O-H, I-O!

Dearest friends and family and other people who also read this:

This is my first post in quite some time. A friend of mine recommended that I post an update soon after I returned from Africa, but I am just now feeling as though I am ready so here we go!

I left Peace Corps early for many reasons. Two main reasons were that I did not feel 100% safe and accepted at my site. Various crimes took place in my community and in Lesotho. Some of these crimes involved my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers who are and will always be my family. (To Peace Corps credit I was offered a different site when I decided to leave, but declined). I also did not have much interaction with my host organization and they were supposed to be my main focus. I was fairly isolated in my community and felt quite alone, especially when I didn't have support from the teachers I was teaching with at my local primary school. Basically, I wasn't happy.

Even with all that being said, I did have a wonderful experience overall. I learned about a world that until Peace Corps was entirely unknown to me. Some of you know that I wanted to go to South America so Africa was a big change from my original plan. I am so glad that I was placed in Lesotho so I could experience life in a village firsthand. I met some of the most dynamic and intriguing people in the world and even met a guy who I thought I would marry. I broke up with him shortly before I returned to the US and even though I miss him a ton, I know it was the right thing to do. I learned a lot about myself and about what really matters in life.

I learned that we must be grateful for what we have. Don't make the song lyrics, "You don't know what you got til it's gone," be true in your experience. We all have people, experiences, and things in our lives that we know we should be grateful for. Oh yeah, tell the people in your life why you love them. It's important.

Just so you know, I love you all. And mostly it is because you are reading this ;)

I learned that I don't know much of anything, but I do know that I want to be happy. I really don't believe that we have any other purpose. I think the hardest thing in life is to find out what really trips our trigger and makes us laugh, smile, and dance. Maybe we should just laugh, smile, and dance until we find it. And maybe we'll find out that laughing, smiling, and dancing ARE what trips our trigger and that is what we should do. HAHA Ok, you know what I'm saying.

Reverse culture shock really started to sink in this month. I quit my job at the cemtery I was working for and moved back in with my parents this week. I think I tried to do too much too soon. I moved out of my parents house two weeks after I arrived home from the Peace Corps and had a job within a month. I was working 6 days a week and it was too much. Also, why did I think that working for a cemetery was a good idea??? Or living with cats again??? Let it be known that I, Emily McKeen, cannot live with cats now or ever again.

So yes, that is where I am right now. I plan to have a plan by my 25th birthday (April) and I want to be out of my parents' house before the summer. I would like to be out before then preferably, but I realize that I need to take some time to recharge and prepare for the next chapter of my life. I want to move to a sunny place and am interested in Americorps, environmental organizations, and solar technology organizations for employment.

Thanks to everyone who has been listening to my Africa stories. Thanks to everyone who supported me during my adventure. Thank you to the people who have had to deal with my disorganization and antisocial behavior since returning to the States. And thank you to those who will be there during my next adventure. I can't wait to hear about yours as well. :)

Peace, Love, Harmony, Laughter, Balance, and Clarity to you all!