Week 48: Goodbyes and Goats

This week we lost another Bots 14 (this was the intake group I arrived with). Thankfully it is not due to any medical emergency, however, it is still a loss. August 2013, the 60 some Bots 14 s met in Philadelphia for “staging” before we all got on a plane and our journey began. Staging is often referred to as a last chance to decide that Peace Corps is not for you and the women who led our staging continually referred to the group as our new life long best friends. I remember being frustrated with her thinking, “No! My best friends are by and large in Chicago and I recently had to say goodbye to them. I am currently sitting in a room full of strangers.” Since then I have had many conversations with other volunteers who felt similar then and now we laugh as the joke was ultimately on us. The people I am having these conversations with I believe I will be friends with for a very long time. I arrived in Botswana with 60 other Americans and although I am not close with all of them, they have become my family, for better or worse, and I am sad to see one of them leaving.

In other news I continue to be obsessed with goats and I believe they have surpassed elephants in the quest to win over my heart. They are just adorable and hilarious at the same time. I used to only appreciate them for the delicious cheese they produce, but now my appreciation goes deeper.