18 months

today is exactly 18 months since i left the u.s. for the peace corps.  it's crazy to think it's been so long.  i can't say the time has always flown, but looking back it doesn't seem that long ago when i left behind my winter jacket and shivered my way from the car into newark airport.  i remember it so well, meeting my first friends in the miami hotel and getting lunch at a little mexican place.  little did i know that they'd end up being two of my best friends.  here we are last weekend at austin's village feast:

the last few weeks have had lots of ups and downs for me.  i've been overwhelmingly frustrated by some interpersonal and work stuff.  nothing new, which is the crux of the problem.  nothing changes despite a reasonable level of effort on my part, though i know i could try harder, but trying harder usually only leads to more disappointment when still i don't see any change.  it's difficult to resign one's self to mediocrity, but i seem to be doing okay with that.

in other news, i've been working a lot on getting my future together.  i've been studying for the GRE psychology exam (offered one day a year in dominica! oct. 9) and updating my resume and researching programs of interest every day.  i really missed studying and bettering myself intellectually.  my general level of motivation living here is noticeably lower unfortunately, but i am trying to power through and hoping that it's contextual and not something that'll come back with me to the u.s.

oh, as for the ups part, i went out east last week with michelle and another pcv (amirh) to assist another pcv (brian) with his summer camp arts and crafts.  we made friendship bracelets, bottle cap magnets, and tuna can bugs:

after, we went bathing in the rosalie river.  the spot brian brought us to has a deep emerald green pool with a mild current.  looking east you see where the river meets the sea framed with coconut, banana, and mango trees, waves crashing against the gentle river stream.

a few hours later we met up with simon, a friend of a friend who works w/ the sea turtle initiative.  simon drove us down to the beach where he and a few other men patrol the shores for turtles and poachers every single night from march till i think october.  the species are endangered.  6 of the 7 species of sea turtles worldwide live in the caribbean and a few of those species come and lay their eggs on the shores of dominica.  simon's passion, dedication, and knowledge for and about the turtles was humbling.  he showed us some spots where green and leatherback turtles have come ashore and dug out their nests; some of the holes were about 7 feet long, 4 feet wide, and maybe a foot or two deep.  the volunteers sometimes put the eggs into the hatchery (roped off area on the beach) where they can better monitor and protect them.  while we were waiting for turtles, simon showed us some constellations with this AMAZING laser pointer.  the thing seemed to reach right up to the stars.  the technology is beyond me, but it was a highlight of the night for sure.  it was a cloudy night so we couldn't see too many stars, but the puffy clouds were silvery in the almost-full moonlight.  the atlantic, as always, was rough, dynamic to quote simon.  we sat on volcanic rock talking, watching the sky and the ocean, waiting in vain for the turtles:

i stood alone for a while at the water's edge in awe of its power, rolled up jeans wet with warm salt water, ankles buried in soft sand, the sticky salt air getting in my hair, my lungs, remembering how good this feels, how much i miss the atlantic.