Leaving Epi

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Good Afternoon,

Yesterday, at noon, I left Epi.

Epi island had been my home for two years. The people there had been my friends, my community, and my family. As hard as it was to adapt and change when I first arrived, it may have been harder to leave. During my last days on the island, I shook many hands, there were farewell feasts, presents exchanged, promises given, and tears shed. Perhaps I’ll tell some of you about that, but not right now and not here.

I am in Port Vila and will be leaving the country next Sunday, November 4. During these eight days in the capital, there is work to take care of at the Peace Corps office as well as details to attend to before leaving the country. Some of my fellow volunteers are here, but many are from the new group and I don’t know them as well and their perspective is, of course, different. Four of us are leaving this week. The rest of my own group have either left already or will be staying for another year. So, there will be much to do and more goodbyes, but I suspect leaving Port Vila won’t be the same as leaving my little village.

Over the next few days, I plan to put a few more stories here and let you know about what I will be doing after Peace Corps. If you have any questions you’ve wanted to ask or something you’d like to know more about, please put that in the comments section. For now, know that I’m well, if a bit drained, and I’ll be coming back to America soon enough. I hope to see you there.


-- Daniel --