Unexpected Transitions

For those of you who don't know, I have spent the past 45 days in the U.S. on medical leave. I'm sorry if that comes as a surprise, but I didn't want to alarm anyone unnecessarily. Nor did I want to write before I had any concrete information to share. 

Medically, I am fine. Fine in the sense that what I have is not anything that is putting my life in danger. As sometimes happens in foreign cultures, my body picked up a virus that it's having trouble fighting. A virus that has convinced my stomach that solid food is the enemy. Doctors here in the U.S. have told me that it will likely take a minimum of six months for my body to recover completely. And because the ideology of the Peace Corps is so dependent on the volunteer's daily, physical presence in his/her community, I have been medically separated from my service. Meaning that I will not be returning to Ecuador as a Peace Corps volunteer.

I have had 45 long days to think about this reality. To hope against it. To fear it. To slowly come to terms with it. And while life keeps moving and demands that I begin the search for a new job, there are moments each day when my breath catches in my throat as I remember again that my time in Ecuador has come to an end.  

In this unexpected time of transition, these words by Wendell Berry have provided much needed perspective. 

"Most people are looking for a 'better place,' which means that a lot of them will end up in a worse one...There is no 'better place' than this, not in this world. And it is by place we've got, and our love for it and our keeping of it that this world is joined to Heaven" (Hannah Coulter 88).

Place. Our love for it. Our keeping of it. Right now my place is here in Connecticut. It is not a better or worse place than Ecuador. There is meaningful work to be done here, and kind, beautiful people with whom to be present. There are lessons to be learned and opportunities for growth. There are blessings and so much for which to be thankful.

That being said, I will be on a plane to Ecuador the minute my body is healthy enough to visit the country and people who welcomed, inspired, and changed me. To the Carrion and Hidalgo families, the staff and families of Juconi, PC Ecuador, and Omnibus 110 - thank you. I am better for knowing you.