Today

11/10 The new Peace Corps Micronesia group arrived in country ten weeks ago, and the Chuuk portion are swearing in this afternoon. I got to meet half of them yesterday. It's really exciting to have them here and on the verge of gaining full volunteer status. Though none are headed out to the Northwest (my stomping ground), it's still awesome to know they're about to go to site and start their service. Talking with them yesterday, one mentioned that he'd seen one of my videos from Woleai, that he enjoyed it and (I quote) when he saw it he thought "I want that to be me; I want to be that guy." a big part of why he felt like that was the happiness I showed in the video. I realize my recent posts don't give the impression I'm holding to that model of unabashed joy. It's true, doubts and challenges have sown themselves into my experience a bit more prominently since the close of Woleai, but I still find myself laughing frequently and fully. There are ups and downs, both are more pronounced these days but OVERWHELMINGLY, I still feel increibly lucky to be here, grateful for my experience and hopeful for the coming months. So don't fret, and take my melodrama with a big grain of salt. Sometimes I wax a tad too poetically. It's not all to be taken at face value.