Last Trip to Pretoria

The lounge and work spaces in the cleaned-up IRC.

I left site this past Thursday morning and headed to Pretoria for what I hope is the last time before I leave for good in June. I will be the first to admit that I saw more of Pretoria than I expected to during my service. Some of my trips, like this one, were for committee meetings or PC conferences, some were for medical visits, and some were for travel. Between June and November of last year, I think I was there once a month. By contrast, there are volunteers that manage to avoid the place except for the mandatory mid-service training conference, close of service training conference, and then when they leave to return home. I was clearly over-involved.

Since I was just there to take the Foreign Service Officer Test in early February, I had mixed feelings about going only a month later. On the one hand, it was likely to be the last time I would have the opportunity to see a few friends on my committee as well as anyone else that was passing through town. Not to mention that the committee had big plans to reorganize the resource center at the PC office – something I had been keen to do since I first saw the place in August of 2012 when we visited the office for the first time.  On the other hand, there was a lot I was trying to get done at school, and with my departure date rapidly approaching, leaving for a few days felt like a waste of precious time. But there were also a lot of little, personal things that I wanted to get done – most of which are far easier to do in a place with good internet: my taxes, for example, or updating my blog! So even though it was not my first choice for timing, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to travel.

Books for pleasure reading and reference.
Hopefully now much easier to find!

It ended up being really nice to see everyone, both planned and unplanned. It was weird to start to say goodbye to people permanently, as it is highly unlikely I will see most of them again before I return to the U.S., but I did think it was important to start that process. I managed to get almost everything done that I was on my list. The meeting and reorganization of the resource center went well. We threw so much stuff away it was insane: nearly two pick-up trucks full of out-dated materials that no one was ever going to look at. And what we did not throw away, we tried to organize in such a way that volunteers would actually find what they were looking for when they stopped by for a visit. I also had a chance to write a few essays for the next step in the Foreign Service Officer application process (since I actually passed the initial test.) New music was purchased and downloaded. Taxes were filed. Updates were emailed. Doctor appointments were made. Overall, I was just a busy little bee. It’s amazing how motivating electricity and fast internet can be! A good sign, I think, for my return to the US – hopefully I will be motivated to find a job and a place to live rather quickly.