C.O.S. Close of Service. Three magical words that seal up your time as a Peace Corps Volunteer and indicate that it is time to go home and/or start your next venture in the world we know and love. In the Peace Corps Zambia community we have a “Ring Out” ceremony that officially ends your service and makes you no longer a PCV, but an RPCV (returned peace corps volunteer.) This week I was officially given my COS date of April 14, 2011. Almost 3 months left. I look back to when we first flew in and started training…which was less than 3 months, but at the time it felt like more than that. That was a time of impatience and “are we there yet?” I look back at the person I was and my concerns then as blind and innocent.

Now, with 3 months left I keep wondering “can we hit the brakes?” I want more time with this group of people in this place. I want to fully enjoy my many lives in Zambia: my village identity of Chimwemwe, my time with fellow PCVs, as well as the more anonymous version of myself who sees Lusaka and other parts of Africa from the eyes of both an outsider and an insider. So as I get closer to the day I get pulled from my village, I will be enjoying every sunset with my iwes, watching them dance around me, twirling and laughing as the colorful backdrop of my daily life slowly fades into memories of my time here. I plan to savor each plate of nsima and each cup of tea knowing they will soon be replaced by american equivalents and take over the place in my heart of comforts I miss.

The african me shall sit on a stoop and ponder for a while the many things ive seen and done, the laughter and tears shared, the memories made and lessons learnt as I prepare to leave this adventure behind and ready myself for whatever comes next.

As of this blog posting I will be taking down the “wish list” tab. Packages have been taking a long time to reach me, I will still appreciate letters but whatever I can’t live without in Zambia I will be able to enjoy in America in a short while. Thank you so much to all of you who have shared treats of America and things of home that warmed my heart and got me through the low times, words cannot express how connected I feel to life in the states through these small ambassadors of love from home.