How Soon is Now?

by Amy

Looking back on my two years in Vanuatu, I was obsessed with time.  I marked off calendar days, counting the days and the months until the next trip to Vila or vacation.

Now I’m down to three weeks left in-country, and I’ve realized that from the time I arrived at Lamen Island I’ve been looking forward to leaving.  Now that it’s really happening, however, it really sucks to know that I didn’t live day-to-day.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in Peace Corps Vanuatu is that you should live every day as if it’s your last in the country.  Everything works out in the end; where the end is, is up to you.  My hardest lesson was trusting that.  It’s still a challenge, but the beautiful thing is that once I allowed myself to let go of control of a situation, I felt free.

Now that it’s time to go, I don’t want to go.  I’ve been saying good morning and good night to everyone I see, the eyebrows, the smiles-- I’m again conscious of these things as I was when I first came.  Later, they became automatic, but now that it’s time to leave I’m more consciously—deliberately—aware of each fleeting moment.

Live deliberately.  Live in each moment as if it’s the only moment you’ve got left.  Surrender your senses to the beauty of your surroundings and the wonderful people here, and every minute will embrace you.