What is Comfortable?

Who would like to face off again in a game of middle school b-ball? I want to remain young through my 40s so I can always think about these situations and then actually live them out. What a joy to be part of the world of imagination. I feel privileged and free to dream of such opportunities. The world really is an amazing place to discover through your own thoughts. It is me imagining a world where there is no electricity that got me here to rural Dominican Republic. However, living with those who are impoverished sometimes makes me feel a little guilty for having lived so many years of my life in a relatively wealthy atmosphere, or as my grandfather exclaims `` Living high on the hog!`` One day I´m bathing on a concrete floor with a chilly bucket of rain water, while the next day I find myself at a resort under a pressurized shower head with hot water massaging my back. What makes one situation better than the other… well I guess it´s all perspective. Comfort can sometimes be what you are most used to. Have I become accustomed to cold showers enough to where I think they are comfortable because they simply clean my dirty body? My recent trip to a resort (also know as Peace Corps evacuation plan upon news of Hurricane Tomas´ potential arrival to the island) had me exposed to the wonders of hot water again. And I`m not sure if I necessarily needed that hot water to put me happy. For just the fact that I could clean myself in a private bathroom with running water was enough to exclaim ``Luxury!`` My lifestyle has certainly been of relaxation in terms of what it means to work for what you get. I mean my host family feeds me hot meals twice a day, I nap usually for 1 hour after lunch, and when the yawn appears a more often I tend to take an extended rest.

Then I think about a weekend like this past one, a three day conference at a center called ``Vacation La Romana.`` We played baseball, basketball, volleyball, frisbee, tag in the pool, ate pork chops, and danced, all the while colaborating with young Dominicans about the importance of protecting our environment. They say it was my job to attend the conference with my two brilliant host sisters, Lisanna and Lizbet, but I say it was yet another weekend vacation. Peace Corps here in the Dominican Republic offers so many opportunities to each and every of its 200 volunteers to get involved with high quality programs. Programs that make your job feel fun and always new. I know there is something to be said for being close at home in your site for consecutive months at a time without leaving, but I have certainly enjoyed witnessing the personal growth and pure curiosity of my youth group members as we get to travel around the country. They get to share their lives with other youth from far away who are equally excited about sharing their lives. As youth we inspire each other to not use plastic bags, organize creek clean ups, and speak directly about the kind of environment we want to grow up in.

So my life is moving about from one conference to another. Sometimes I think I´m a trips counselor at some long extended summer camp in the Caribbean. I guess you have to enjoy what you do… so I´ve made a job out of being a kid again. This weekend brings movie watching to town. The movie is ``Maria full of Grace.`` You should check it out if you haven’t seen it.

Think about what really makes you comfortable, then orient your life around that.

Signing out from a whole lot of mind boggling, poverty-freeing paradise.

Jared