mrveitch

During PST, we were warned that here in China, and the peace corps in general, we would not have acess to the same stress relievers we had back home. What they never touched on is what that truly means.

Without the escapes we once had and excuses back home to fall back on, we are forced to confront our true selves.

The peace corps experience, or any experience similar where you must live somewhere very foreign to you, does not necessarily change you; it reveals to you a part of you that you did not realize existed, or denied.

This is my third time doing this. My first two trips I did things and learned things about myself that I did not think were possible or a part of me. Looking back, I know that underneath the layers of bullshit living in the states for 22 years piles on, the man I was in Shanghai and the man I am today is who I truly am.

My experience has allowed me to see that and this I cannot be mad at others who lack that experience:
Others who are just finally getting to see their true face. I only pray it doesn’t destroy them.