The Passing of Time

The passing of time can be such an interesting thing.  There are times in which time seems to move extremely slowly and there are other times in which time seems to fly by.  I remember being in middle school and high school and thinking that time seemed to go by so slowly.  Public school September through June and swim team during the summer was my life for the first 18 years of my life.  And then came college.  At first, it seemed to go by slowly.  But as I moved through each year, time seemed to pick up and graduation was there in a heartbeat.

When I think about being in Ethiopia for about 10 months now, it amazes me.  When first arriving in Ethiopia, I had three months of pre-service training.  Every day was a packed day with various trainings.  At the beginning of the three-month training, it felt like it could last forever.  But slowly, time seemed to move faster and I was heading to my site before I knew what had happened.

Living at site is an interesting thing when it comes to the passing of time.  I think it is similar for many volunteers.  There are periods of time when I am extremely busy and the time flies by.  Then there are times in which there is not very much work and the days seem to drag on and on.  This in part is what makes a Peace Corps Volunteer experience make it what it is.  Almost every volunteer goes through slow periods of time and fast periods of time during the two-year service.  How much of a volunteers service is made up of those fast paced periods/slow paced times really makes a difference.

I don’t think any volunteer wants to have a service that is predominantly a slow paced service.  Not to say that every volunteer wants his or her service to end quickly (maybe some do though…).  I think that often times when a volunteer is going through a time of their service that flies by, they are keeping busy and are doing something productive in their communities that may have a successful and sustainable effect on their communities.

I think that most often when a volunteer is going through a slow period, they may be in between projects, etc. and don’t have much going on.  I think though that this doesn’t necessarily mean that a volunteer isn’t making a positive impact on their community during these times of service.  I really think it depends on how the time is used.  When I don’t have much going on related to work, I try to spend my time in other ways.  I try to be out in the community as much as possible.  I spend time in the market, getting coffee, playing with the kids on my street.  I do whatever I can to be present in the community.  I think that even just being present in the community can have an extremely positive impact on the community.

Some days are a struggle while others are amazing.  Some days I am doing a lot in my community and others I am not doing much.  Some days I am traveling and sometimes I have one or two weeklong trainings with other Peace Corps volunteers.  Some days are more fulfilling than others.  When I have days in which I do not have much going on, I take advantage of the free time to either use it as time to relax or try to find ways in which to use it productively.    No matter what I do, there will always be times in which life seems to drag by and times in which it seems to go by in the blink of an eye. 

Despite the slow times and fast times during my service, I think that the two years I spend in Ethiopia will go by very quickly as a whole.  I am learning that now matter how quickly or slowly time passes, that each and every moment is precious and to try to make every moment as worth while as possible.