Western U.S. and into Mexico, after a long and ambiguous application process, an equally ambiguous invitation to "one of six" nations in the Eastern Caribbean, after leaving friends and family, meeting and temporarily leaving new friends, and finally after seven weeks of training....I am officially sworn-in as a Community Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps.

That means my life is pretty much set until mid-September of 2009. I feel quite honored to say the least. Even the two national news stations gave some airtime to our Swearing-In ceremony we attended this morning in Castries. Above is a picture of the 13 volunteers starting service in St. Lucia along with our director and trainer.

My first couple weeks here in my new hometown of Mon Repos has provided me with a taste of what is to come over the next two years. Some days have felt extremely productive, as I have met with local school principals and began to formulate programs that I will be assisting in until the Christmas holidays. Other days have been quite the opposite, as much of the island's activity was brought to a halt with the memorials and funeral of the Right Honorable Sir John Melvin Compton, the "Father of St. Lucia". In other times, it has simply felt great to play futbol with the locals and start practicing with a local volleyball club. Needless to say, my perspective and inevitable expectations change daily as I experience more and more of St. Lucia.

As I strive to know my community well, it is necessary to exercise patience, perspective, a sense of humor, patience, initiative to reach out, a general flexibility with the scope of my work within the community, an unfailing optimism, and patience. The name of the small community I live in right now is actually called "Patience". Seriously.

All in all, the next two years are going to bring an incredible amount of challenges and I hopefully and idealistically look forward to the rewards that may come from my service in the community.

There's no where else I would rather be.