according the Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook, it is necessary to put a little disclaimer on the blog before i start talking about my time serving in Morocco with them. thus, here is the disclaimer:
the views herein do not represent the views of Peace Corps, or the United States government, or anyone else, except my own, Jeannie Coffin. and, i will do my best to make it clear that whatever i feel or think is not a comprehensive analysis of Morocco, Peace Corps, or the United States. of course, my own bias and slant is a product of my experiences, good and bad. thus i will try my utmost to be fair, but if i fall short, please forgive me and do not make your mind up about any of those three mentioned organizations/entities based solely upon my experiences.
whew!
i thought i was done packing, but now i know... i MUST rearrange... perhaps thin down... boo. but i'm leaving so soon!!! super excited!!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
farewell!
saying goodbye-for-now. it's a funny thing. i'm sad, but i'm excited, i'm happy, but i don't want to leave my people here... so many thoughts and feelings and lists of things to do running through my head all at once. it's no wonder i can't stop to feel any one thing at one time! so different from saying goodbye when the other person is leaving. then, i nearly cry. sometimes.
packing is not fun. and i have much left to do.
farewell to snow falling softly through the night. farewell to turkey-angels leaving their prints in the snow. farewell to farm family sitting around the dinner table and laughing into the small hours of the night. farewell to friends and family, for now (!). farewell to my bed, to warm showers, to quiet moments, to my dog, to my cat. farewell to ice on branches, sticking pines needles together like the hair of a wet cat. farewell to skidding sideways across the road. farewell to waiting only, now to begin waiting while doing (i hope!).
you know what the best part about travelling? (well, one of the best parts) corresponding with people back home!!! ***shameless plug for people to write to me***
:)
packing is not fun. and i have much left to do.
farewell to snow falling softly through the night. farewell to turkey-angels leaving their prints in the snow. farewell to farm family sitting around the dinner table and laughing into the small hours of the night. farewell to friends and family, for now (!). farewell to my bed, to warm showers, to quiet moments, to my dog, to my cat. farewell to ice on branches, sticking pines needles together like the hair of a wet cat. farewell to skidding sideways across the road. farewell to waiting only, now to begin waiting while doing (i hope!).
you know what the best part about travelling? (well, one of the best parts) corresponding with people back home!!! ***shameless plug for people to write to me***
:)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
treasures in the snow
i went cross-country skiing today. out our front door: one of the advantages of wisconsin in the winter is that there is usually snow. especially this winter: 90+ inches of it! so, i strap on my skiis and start hurrying around the edge of the farm fields, and enjoying the "warm" temperatures, ie. greater than 20 degrees F. the last snowstorm we had started with an inch of rain, and then some freezing rain, followed by 8 inches of snow. the result was the glazing of every single twig, dead queen anne's lace, dried leaf... everything. in sheltered places, it's still like that days later! it is truly lovely, like strands of blown glass along the delicate edges of plant skeletons. the light shines through it and it might be a forest of glass, or a blown glass sculpture of flowers and weeds.
i hurried on, squinting sunlight and slipping out of the tracks laid down by previous skiers, following the contour of the forest and field. now looking at the snow beneath me, animal tracks every which way in some places, unbroken sparkle-space in others. little friends searching for food in the foot-and-a-half deep snow. life isn't easy in the winter for the critters. mice, tiny prints show the leap inches at a time, trailing their little tail behind them. deer, feet plunging through the snow because of their weight, all balanced on four little points of hooves. coyote, cleverly walking through the skiers tracks, where they won't break through the snow as much. and turkey. messy, seems like a fuzzy trail cut through the snow, 3 inches wide. sometimes you see the edge of a talon. i scared a flock of them up, and the sprung into the air, wings thumping out their retreat. and then, the most beautiful track of them all. a turkey had landed, trailing tail feathers in the snow, and then flapped it's wings powerfully one last time to keep its balance, leaving an imprint of the tip of each feather as it carved out the snow. then it ran into the woods. so lovely! the symmetry of the wings, the delicate shape of each feather-track, the trailing tail feathers when it first touched the ground. wow!!
i skiied on, hurrying again, but having to pause to gaze at the tracks again on the way back. what wonderful gifts of winter, to remember when i am far away. :)
i hurried on, squinting sunlight and slipping out of the tracks laid down by previous skiers, following the contour of the forest and field. now looking at the snow beneath me, animal tracks every which way in some places, unbroken sparkle-space in others. little friends searching for food in the foot-and-a-half deep snow. life isn't easy in the winter for the critters. mice, tiny prints show the leap inches at a time, trailing their little tail behind them. deer, feet plunging through the snow because of their weight, all balanced on four little points of hooves. coyote, cleverly walking through the skiers tracks, where they won't break through the snow as much. and turkey. messy, seems like a fuzzy trail cut through the snow, 3 inches wide. sometimes you see the edge of a talon. i scared a flock of them up, and the sprung into the air, wings thumping out their retreat. and then, the most beautiful track of them all. a turkey had landed, trailing tail feathers in the snow, and then flapped it's wings powerfully one last time to keep its balance, leaving an imprint of the tip of each feather as it carved out the snow. then it ran into the woods. so lovely! the symmetry of the wings, the delicate shape of each feather-track, the trailing tail feathers when it first touched the ground. wow!!
i skiied on, hurrying again, but having to pause to gaze at the tracks again on the way back. what wonderful gifts of winter, to remember when i am far away. :)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
news, details and other things
this is now the blog. it will not change, baring unforeseen circumstance. hopefully, the other blogs can be connected to this one, but who knows!!!!
as for the title, i have long held the thought that i am a catarpillar in this life, and will become a butterfuly in the next. yes, this is probably a cliche somehow, somewhere, but i discover that i just don't care. it works for me, and i love butterflies, so tough! all you wonderful literary people. i know we've been taught to be creative, but some things are just too good to ignore. like Jesus. for example. butterflies for another. let the adventuring begin!
as for the title, i have long held the thought that i am a catarpillar in this life, and will become a butterfuly in the next. yes, this is probably a cliche somehow, somewhere, but i discover that i just don't care. it works for me, and i love butterflies, so tough! all you wonderful literary people. i know we've been taught to be creative, but some things are just too good to ignore. like Jesus. for example. butterflies for another. let the adventuring begin!
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