I can’t believe this… but my time’s nearly up. I’m leaving here in about a month. I leave Monday, July 7^th, around midnight, which puts me back in Seattle on Tuesday, July 8^th. I am full of mixed feelings on this- while I am looking forward to cheese, broccoli, microbrewed beer, Mexican food, and strawberries (among many other things), I am also so sad at the idea of leaving here.

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I’m running around getting the last minute things done- medical appointments, reports, last touches on projects, and socializing with my Samoan family and friends. My roommate, Jame, is leaving me (boo) next Monday, which means that I’ve got a month alone at my house…

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…alone except for the rats. For some reason, the last month has seen a huge increase in rat population in our Apia house. There is constantly a rat-squabble going on in the walls, I’ve identified at least 10 different rats (ranging in size from cute-pet-hamster to obese-pet-cat), and given them identifying names (Mangy-butt, Ugly-gerbily-ears, Monster-rat #1 and 2, etc.) and am literally awoken, often, in the middle of the night from them thumping around, squeaking, and battling. So, that makes me look forward to the clean, rat/centipede/millipede-free sanctuary of my mom’s house. I’m also looking forward to hot water, and a flushing toilet, and functional fridge! Our toilet hasn’t flushed since February (we use a bucket to flush water into it), and the fridge hasn’t worked since November or December. Hot water? I’ve had four hot showers since January. All were a beautiful, memorable experience.

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The Ecotourism conference that I’d been planning was pulled off successfully last month- we had about 15-20 participants, and most had great feedback about what they’d learned. I’m happy it all came together well, and feel much more confident at the idea of organizing conferences in the future.

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I’m finishing the Ecoliteracy curriculum that I’ve been working on the last year. I haven’t felt very inspired by it, but I’m glad to have the experience and have it finished. Other than that- I’m pretty much done! I have a few more hikes, tourist-y things, and trips on my list- I want to go to Savaii one more time, I want to hike to Lake Lanotoo (which is apparently filled with goldfish?), spend as much time as possible with my family, tour the beer factory (it’s terrible beer, but I’d like to see how they make it), and stay at a few of my favorite beach fale places before I go.

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I’m going to miss a lot here. Seeing the ocean every day has been incredible- I’ve never lost my sense of awe and appreciation for seeing a huge blue (sometimes grey, sometimes turquoise) ocean completely surrounding me. And the vivid colors are always going to be imprinted in my mind. I’m not sure I will ever live in a place as beautifully blue and green again- although I hope that I do. I’m going to miss my family- they are so welcoming, mellow, accepting, and friendly. They have for sure been one of the absolute best things about living here. I’m going to miss my friends here- I’ll miss my Peace Corps friends, but I know that I’ll stay in contact with many of them, and visit them when I can (Jame, this means you!), but I’ll miss my Samoan friends even more. My coworkers are incredible people, and I have learned so much from working alongside them. I’ve gotten to know several people in some of my favorite villages (Faleaseela, Tafitoala) really well, and feel incredibly sad at the idea of not being able to see them whenever I want to.

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Before I joined Peace Corps, I’d read a lot of the books- all about some young woman, who goes to some village in Africa, saves babies, digs a well, and makes life-long friends. I’d pictured that experience for myself here. I haven’t saved any babies- although I do know of at least three Peta’s, and one Jordan, and my nephew, Jey, all named after me. I certainly haven’t dug a well- but I have worked alongside 6 or 7 villages to rehabilitate their coral reefs, and fix their marshes. And life-long friends, yes. It’s never what you picture… but I can say that my experience here is unforgettable, and unregrettable, and I have met people that I’ll never forget, and will miss, in an indescribable way, once I’m gone.

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What’s next? Well- I am proud to say that I took my GRE’s while I was here (complicated story), and applied to graduate schools- American University, Brandeis University, Cambridge University, and Yale. I was accepted at all of them, and decided that Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies program was the best match for me. I’ll be starting my Master’s of Environmental Management in August, and hope to continue working in the South Pacific on Coastal Management issues.

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I’ll be in Seattle for a few weeks, and I’m sure I’ll catch up with many of you. I’ll try to post a handful more pictures, and a few final blog entries, before I leave. I am hoping to have some sort of a talk/reception, in Seattle, and would love to share my experience of the last few years with all of you. I’ll post that when I’ve found a date and location (mid July, in Seattle), and hope to catch up with many of you then!