There has been SO much going on, I've neglected you lovely readers of mine. I deeply apologize... SO lets start an update shall we?
We had our Mid Service Conference about 3 weeks ago. MSC or MST (country dependent) is when your cohort gathers for a conference on where you are thus far in your service. You have various topics of discussion and ours included:rules and expectations, starting to prepare for our return to America, to a training with our counterparts. Some perspectives I got out of this conference though were about personal growth and impact. As PCV's you tend to get "stuck" or acclimated to your role. The same could be said for one's life in general (after a certain point). You think, "this is what it will be" or "I am not going to change x,y,z because...". We should try to never be in that state of mind. There is always some way to innovate, to change your perspective or your surroundings. The overall idea is to Dream Bigger Than Your Circumstance! Granted this is easier said than done, but stay with me here.... Say for example you have a job. You are nice and cushy in your employment bubble, you have a routine everything is a-ok. But what if you were to pop your bubble, and see your vicinity without that wavy, bubble induced set of eyes; What would you see? Would you be proud of the work you were doing, would you want to do more? That is what you constantly need as a PCV (and as a human). There is always something more for you to do. Someone new you can reach, some connection that you can create that can change yours and others' lives. So I - as should you (this is a gentle nudging) have started to try to step outside of my bubble and do something uncomfortable for myself and to try and stretch myself more in my position.*rant done*
OK; Also we started school - YAY. The first month of school was busy and I was out for portions of it as well because of PC obligations. However, the first few days back, seeing "my kids" and how they had grown and (some) matured during the summer made me feel so excited. I am a bit of a sappy person and seeing them made me so sad because I have become a part of their matriculation in school and this is my last year seeing how they "grow into themselves" and being part of that growth. I have invested in these children and really want the best for them and their futures. I hope I can make a big impact on them this final year and that they know how much I truly do appreciate and value being invited into their lives and being part of their development. *sappy rant done* Also I have some new goals which I really hope will be accomplished - two in particular- so fingers crossed that I can accomplish them and that they will be received well.
Another birthday abroad. Very simple this year, but filled with love. My kids, friends and family are awesome and definitely gave me the needed boost in love factor :)
This was shorter than expected (maybe I am losing my words - HA!) But hope you all enjoy this beautiful month of October and update you soon!
-Ashley
Good morning, how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because through them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are very small countries with very few population, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this, I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Kosovo? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Kosovo in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally, I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez