Sad week for Peace Corps Jamaica. In the last several days, three volunteers from the Environment Sector of group 81 early terminated (ET) their service. They left, respectively, for safety, family, and work/general PC dissatisfaction reasons. Two came as a surprise, the third was just a sad conclusion to a long fight deciding whether or not to stick it out here. I am so sad to see them go.

I’ve talked with one of them as well as other volunteers about it a lot. On the one hand, it is easy to want to try everything in my power to persuade them to stay. Stay for friendship, to serve a country in dire need of help, to fulfill their hopes for a full Peace Corps service, for their future in development or environmental work. I wanted to do that, I did for a while. But really, their decision has nothing to do with any of those things. Of course they want them too, but it simply can’t be. It is much better, in the end, to get out early rather than plod through months of unhappiness and stunted productivity, bringing others down along the way. Logically, it makes sense, but it’s hard to let go. It’s hard to see three really great people who have done so many interesting things with their lives (and will continue to) leave and not wonder who will be next – what do they see that I don’t?

Traveling and moving my life from place to place for the last few years has taught me the importance of not taking people for granted, and not assuming that what’s true today will be true tomorrow. Peace Corps has just reinforced that, and I will really make an effort to embrace the present and be conscious of friends and family.

Sorry for the downer post. I do really look forward to working here for the next two years! And they did warn us that the first three months pose many challenges (apparently the year mark does as well). I just hope that everyone else here is able to take what they’ve got and keep on keepin’ on.