COS

 Disclaimer: Views presented in this blog are those of Roger German.  They do not represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Peace Corps or the Government of the United States.

            This week is our Close Of Service (COS) Conference, though my service runs until October 22, two years and three months from when our group first came into Belize.  Three months of training, two years of service.  27 months.  Because Peace Corps is a government bureaucracy like the military, there are forms to fill out, reviews to complete, planning for life outside of Peace Corps sessions, reentry and readjustment sessions, administrative tasks, medical tasks…standard operating procedures. 

            It hasn’t caught me unawares, this winding down process, as I am old enough now to have a sense of how time passes in a breath and a blink, yet it is not without a sense of awe that I experience that process.

            I have become very comfortable here in Belize, and in my Peace Corps role.  It is possible to request an extension, to remain in-country for an additional 6 months to a year, and I considered this possibility, and am fairly certain I could have remained.  But I chose not to, as I think the reasons for going outweigh the reasons for staying.  Most of the work I started here will go on quite nicely without me.  When we are given our assignments, we are given our “counterpart,” or our “partner,” as the term has been changed in the short time we have been here.  Mine is the Mayor of Benque Viejo, Nicholas Ruiz.

            He and I have become good friends and we have shared many battles as we drew swords to cut through impenetrable thickets of red tape planted by the World Bank as they dangle dwindling amounts of money in what began as a BZ $30 million loan to the Government of Belize.  The loan is still $30 million; what comes down to the municipalities is about 2/3 of that; but that is another blog.  We ran a successful campaign to be named the Cleanest Community in Belize.  We have started park renovations, and should begin construction on an Adult Day Care facility yet this summer.  Other things too, but that’s not really what I’m thinking about now as I prepare for COS.

            I’m thinking of how Nick asked if I would consider staying, even though he knew I had made a decision to leave.  How that question came not just from the teamwork we had built, but from the friendship we have developed.  How we will miss the discussions we had in the many late night drives from one meeting or seminar to another.  We are not to become involved in politics as Peace Corps Volunteers, but in my position, I was neck deep in what remains after the politics.  And Nick, as Mayor of the second smallest town in Belize, was daily caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to chart a course between the politics of the day and the reality of the needs of Benque Viejo.

            I’m also thinking about “El Chiclero,” the small newspaper I started in Benque.  When I came to town, I became frustrated because I seldom found out about anything going on until the day of, or many times, the day after.  That, despite the fact that I am daily in the Town Hall where I have an office, and which should be a pretty good placed to find out what’s happening.  So I thought a monthly “newsletter” would be a good idea.  Well, it got out of hand, morphed into a newspaper, and does a pretty good job of tracking the goings on of the town.  But one of the things Peace Corps training instills in us is the reality that whatever you do needs to come from your community.  That way, the community will be better positioned to take ownership.  I really did want the paper to continue on after I left, my journalism background feeling the need for a community of this size to have some objective reporting.  And one of the reasons I was thinking of staying was to ensure El Chiclero would survive.  But that was my own ego getting in the way, and I had to come to that epiphany before I could mentally move on.  I didn’t come to Belize to become editor/publisher of a newspaper, though the thought did cross my mind as COS approaches.

            It is a tremendous opportunity to work at something very close to my heart, an opportunity that President Kennedy saw as a way to bridge the differences between the United States and the world at large, find those human similarities that transcend borders.

            The approaching COS brought this to mind, but I’m not winding down here yet.  I have almost three months more of getting up to enjoy each and every day, before I begin the next chapter, and from here that chapter looks great.  But that’s another blog.

Comments

[Dena Fisher]

Hey Roger. Came across this in my cyber travels. Very thoughtful and some of what I felt with my counterpart who also is an amazing person and continues to be a good friend. I know you are in "my" town today and tomorrow - hope you learn all good things for the future.

[Seniors Livinghome]

Wow! That sounds really awesome. I haven't been around for too long, but I am assuming that you have always had a love for the natural and getting back to the earth when looking for food. (what a thought, huh?) I thought Agave was good for you as well. What is it that makes it bad? How could it be worse than "corn sugar" which is what they want to change their name to.
adult day care
http://www.seniorslivinghome.com/AdultDayCare.htm

[Roger German]

...not sure that I follow the thread from SeniorsLivingHome...??

[Tristan]

wonderfull post. thank you for it