Mid-Service Crisis

Readjusting to life in Niger after my first vacation wasn’t easy. Having been out of my village for several weeks meant that it took about a week of being there to really feel like I was “back in the swing of things”. Saying goodbye to Vic again wasn’t easy, although it will only be 7 months, not 10, this time around. On top of that, I’m coming up on my one year mark, just about halfway through my service, and my projects are sort of in abeyance at the moment, as I’m waiting for funding to come through for a few things. This meant that I was trying to readjust while not really having anything in particular to do on a day-to-day basis. My prayer life took a bit of a dive, to be honest (which never helps anything, you’d think I would learn that?) And to top it all off I had a few very confused weeks in which I tried to figure out what I’m going to do after Peace Corps (Grad School? Where? For what? Etc, etc.) I’m chalking it all up to a “mid-service crisis”, during which I was plagued by questions like: what am I doing with my Peace Corps service/life? Why am I here? What am I accomplishing? Etc., etc. Oh and, it was the height of “hot season” here in the hottest country in the world. Basically… May was a long month.

But now things are looking much brighter. I’m still waiting on that funding… but I honestly love being in my village. I love hanging out with my villagers, or even just walking through town and greeting people. I’ve been re-evaluating my work plan for the next few months, and while things can be slow they are moving, so that’s encouraging. And I’m going to be going home for a couple of weeks this summer (in just about a month and a half!) to see friends and family and (finally!) meet my niece (!!), which I am beyond excited about. All in all, life is good. Crisis averted.