Back in the USA 02/19/08

Unborn tommorrow and dead yesterday - why fret about them if today be sweet?
Omar Khaygameque

Ceasing My Service, or COS, as the Peace Corps refers to it, was a long 3 days. There were 53 of us from 4 different entry groups. Some, like Heather, had only completed their initial training two months ago. Regardless of length of service, we each had our reasons for being sad and angry and generally discouraged. Even with the full days of paperwork (almost as much as it took to get in the PC), medical exams and tests, and the endless hours of listening to administrative processes, we still found time as a team to laugh and cry together. They did provide a psychologist on site that each group formally met with and he was available for informal session’s one on one. Hey, I even have an authorized 127E form that allows me to charge the Federal government for 3 personal sessions with the psychologist of my choice back in the States.

The form shows a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress syndrome......ouch! I am not quite sure I like being called a victim of PTSS. One, while I was under stress daily for my 16 months here (the hair loss, stomach cramps, and general fatigue were consistent symptoms) I am not sure I would not have called it a syndrome. I just viewed it as a passing situation that would change when I finished my work in Kenya. Even with the civil unrest for the last two months, I never felt so at risk that I panicked. Yes, the daily tension in the village and the inability to accurately predict what was safe or unsafe on any given day that I traveled to Mombasa did wear me down, But, while you are in it, you just continue to think it is going to get better.

So, then, the civil unrest doesn’t get better; daily it just gets a little worse, You mentally and emotionally tuck it away saving it up and barely noticing that it is now a part of who you are. The fretting and worrying increases a little each day and then you add the fret and worry about what would happen if you get evacuated. You still go on telling yourself it will get better….and it doesn’t. I am now not clear if the trauma I am going to be treated for was a build up of all the small stuff or is just the “BIG” trauma of being pulled out of Kenya without my consent and full agreement. So, I guess it is official…..I have PTSS.

I treated myself to a side trip to Dubai on my way home from Kenya. That was such a good decision! Dubai, an Emirate in the United Arab Emirates, is a city made out of desert land right on the Arabian Gulf. Over the last 5 years it has grown from a small, growing port to an international population of over 1 million and has become a Middle East hub for commerce, entertainment and anything else the mind can imagine. It has the look of Los Angeles with all the highways, the feel of NYC when you are in the streets, the excitement and allure of Disneyland (they are now building a Dubailand) and all the entertainment of Las Vegas. The area has a rich Muslim heritage even though the city only really dates back 100 years or so when the first port was established. My hosts for the week were Abed and Mimi, friends from Bowling Green State University. They were more than gracious in showing me the area (Mimi is an excellent tour guide) and introducing me to their friends. More importantly, they incorporated me into their routines and life so I had a nice taste of normal; at least Dubai normal! It definitely lessened the stress I was experiencing during that last week in Kenya.

I arrived in Atlanta a few days ago and my son has graciously taken me in while I figure out next steps. I still have some leftover Peace Corps stuff to deal with…..an intestinal parasite and starting a pro-active treatment for malaria that requires some follow up lab work. All this means I have to find a doctor that takes government reimbursement and hang around a little longer than I planned to do the follow up lab work on the little parasite once they start me on the meds.

Car buying and phone buying have occupied my time. Phones in Kenya are cheaper, services is more affordable and there are no hidden charges…….they do prepaid for almost all wireless and once you buy the card, you can use it any way you want, voice, data or text. Here, everything has an up charge or add on to the plan……trust me, Americans are paying way too much for less technology than the rest of the world.

Everyone I talk to wants to know my plans………well, I hope to live in or near LeClaire, Iowa. My son, John, and his wife, Darah, and their beautiful daughter, Guthrie are moving closer to his job in Bettendorf. LeCalire may be just the right distance for a mother and mother-in-law to be away from them, yet close enough to be an involved grandmother. I do intend do keep working on behalf of LifeWorks through the end of the year doing some sales and marketing on the US side. I am also hoping to attach myself to another not for profit on a part-time basis. I have signed up for Peace Corps Response which is short-term assignments of 3 -6 months and hope to be on the national and international response team of the Red Cross.

I am re-reading this blog and I am hit in the face with the busy retirement I am planning for myself. I may need to readjust this plan as it unfolds…….but I like having options, so the goal is to explore everything for the present and pray I make right choices in keeping with God’s plan for me. I am hoping the future holds some travel and adventure “light” for me. I may have to change my blog to Patty in Retirement………

Thanks for being a part of this last 18 months with me and I hope you will continue to be a part of my life adventures as they unfold.

Special note: to all those who have contributed to the orphans and vulnerable children project. The money has been left in safe hands, another American, who will work with a trusted advisor to see the desks, text books and other needs of the children are met. Together, we raised over 500,000 Ksh, which equals about $7,000. Desks that seat two children cost $18.00 to build. That means we can build a lot of desks for the 6,000 children served by the OVC. Thank you for making a difference.