First off, let me say sorry for being rather negligent on the blog front for the last several months. I’ve been busy at times, but more than that I think it was just that I was settled into more of a routine and didn’t have too many new and exciting things to report. I think it really is true what I’ve heard from other service workers, that it really takes almost a year to get situated in a new culture to the point where you feel you can really start to contribute. Not that I didn’t accomplish anything this year, but it was often a struggle and near the end I was finally feeling more comfortable and useful. But alas, my time is up!

I’m writing this Monday night, and I’ll be flying out with Joel on Friday, layover in Atlanta before getting back to Pennsylvania for the SALT program re-entry retreat. We’ve been here in Recife where MCC-Brazil has their main office since Thursday, making use of this time to finish up some final reports, wrap up loose ends, and say goodbyes. But let me back up a little first.

A couple weeks ago I loaded up my beloved motorcycle and headed out from Brejo on the 3+ hour trip via back roads to Monteiro, where several fellow MCCers are based. I stopped at one community on the way to check in and say goodbye to the folks there, and also was able to bring some things to Monteiro and I wanted to say my goodbyes there, but the real reason I went was to bring my motorcycle. There won’t be another MCC worker in Brejo this coming year, whereas the Monteiro team has been growing, so the motorcycle will be needed there. Let’s just say I had a difficult time parting with my baby and I will miss her terribly…

But anyway, I spent about 4 days there, and it was really a wonderful time. The team there threw a going-away party for Joel and me, which was a lot of fun, and it was great to see them all one more time. I also got to help Joel with some of the work he had left to do, primarily working on biodigesters, so that was cool. We also completed the sawdust toilet I’d been working on and even set it up and gave it a test run in the MCC office there! Not sure if any of the others will use it, but… they’ll hopefully be finding a family to put it to use, and the next SALTer will continue that work with composting toilets and latrines, so I look forward to hearing about that.

Back in Brejo I had pretty much wrapped up all of my work, so wasn’t sure what my final days would look like. Betty, my colleague there, left a couple of days before I did to head back to Canada for a month to visit friends and family. But then Emily, a former SALTer who is back here visiting/working on her master’s, decided to come out to Brejo for a couple days. So we spent a couple days visiting various communities in the Brejo region, Emily accompanying me as I checked in on projects and said goodbyes, and it was fun to have some company and get to talk about the things I’d worked on this year.

Then, Thursday morning at 2 in the morning the Toyota pulled up to my house to pick us up. Yes. I said 2 in the morning. Allow me to explain. Normally when I come to Recife I catch a Toyota (the big jeep-like taxis of the region) to Caruaru, the major city in that part of the interior, where I catch a bus to the bus station in Recife, where I have to get on another bus to come to the MCC office. That wasn’t going to cut it with all of my baggage. So, there is one Toyota driver in Brejo that has special permission to enter Recife. See, Toyotas were banned in Recife (and no, not all cars of the Toyota brand, just these big modified jeeps) because they clog up bus stops and whatnot. But so there’s this one that can come, and he makes trips twice a week, picking up people in Brejo and bringing them to wherever they need to go in Recife. So, like I said, around 2AM we loaded all our stuff onto the Toyota and, after picking up the rest of the passengers, headed for Recife. 4 hours later and sore as all get out from an EXTREMELY crowded car, Emily and I arrived at the MCC office in Recife.

Since then I’ve been taking it easy, seeing friends and hanging out, while neglecting the final reports I have to do, haha. Today I went to Lagoa Encantada, the neighborhood I lived in during my language training when I first arrived, to see my host family there one more time. Joel and I have plans to get some last gifts, see more friends and colleagues, and get in some last hours in the sun before heading out, so should be a good couple days.

What an experience this has been. A year full of all sorts of ups and downs, frustrations and joys, and a truly incredible learning experience. I look forward to talking with many of you more about my time here, but it’s really hard to communicate just what this year has been like. I feel like I have grown a lot, and, while it was very difficult at times, I feel very well prepared to continue in this type of development work. I had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of people and a lot of different projects, which has helped me a lot in seeing what works, what doesn’t, etc. I have been very blessed and thank God for this incredible opportunity.

What awaits next is a bit of a mystery, but I look forward to seeing many of you during my travels in the weeks after getting back to the states and hearing what everyone has been up to! Thank you again for all of your prayers and wonderful support, I could not have done this without all of you! Thank you and see you soon!

me with Dona Biu and her granddaughter in Lagoa de Pedra, where I helped with the construction of rock thanks for water storage

me with my host family in Brejo (Sérgio & Elô and their two boys Iago and Pedro)

visiting one last time my host family from Lagoa Encantada

Joel, Erika, and I, the 3 1-year members of MCC-Brazil - I'm gonna miss them!