Update: So What Now?

Last we heard from our intrepid Peace Corps Volunteers, they had just completed their service and were awfully sad about leaving Mali in such an unexpected and unfortunate way. If this were a blog solely about our Peace Corps service, then this would have been the logical, albeit tragic, ending. But even though we have left Africa, life is still proving to be an adventure.

Joye and I have been back in the States for almost a month now, after making a detour on our route home in Istanbul, Turkey (a travel blog on that later). We arrived on a low profile – no Facebook status updates – because we wanted to surprise my brother Ric for his graduation from Alma College. We had told him that we would travel Turkey for a while, and then maybe return to Africa, so he was pleasantly surprised to see us at a reception at President Abernathy’s house. And since Alma College is also our alma mater, we were able to meet and greet with many friends and professors, many of whom followed this blog. Most asked us an obvious question: so what now?

Happy Graduation!

Unlike many volunteers who were evacuated with us, we were already developing a plan for after Peace Corps; after all, we only had a few more months to serve. Avid readers may recall that Joye had interviewed with three pharmacy schools during our brief visit last October. After getting accepted at those schools and two more who interviewed her via Skype, she decided on the PharmD program at University of Kentucky in Lexington; a top-tier school with a dual-degree option for a Master’s in Public Health. The fact that we thought  my job prospects were best there also heavily influenced her decision.

After only a week of being back Stateside, we were bestowed with two major blessings. First, I was offered a job as a research economist for CEDIK (Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky), housed in the University of Kentucky’s agricultural economics department, only a ten-minute walk from the pharmacy school. I been communicating with the department since Joye’s interview there and had applied to the position in early March, but the timing worked out perfectly. I plan on starting in July, hopefully after finishing 95% of my Master’s thesis at Michigan State University.

The second blessing was a house-sitting gig down in Lexington, arranged with the help of a fellow volunteer from Mali, which is giving us two weeks to set up shop. Since then, life has been a stressful and inconsistent whirlwind; we still seem to be living out of a suitcase. We stayed for a week with Joye’s family, then for another week with my family (who are moving themselves), before coming down to Lexington, Kentucky – bluegrass, bourbon, and horse capitol of the world. We have almost secured an apartment, almost secured Kentucky driver’s licenses, and have familiarized ourselves with the area. We even took the time to go see the 25th Anniversary production of “Les Miserables” in Cincinnati!

 

So now that we’re poised to become Kentuckians, are we definitively dismissing Mali? Absolutely not. We have called our work partners Dorro and Rube a few times since returning just to check up on things. Both Kongodugu and Dububa are safe and remain untouched by the horrific events in Mali’s north or in Bamako; one advantage to living in the middle of nowhere. Also, both of our projects are almost finished. Joye’s mud-brick school is near completion after the head mason was delayed with a bout of malaria, and Rube has overseen the distribution of over half of the trees and is waiting until June for the rest to mature. But they miss us, and we miss them, and we even miss their food, which is something I didn’t expect. Indeed, Mali has secured a place in our hearts, and we’ll see if our adventures ever bring us back there one day.

But for now, it’s on to Lexington. Thanks for reading.

-James (& Joye)