Monday, March 14, 2005

This is the Only Build I Have

I want to lose myself helping this world.
I know now that it is what I am built for.
Those things that make me who I am (experiences, genes, inhibitors, chemicals, neurons...) are aligned in such a way that there is no other option.

I want to lose myself helping this world.
Some FOD (foreign objects and debris) has built up around me over time.
There are things from this culture that I have used to cover up parts of who I am, and they are difficult to shake loose. Those things will find it difficult to follow me.

I want to lose myself helping this world.
I have so much and others have so little.
I have had more than my share, and now it is time to pay my rent.

I want to lose myself helping this world, because in the process I will become more.

3 comments:

Reynolds said...

Jay,

I was searching for Peace Corps Blogs to see other people's experiences. It's great to read your anticipation of this huge step in your life and I'm glad you're doing it.

I'm a Peace Corps Voluteer in Ukraine, and in a week will be here for six months. I have had the tough parts: getting mugged, getting gastrointeritis, getting attacked by a dog, but for the most part (other than the cold) living in Ukraine is only marginally more difficult than living in a run down U.S. city.

If I had one thing to point out, it would be that the Peace Corps experience varies: you could have ants in your food, you could have a mobile phone and internet. You could be living in a hut, you could have an apartment like me. I thought I'd end up in South American and came to Eastern Europe.

I guess the idea I'm trying to convey is that there's no telling what you'll get.

In any case, good luck and eat all the American food you can!

-daniel

Anonymous said...

I'm a potential Peace Corp candidate (although still years away from graduating) and it's nice to see someone with a CS degree posting their experience. I hope to find myself lost near you someday!

-Kevin

Jay Haase said...

Hey, us CS guys are just all about computers -- Ok, we mostly are, but there is a little room for other things... ;-)

Ya, it would be fun to get lost together!