Me and the Whole Wide World

This is me, not under and not on top of the world, but next to it, giving it a nice hug and thanks for doing such a good job thus far in existence...positive feedback is so important. This picture is of me at the 2nd Annual Peace Festival in Peacock Meadow in Golden Gate Park.

At the festival I go to meet lots of RPCVs (returned peace corps volunteers). I also got to see dancing from Uzbekistan and Bulgaria, hear music from many countries, eat all organic, vegan, non-dairy food, and meet two people I will be going to the Ukraine with (Karen and Larry, married, from Monterey). This festival was very exciting for me because everyone there was so excited about all things peaceful and worldly. Every RPCV was friendly and willing to give advice, like don't even bring one bandaide because PC gives you enough medical supplies for an entire episode of ER.
I find that modern PC literature tends not to emphasize the traditional message of the Peace Corps, the reason that JFK created it, which was to foster understanding and development in countries around the world as essential ingeridents of peace. This is a slow and deliberate plan for a lofty and idealistic goal. I am very proud to be a part of it. One thing that the PC understands is sustainable development, time, man hours, personal relationships, these simultaneously small and large things that make up every hour of life and that can one moment at a time be changed. It feels a little like counting grains of sand on a beach, but it is a noble goal, daunting, but I'm not responsible for the entire beach, everyone gets a handful of this world.