If You Walk the Footsteps of a Stranger, You'll Learn Things You Never Knew You Never Knew

I don’t know where I got the idea to blog my experiences throughout this Peace Corps adventure but I’m glad that I did. I was never really one to keep a journal (though I have tried) and to be honest I wasn’t too sure what I would write on my blog. I was apprehensive about sharing my thoughts with the whole world to see.  I also didn’t think many people aside from my small family and friend circle would follow it. At the very least, though, I thought it would be a good place to showcase all the pictures I take.

It turns out that not only do my family and friends follow my life updates, but so too have many strangers.  People have stumbled upon my blog, others have found it by searching for something related (Caribbean vacations perhaps?), and prospective volunteers have sited it.  I know this, for one, because BlogSpot records data pertaining to number of site visits and ip locations, and referring sites, etc., but also because the number of people who have left me comments, or who have contacted me directly.

This blog has served its purpose, but has also gone above and beyond my wildest hopes for its purpose and expectations. Of course I am happy that I have had a platform to keep my family and friends in the loop, in a fashion that they can follow on their own schedule (sometimes skyping and email can be too cumbersome).  But what I am most happy about is the fact that this blog has brought so many good things into my life and my Peace Corps experience.   The president of a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing literacy rates in the Caribbean contacted me asking how to donate books, all because she saw my blog. Countless times, at this point there’s too many to count, I have been contacted by prospective or future volunteers that will be serving in the EC, or who are interested to learn more about it.  I guess ultimately, it was these unforeseen reasons that my blog was really supposed to serve.

I never would have imagined that people all across the globe (literally!-people in over 90 countries have viewed my blog!) would be interested in my small life.  I am thrilled that I could shed insight into my experience as a volunteer serving in the Eastern Caribbean and what life is like here.

I also have to thank many people who have shown support and comfort (both strangers, as well as coworkers, and of course family and friends).  My blog, unexpectedly and kinda ironically, actually ended up providing an easier outlet to vent/share some very difficult and dark times.  I never imagined that a space for all to see and judge, would actually end up being one of the places I found it easiest to share some of my deepest darkest moments with for the first time. But it has. It was like walking into a field, and screaming at the top of your lungs for help and hoping some one would hear you.  People (strangers, old friends and new friends) did hear me, and shouted back their support and for that I am ever grateful.

As I wrap up my Peace Corps service after almost 4 years, I don’t know what the future holds. But I have learned that everything will work out as it’s supposed to. Maybe I will continue to blog (under a different blog title), so check back soon!