Learning a New Dance

A good friend recently told me tradition is all about learning to dance a new dance.

Although this statement may sound simplistic to a word with a lot of heavy meaning for some, it is something I’ve been reflecting on a lot lately. With less than two months left in my Peace Corps service in Malawi, I will soon be facing a new transition. I will soon need to learn a new dance.

But sometimes dancing is hard (at least for me). And transition is hard. It’s really hard. I actually think that transition is one of the most difficult things we face as humans beings. However, just because transition may be scary and is sometimes difficult, it does not mean that transition is not also a beautiful journey that we face through different phases of our lives. Transition helps us grow. It's extremely important. And, it can sometimes even be fun...just like learning to dance a new dance.

Questions that go through my mind as I think about my own transition moving back to the Midwest - in the dead of winter may I add - include, where will I find my 30 cent fresh avocados, how will I be able to stay up past 9:00pm, who will understand when I try to call them “iwe" and most importantly, how will I put into words the world that Malawi has opened my eyes too.

The last question on that list is probably the one that I think about most frequently. At our close-of-service conference a couple months ago, Peace Corps tried to help us develop answers to this question. But even with this guidance it has not been simple for me to find the exact words that hold what I am trying to portray.

You see, my Peace Corps “experience” in Malawi has been a lot more than the projects I’ve completed or the numbers I’ve entered into my Volunteer Reporting Form. Instead, the experience has been about the relationships formed, the perspectives gained, and the daily lives that I’ve watched be lived. The lives that were lived before my time in Malawi and the lives that will continue after I leave.

My whole experience has been about being a witness. A witness to the beautiful Malawians in my community. A witness to the friendships formed. A witness to the routine of so many hard working people. A witness to the complex poverty that a huge part of the population faces. A witness to the top girl in her class dropping out because she got pregnant. And the list goes on.

Peace Corps 3rd goal is about sharing what you’ve learned in your host country with people back in the United States. And I want to be intentional with how I share Malawi. I want to be intentional with my responses to questions, so that those who ask gain perspective.

Today, I still am thinking about what I want to share, what I want my responses to be. But what I do know is that I want to tell people what I have seen as a witness. That I am humbled to have served with Peace Corps Malawi. That I am privileged to have walked on this journey with so many beautiful people.

My Peace Corps service ends on the 28th of September. After that I will travel for two and a half months through South Eastern Africa, and then “readjust” back into life in the States. I would like to go home with no expectations (or try to). To go home and learn how to dance a new dance.

#peacecorps