The end of the beginning?

Last Tuesday was my last day as a Peace Corps volunteer. I think that right now, I am considered a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, except that I'm not returned. Tom and I are currently inNepal taking a very much needed vacation for a few weeks, until we go back to America and start afresh. Rwanda, am going to miss you so much. The last few weeks have been exhausting, and it's going to take a while to work through all the emotions about Rwanda, my Peace Corps service, and myself. So, in the meantime, I try to think about this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that our fantastic COS conference facilitator kept coming back to:

"The definition of success--To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one's self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived--this is to have succeeded."

Thanks for reading, and hopefully, I'll have some updates from Nepal soon.

My last sunset in Kigali