Reflections at the Halfway Point

I knew the time would go by fast – Motasim said six months was just enough time to get there, figure out what you’re doing, do it and say goodbye. This is week 13 out of 26 – a good time to reflect on what I have done so far and what I still hope to do.

Work is definitely front and center in a way that it wasn’t during my service in Morocco. There, I really felt that the technical assignment was but one of three goals, and that experiencing the culture and getting by on a daily basis were central to my service. Here, I spend much more time and energy on work – but that’s one of they key differences between Peace Corps Response and the regular 27-month program. The work has been exciting and rewarding – for a while now I have been saying that I wanted to do marketing for a non-profit and here I am confirming that (at least as one possible direction – government service continues to be another, as does other development work). I now see how marketing - both fundraising and communications – is a vital part of humanitarian aid. I may have gotten more than I bargained for with the typhoon/flooding relief effort, but I feel all the more that I am making a needed contribution and also getting some valuable experience. If I could find a job like this and an organization like this when I am finished here, I would be quite content. In the meantime, I am trying to make the most of it while I am here, because I know it’s a tough market out there and some compromises may be required. What would I give up in order to work on something I feel passionate about – Salary? Location? Leisure time? Responsibility? Organizational culture? I won’t know the answers to that question until I have an actual choice to make, but it’s a welcome experience for me to be passionate about what I am doing and it’s something I’ve hoped for, so I’m not taking this time lightly. I also have a lot of flexibility in my work – something I have also craved and will continue to hope for.

I feel I’ve gotten a lot done so far – solid prospect lists, appeals lists and inroads, with plenty of time left to explore more of the paths I initially came up with when I was brainstorming. At the same time, if the disaster response means that I don’t get as much of my initial plan done as I thought I would, I will have worked on that immediate need, and I will still leave Habitat for Humanity Philippines with some accomplishments and also some avenues to pursue that they may not have considered before.

I’m doing well at seeing the Philippines, too, with my weekend trips and vacations taken and planned. I did do research and I did make a list of what I want to see, but I think I’m a more relaxed traveler after my plan-as-you-go post-Morocco trip. That may also be a function of the nature of the Philippines – with hot weather it’s hard to go-go-go all day, and with beaches and nature, part of the activity is allowing for some inactivity. I still have several major trips planned and the majority of my vacation days yet to take. I haven’t decided on anything yet for post-service – I feel I still have time before I have to decide anything about that.

I don’t feel I have as much time on my hands as I did in Morocco (or Southampton), so I haven’t done all of the reading and writing I brought with me to do, but if it’s because I’m working more, that’s okay – I don’t feel the “you should be doing more” pressure I used to constantly put on myself. I feel both nutritionally-challenged and fitness-challenged, but I am working on both of those. I haven’t done as much language recently as I did when I was first here – I haven’t given up yet, but I have revised my goal down from comprehending most of what’s said around me to having a few solid phrases and being able to make light conversation, and I’m just about there.

I haven’t played a single hand of cards. But I’ve gone out more to restaurants and bars. I’ve spent more time with other volunteers than I have with host country nationals, but I still have some opportunities for cultural exchange. I realized something recently – I baked some brownies for Marilee in Thailand and a chocolate bread pudding for Martha in Los Angeles. After that, I never used the oven in Southampton because it looked a little daunting (and because my sister said she never used it either). I don’t have an oven here – so I could conceivably go an entire year without using an oven!

In the late innings of a lopsided game this week, with the Dodgers down, Vin Scully wondered if there was anyone at all out there listening, and why they would be (I wanted to scream back, “I am, Vin, and it’s because of you!”). I couldn’t help but think of this blog – who is really out there reading it? But I know that there are people out there – those of you who have told me so, and maybe some who haven’t? – and I thank you for reading. And for caring.