The transition of a community.

As many of you know, I am here in Tanzania working through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. One of the many things that makes this program great and one of the top reasons I decided to apply to this specific program is the two-year mixed communities for first years and second years. JVC International is set up in a way that allows part of the community of volunteers to welcome, incorporate and share what they have learned in their first years with a fresh group of new JVs joining midway through the experience. Last December marked a pretty significant transition.

Yes, I hit the one year mark. One down, one to go. That day of accomplishment was not celebrated by cake or fireworks (shocking, I  know) but it was instead focused on the arrival of two, new members to my community, my life here and the vast network of Jesuit Volunteers.

Bethany Killian and Caitlin O’Donnell arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on December 5^th, 2011. These two wonderful young women have refreshed this space, my reality with new perspectives, excitement and a willingness to join and enrich my life here. While much of my time here has felt unreal and extreme, the work schedules and expectations of JVs in Dar are based on a long tradition of young men and women serving this small section of Dar es Salaam, namely, Mabibo. That said, I fell into a routine and a way of existing that was both beautiful and challenging.

The things, people and situations that challenged me most last year came at me from unexpected places and I expect new challenges to arise in my second year. It is, however, nice looking forward into the months to come and knowing that those things that weighed me down in the past have been liberated in a way, with time. With more time, the effects of living here will become clearer to me, I hope. I still am unsure as to what I am ‘doing’. What does my post-Tanzania life look like?  What will I put on my resume, for example? Life skills include: a little Kiswahili, taking bucket showers successfully, baking chocolate cakes from scratch, creating lesson plans about basic English or St. Ignatius, sitting on 10 hour bus rides and the ever useful skill of sweating profusely.

I guess the answer lies in the wait. I will wait to see where this second year, this second chance takes me. I will wait to see my family, my friends, my dog and cheap Chinese food. I will wait to understand my place here in Tanzania. Heck, I will wait to see where I truly fit in America. I will wait for employment in the States next year. I will wait to see what this puzzling life I have constructed for myself will look like in one week, one month and especially in one year!

Until then, I will be here in the small section of Dar es Salaam with my new community living into the newness that is this second year.