Group Dynamics

In the Peace Corps you live in a cocoon with no television. Your personal lives become your only source of entertainment. It’s a bit like being in middle school. If you happen to be the happy recipient of the attention, it’s like living under a magnifying glass. We live together, go to school together, eat together. There is barely a moment in the day when pure privacy can be achieved. Hence, the rumors and gossip are traveling faster than the speed of light. It begins to wear you down, especially if your social life is not nearly as exciting as the gossip portrays it to be. Sadly I’ve been feeling the stress of gossip. Yesterday was a bit overwhelming in general. Our safety and security officer gave the testimony of her experiences in the genocide and after. It began our commemoration of genocide memorial week, which starts on Wednesday. I was very grateful to hear her story and am definitely no stranger to hearing a heart wrenching story, but I also need time to process everything and sit in silence or paint – both of those things, nearly impossible here. I am also coming back from my site visit, which afforded me ample alone time every day. In fact I almost finished reading a book in the span of a couple days because of the absolute silence I had there. Being forced back into a group setting 24/7 is a hard readjustment.

That all being said, I really do love my group. We are a bunch of dorks who watch Planet Earth together. It’s like I’ve found my people ☺