Bonds

I’ve been living in South Africa for 16 months now, and with in my community for over 12 of those. Before now, I never really considered the relationships I was building with my host family, my friends and co-workers. The friendships I made and the trust I developed for others came naturally over time and I rarely found myself in a position to think back on it.

Recently however, my host mom took a teaching position that requires her to live away from home during the week. She had been living at home with me full time since January and I had grown used to the new relationship we had of talking every afternoon when I got home from work. Our ability to speak in English allowed us to talk about all sorts of things: politics, her family, my family and more. Her leaving made me realize how much I felt apart of her family and how much I would miss not having her there to greet and talk with when I came home. This has happened with a lot of my relationships in Peace Corps. I’ve grown closer to my co-workers and supervisor, and I am excited to see (most of) them when I get back from trips. It is especially true with my fellow PCVs. Our collective attempts at understanding and coping with this experience brought us together out of necessity, but it is certainly the memories we created together that keep us close. While not at all the same, it reminds me of the bonds soldiers make in war: our friends/family at home cannot begin to imagine or relate to what were going through. But the guy/girl in the next bunker (village) knows exactly what it is like, so you go to them for support. If I leave with only one thing it’s the lifelong friendships I’ve made here in Peace Corps.