Linearity II

Body Lines
Good news! Using the brace has helped my arm to reach its greatest extension yet. Bonus: working on extension has also lead to gains in flexion. I’m amazed at how far my arm has progressed since August, but am très enthousiaste about maintaining this rate.

Timelines
In my last post, I pondered the seemingly convoluted evolution of my academic interests and career paths. Today I wanted to zoom in on a section of my lifeline and reflect on how this little incident interrupted my supposedly linear Peace Corps experience. Our medical team and administration in Host Country stressed the cyclical nature of the experience (emotional highs and lows, periods of frenetic energy and others of dormant torpor) and that each Volunteer’s experience was unique. Stuck in my competitive goal-setting ways (the dangers of inspirational posters!), I thought quand même that I had a pretty good idea of how my time would go. Secondary Education seems to have a pretty defined rhythm which corresponds to l’année scolaire (the school year).

Coming back from site visit, I was blown away by how different everyone’s living and working situation would be. Some were matched with eager counterparts who offered opportunities à gogo, while others would have to do some more digging to find out what the community wanted and how they as Volunteers could help. While recovering in Unbloggable Events LandTM, I spoke with other Volunteers who suggested mille et une variations on how to “make it your own” - working with your site to develop children’s camps, improve healthcare facilities, nurture nascent small enterprises.

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a bit apprehensive as to how I’ll fit in since I’m off the calendrier normal. Heureusement, everyone has been very supportive and this little detour will just add some more spice to my future stories.