Days gone by.

It's always fun when you get to reminisce about day's gone by. As a Peace Corps Volunteer there was never a shortage of inspiration. Below is a video made by my fourth grade class.

The List

I have been in a slump lately, and as you can see I haven’t written in a while. I find it hard to write for writings sake. Rather I draw inspiration from things I see or hear. Having spent the weekend in Texas, I was fortunate enough to have dinner with an old friend. As we typically do, our time together consisted of a home-cooked meal, intertwined with the six-month worth of news and gossip.

Of the many things that were discussed, she had mentioned that she had created a list of the 30 things she wanted to accomplish before turning 30. I found this intriguing, but more importantly, this might very well be the spark that gets me writing again.

Next year I turn 30, her list would not work for me. A 35 before 35 list I feel is both attainable and is not likely to be a factor in my impending baldness. In carrying out this list there are two rules

1. They have to be realistic
2. They can’t be too mundane

What follows is my list of the 35 things I wish to accomplish before I turn 35. Considering what I have achieved in the previous five years, I felt that everything on this list fits within these two constructs.

So enjoy the ride as the next five years looks to be epic.

35 before 35

1. Master my digital camera
2. Become proficient on my Guitar
3. Perform at an open mic night
4. Become conversational in French
5. Hike the great wall
6. Eat Chinese food in China
7. Buy a stranger a meal
8. Finish writing my book
9. Complete a Doctorate
10. Publish 5 Articles
11. Plant an Aggie Flag on the Summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro
12. Hike the ice fields of Patagonia
13. Become a master diver
14. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
15. Take a gourmet cooking classes
16. Swim in Cinnamon Bay
17. Go trout fishing in Alaska
18. Volunteer at a homeless shelter
19. Learn to drive a stick
20. Go on a spice tour in Stone Town
21. Kayak through Big Bend
22. Learn to surf
23. Take dance lessons
24. Host an exchange student
25. Finish my family tree
26. Travel to Stuttgart; meet my relatives.
27. See the Stones in concert
28. See Garth perform at the Wynn
29. Visit the Grand Canyon
30. Finish reading the Dark Tower Series
31. Hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail
32. Take a road trip to the tip of Main
33. Catch, cook, and eat a fresh lobster
34. Teach a class
35. Make the perfect mix tape

My First Blizzard.

During regularly scheduled work hours I typically think up ways in which we can improve agriculture in Afghanistan. Today however, was spent tracking an impending blizzard across the northwest United States. I should note that with all the wasteful spending in the government, it always makes me feel good when I can find creative ways to use your tax dollars. It is with this that I am about to experience my first Blizzard.

Up until today, the winter has been pretty mild, nothing really to write home about. I thought the so called snowmageddon that pummeled DC last year was propaganda created by the media, designed to make us Texas types feel sorry for the folks up north. I might just being having crow for dinner.

Having never experienced a blizzard, I must say that I don't know really how to prepare or what one does during a big snow storm. I feel I am pretty well stocked, I have the necessary rations toilet paper, cereal and water, that should carry me through right?

So what does one actually do during a snow storm? This is a question I have been pondering all day. My ignorance on the subject led me to pose this question to many of my coworkers the following wins the award for best response and gets second runner up for most honest:

"Well it’s kind of like a zombie attack.

In general, before a blizzard people run around and gather all the bread, eggs, and milk available. The only rationale I can think of for this is a survival instinct. But that instinct is not actually rational and would never work, because no one really needs to eat those particular items to survive, and if they did, it would not be sufficient over a prolonged period of food deprivation. Most likely canned goods and dried pulses and grains would serve the population.

Then when the blizzard hits, people generally sit at home and watch movies. Clean the house. Bake. Get sick and get better. That kind of thing.Once the storm lets up, they play in the snow. Other people may go to bars or liquor stores.If the storm continues, well then they kind of keep each other warm, if you know what I mean. Hence, Snowmaggedon babies.

That is my unofficial and personal opinion on the subject".

So as I sit hear watching the snow storm, I have taken my friends advice and bought a loaf of bread and some canned goods... I will not starve but may in fact die of boredom. I should mention that allowing myself to get bored usually results in hilarity, which results in another blog post. For your sake lets hope I get bored.

Short Bus Yellow

I had only ever heard that the beginning of fall is marked by a trees ability to paint a portrait in the sky; I am seeing it for the first time and its beautiful.

With fall comes a chill in the air that reminds you that winter is only a few weeks away. Apparently winter is serious business, shopping for a coat the other day I witnessed two women get into an argument over a jacket that I had just moments ago decided was too fashionable for me, apparently short bus yellow is the color this year.

While I eventually settled on a less conspicuous grey coat, the women’s argument reinforced the fact that it’s going to snow and snow a lot. While my friends have entertained me with countless stories of last years so called Snowmageddon, they find me a little crazy in that I am overly excited. If we come close to that amount of snow this year, your regularly schedule programming will probably be interrupted by me, walking down Pennsylvania avenue, in my boots, wearing swim trunks, and wearing a beanie, yes, ill be “that guy”.

As you can tell I find this whole idea of winter intriguing, while Texas offered me campfires and high school reunions at the chicken (Local Bar)… DC is stretching me a bit, and by stretching I mean allowing me to observe the unique, and it is the unique that keeps me writing. Now, one thing that DC has that Texas does not is hockey. Yes, you could create a valid argument that hockey is a sport in Texas … Dallas and Houston both have teams, however, unlike DC, hockey is not culturally engrained in your average Texans. Its something we might watch in between the end of college football and the start of college basketball and only if baseball is not on TV.

Like so many other things in DC, hockey is a sight to be seen. I went to a Capitols game (local team) for the first time the other night and I while I didn’t understand half of what I saw; I know that whoever invented the sport was spiteful. There train of thought was this:

• Give a few guys some sticks
• Put them on a field of ice
• Give them fancy shoes
• Tell them this is really soccer
• Let hilarity ensue

In all seriousness, hockey is something I am excited to learn more about, just like I learned to embrace cricket in the West Indies, I will embrace hockey as it will provide me a window from which to view a culture I am beginning to call my own.

Little fish, big pond

So I moved to Washington D.C. After a long and humbling job search process, I found a place at the Foreign Agriculture Service, which is a subsidiary of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Now as you might imagine D.C is a far cry from the wide-open prairies of Texas. Instead of green pastures I am surrounded by high rises and cement. I often wonder as to what exactly did I sign up for. It’s funny, as much time as I have spent in other countries I never thought I would find a place inside my own that was just as foreign. It’s a humbling experience none the less, its makes me realize how much growth potential I still have, which in my short life is something I have come to value.

Everything about this city is foreign to me, while it may still have the same amenities that I am used to there is an added element. Things such as the subway and apartments that double as a walk in closets are all new to me.

Finding a place to live in this city is an art, and really just blind luck. I did my homework, made appointments to see several places and in the end, settled on a place that was not on my list. I just happened to see a “for rent” sign while walking down the street. While I am still the proud tenant of a walk in closet, or efficiency, as they like to call them here in the city, it’s a walk in closet with character.

While the amenities here in D.C. were certainly a shock to me, nothing was a bigger shock than having to adapt to an office environment. Anyone who has ever known me knows that I do not wear a tie. Yet, office life here in D.C. requires that I own several and wear them at least four days a week. Its not all that bad, while I would prefer to be in the field, working in another country, I find that working a desk is a challenge and something that I am not good at. There is a steep learning curve for me. However, like many other task I was not good at, I will embrace this one using both the principle I was raised to believe: decency and hard work.

Aside from the office and the cultural adaptation, city life is very individualistic I feel. It’s very easy to be alone, but at the same time it’s not real hard to meet some pretty interesting characters.

I have made two really solid friends here. Meeting Lindsay in my new employee orientation was I believe, the universes way of saying everything is going to be ok. Lindsay is a girl I had known briefly as a graduate student at Texas A&M, she picked my brain about life in the Peace Corps and then we parted ways, didn’t give her a second thought, until my first day of work that is. Catching up over lunch it turns out that she is a licensed tour guide, for a guy new to this city, that’s pay dirt. Not only can she entertain me with interesting facts about the buildings that surround me, she also knows where some of the best nightlife is. Secondly, she is from Texas, so as much I am missing home, she probably is too and it’s nice to know someone who understands.

Gene Kim, the Asian economist, my friend who is always one step away from an epic story. As a matter of fact he just called and started the conversation by stating “ I know it seems that I spend all my time in bars”, I found that kind of funny, actually with world cup going on everybody has been spending their down time perched over a pitcher of beer. Really though, Gene has gone out of his way to introduce me to D.C and not just through the bottom of a beer bottle. Rather, we have been going to things like the Marine CorpsCommandants Parade which is a real treat and something everyone should see at least once in their life, you have to really appreciate friends who go out of their way to make you feel at home and these two have really gone the extra mile.

So hear I sit, with backpack in toe, ready to take on the world. Ironically I found my self in the same position three years ago as a young Peace Corps volunteer, which was one of the most defining moments of my life. If my life here is only half as rich, I believe I will be all right.

The essence of discovery

I am finishing up for the semester, and have actually just completed my final class as a student. Its quite and accomplishment, now I just have to finish writing this pesky thesis. For one of my final papers I was asked to write about the Peace Corps and what it meant in the grand scheme of things. It just so happens that it makes a great Journal Entry. Hope you enjoy.

French Novelist Marcel Proust wrote that the essence of discovery is not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes. I feel that for many college graduates the essence of discovery is lost. They face a graduate’s dilemma, the realization that for the first time in their lives the world is truly theirs. There is nothing stopping them from accomplishing their dreams, yet the pressures of society tell them that their reality is one of a 9-5 job, and that it’s better to play it safe than risk it all in pursuit of an Ideal.

Five years ago I faced the graduate’s dilemma, fresh out of college, colored green, with a whole world ahead of me. Yet, there I sat looking at a map with no directions, with everyone telling me I need to get a job and start life. The question in my mind, however, was whose life? So as college graduates do, I bought into the noise, and began to go through the motions, applying to one Job after another. It was during this same time that a colleague suggested that I look into the United States Peace Corps, an organization I knew very little about, and furthermore something that most people told me was a waste of time. Nevertheless, I applied and was accepted. I received an invitation to serve in Mongolia. Matt and Mongolia just did not seem to fit together in a single sentence. To my dismay, I declined, and still listening to the naysayers, I continued to search for answers to my current dilemma.

My last real job interview was for an entry-level position at a staffing agency in Houston, and as I had been doing for the past 5 months, I was going through the motions. By this point, it was obvious to all parties involved that I didn’t want to work for this company, that I was just looking for something. And so it was, my interviewer stopped me, mid-interview, and asked me the question no one had yet to ask me, “what do you want to do?” It was obvious to him that I was searching. When I couldn’t answer his question, he told me that the job was not mine and that until I could answer his question, I would continue to live my life ”Just going through the motions”. As a man of faith; I believe that everyone has a path, and that was the day I was set on mine.

The following morning, I phoned my Peace Corps recruiter in hopes that they would grant me a reprieve. Much to my surprise they did, and a few days later, I had an invitation to serve as a volunteer on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Saint Vincent and Matt did have a nice ring. I knew nothing of the Peace Corps other than the information they provided on their website; it was their logo that sold me “Life is calling, how far you will go?”. To me this was a fresh message, a chance for a new start. Up until this point, I had been doing what was expected of me. It was time for me to start living.

It’s been five years since I started on this path of self enlightenment, and with my graduate education all but complete, I find that I have come full circle. My decision to challenge the status quo and embark on a journey into the unknown has presented me with opportunities that otherwise would have remained hidden, such as working with coffee producers in Rwanda, educators from Iraq, and organic farmers in Trinidad. So for those undergraduates and graduates alike who are wondering what’s next, I would tell you to be bold, “Listen to yourself. Your road is the open road. See it with new eyes”.

Peace Corps Loves Saint Vincent and The Grenadines

Just thought I would share a video that a Fellow Peace Corps volunteer created, it is always nice when you get something from the islands.