And then there were 29

When our volunteer group arrived here in Swaziland there were 36 of us. Now, just over 8 months later, there are 29 of us left. So about 19% have gone back home for various reasons. I fully expect that percentage to increase over time. In fact, the group that arrived before us, now in their final months of service, have lost nearly half of their volunteers. I’d be surprised if our group loses that many, but volunteers going home early pretty common here in Swaziland… and us remaining PCVs hate to say goodbye. The news almost always comes as a bit of a shock, and in many cases it involves saying goodbye to someone we’ve grown to care about—someone we’re going to miss.

Fact is, this PCV thing can be quite hard. Our locations, work opportunities and personal issues vary greatly from person to person. And many leave due to situations back home—most of them entirely out of their direct control. We’re fortunate enough to have each other here in Swaziland, and to have great support and stability from friends and family back home. But some PCVs simply don’t, and it can make this kind of service abroad quite difficult.

So I’d like to say hi to any Group 6 Swaziland ex-PCVs who might be reading this blog from back home in the States: Beth, Drew, Jarrod, Amanda, Vanessa, Sara, and Tom—we miss you guys. Tom, thanks for bequeathing us your Chicago Tribune crossword book; you’re alright for a young whippersnapper. Kevin cries quietly into a lap-pillow during long meetings now that you’re not by his side and I think he needs a visit from Clowns Without Borders—maybe you can set something up. Beth, take a trip down to Ashland when you get the chance and send us a really cheesy postcard (and maybe some current real estate listings?). Drew, your departure marked a double tragedy for us remaining Group 6ers: our overall group height significantly decreased, and Jay lost his hair-twin. Miss you, man.

And Meredith from Group 5, if you’re out there—hi there! We didn’t get to say goodbye. Swaziland isn’t the same without Versailles… we got a big red towel from the massive give-away that your departure triggered. Hope all is well with you.

Anyway, there are still plenty of PCVs here in Swaziland, and there are about to be about 40 new ones, set to arrive in June. Just as it’s sad to see friends go, it’s exciting to see new ones come. This has been much more of a social experience than we ever imagined—and we’re site-rats compared to some PCVs.

Truthfully, the time is flying by for us, and we’re going to need every day we can get in Swaziland just to do the things we’ve already planned. So for the record: we’re here for the long-haul.