Tying Up Loose Ends

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things,

because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

~Walt Disney

This week hasn’t been full of momentous moments or beautiful hikes to waterfalls, but I have been doing lots of cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of stuff. I guess this is what all Peace Corps Volunteers have to go through during their last month of service. I have found that I really love reducing the clutter. It makes life more simple and I feel like there is more room to breathe. 

As a rule, I have tried not to accumulate too many possessions here, because it’s just more to clean all the time, but I have to admit that I've collected more than I thought I would in two years. Thankfully, I have gotten a head start and am almost done clearing out my house. Over the last week I have been giving my belongings away to friends, work partners, other volunteers, etc. I’ve also been burning a lot of trash. I think I have mentioned before that this is what we do over here, so armed with my container of propane, I've been burning all kinds of papers and packages, everything I have no use for. 

Since I’m not being replaced by a new volunteer, I also have to find a place for all my furniture. There are Togolese friends who want to buy my things, so I only have a few pieces of furniture still for sale. I’m not selling everything just yet, but I’m lining up my buyers. I want to keep some necessities like my fan and refrigerator for as long as possible, trying to hold off most of the actual sales until my last week in Kpalime.

Things are really winding down here with my work. All that is left is a big inauguration ceremony to officially open up our library on July 17^th. Other than that, I'm trying to just soak up each day here and enjoy every moment, because before I know it I will be on a plane ready to start my next adventure.