Project Success, 4th of July, and Engaged Brother!!!

I am pleased to report that the composting project proposal that I have been working with a local farmers’ co-operative on for the past year and a half was finally submitted and fully funded by the United Nations! After continually having run into speed-bump after speed-bump, and experiencing a near red-tape mummification associated with trying to get money from international donors, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to think that I would leave here in September not having accomplished anything tangible with the co-op. God is faithful, however, and has his own perfect timing. The project will take place over the course of 2 years and construct 24 wind-row aerated compost pits at the co-operative, co-operative members’ farms, and at 9 schools. Kitchen waste will be collected from area hotels and paper waste will be collected from schools to provide some of the raw materials needed to sustain the pits. We also plan to conduct educational initiatives with schools and farmers to inform the public about the environmental benefits of composting. Even though it’s a shame that I won’t be around for much of the project’s implementation, I feel blessed to have been able to help the co-operative at least secure the funding.

The 4th of July was a couple of days ago and to celebrate, our Peace Corps Country Director had us over to her house for a barbecue. The 2nd Eastern Caribbean group to serve on St. Lucia (back in the 1960’s) was having a reunion on St. Lucia and joined us at the party. It was fascinating to hear about their experiences and about all the change that has happened in St. Lucia over the past 30 odd years. For example, the fact that it used to take 2 full days to get around the island rather than 3-4 hours. Or, that Pigeon Point, which is now connected to St. Lucia, used to be an island. One of the EC2 return volunteers expressed that “it’s hard not to feel old when geographic landmarks have changed during the course of your lifetime.” One of the volunteers also grew up in Vermont and lives about 15 minutes away from Middlebury. Peculiar…

So as my time is wrapping up I’m starting to think about what life post Peace Corps will look like. Besides teasing with the idea of applying to be a Peace Corps recruiter, I honestly don’t have much of a clue, so throw those suggestions at me. I do know one thing though. Before heading back home, I am going traveling with a few other Peace Corps Volunteers to Central America for about a month. First stop, Honduras. With the coup and everything plane tickets are dirt cheap, so we’ve got to capitalize. Sorry mom…bad joke. We’re still working out all the details, but we’re planning on starting out in Guatemala, hitting El Salvador and Nicaragua, and ending up in Costa Rica where we’ll meet up with a couple other volunteers, one of whom has a sister living there. I then plan to fly back to Middlebury in early October to visit some friends, and drop down to Boston and NYC as well before heading back to Kansas sometime in mid to late October. So, if you live in any of these places, let me know so I can hunt you down! After traveling I’m looking forward to heading back home to reconnect with my family, which seems to be pretty busy while I’m away. Cousins/friends getting married, babies on the way, and my brother’s engagement within the last week, which I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear. CONGRATS!!!