Close of service conference as written by my smart ass friend Jane Baker

COS conference is a 3 day conference which every stage group (those who remain) are put up in a hotel and attend many sessions on readjustment in the US, emotionally, psychologically, physically, and problems we may face, financial matters for our government compensation, i mean readjustment allowance, special groups that exist to meet our needs as RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, my official title when i COS (close of service) in october), resume writing sessions, a panel with other RPCVs, some of whom have been in international development for many years, and all that jazz.



so yea, it was pretty mind numbing since the amazing food at this amazing hotel had us in food comas all day. let's talk about hotel ricardo for a moment....it's been family run since it's establishment sometime before 1985, so all the landscaping is very developed. it was practically a tiny jungle unto itself on the barrage in ouaga. lovely views at sunset across the water. thousands of beautiful birds chirping and singing and swooping all day long. smallish rooms but comfortable, i would say nothing to write home about except that that is exactly what i'm doing....but comfortable, clean, well kept, sanitary, extremely well ACd and tvs with CNN!! oh man, that CNN...what's going on out there?! but yes, la patronne has many, like 10, dogs running around, beautiful international breeds, like a greyhound or two, some cute medium sized black shaggy one, a corgie mix or 3, and one or two african dogs thrown in for good measure. they just come right up to you and seem to say, oh another guest, all right, i'll just be sleeping over here. too cool for school, these pups. but perfectly friendly once the tummy rub was introduced. beautiful animals. so yeah, not four star, but the comfort level is such that if any of you had come to visit me, i would have put you up there because it's like a vacation within a vacation!


so, yeah, session after session, with the wonderfully capable, understanding, and multi faceted Nanette, and many many many handouts that made me dump the entire folder in the trash after i had extracted the most vital info because the folder then weighed 2 lbs. not kidding. anyway, yes i learned a bunch about how my life could suck in many annoying and frustrating small ways, some of which i'll share with you in these scenarios that were presented to us for consideration:


Typical Reentry Problem #1

Returnees--particularly those who have lived closely with host nationals for an extended period of time-- find that they are sharply aware of many features of their home environment and culture that they previously never noticed, or at least never questioned. Becoming suddenly and acutely aware of so many things that were previously taken for granted is not a seriously problem; the problem arises because the returnees often find themselves feeling critical of many of these things. This criticism is usually expressed with the "negative attitude" of the returnees. Even if the returnees manage to keep criticism to themselves, they are disturbed about feeing negative toward people and events in the place they call home.


Typical Reentry Problem #2

Returnees--especially those whose experiences have been particularly rich-- usually come home bursting with stories, ideas, facts and all kinds of other interesting things to tell anyone who will listen. What they find, however, is that almost everyone they talk to either will not listen for more than a few minutes, of listens politely but simply cannot comprehend the richness and vitality of the returnee's experiences. (The latter attitude often shows up in the simplistic questions asked of the returnee, such as "Do people in Guatemala know what telephones are?") Such attitudes are likely to cause the returnee to feel considerable annoyance.


Typical Reentry Problem #3

Returnees--especially if they have lived for an extended time in a culture that is much difference from their home culture--bring back with them many new values and patterns of behavior. Their new ways tend to be most sharply difference in relation to those of the people who they love most dearly. This particular change occurs in their host community they became attached to certain people (such as members of a host family) and learned how to behave toward them according to the patterns characteristic of the host culture. Upon returning home, returnees encounter people whom they also love--and begin interacting with them as they learned to interact with loved ones in the host culture. In many cases, however, the family members and old friends of the returnees are bewildered and possibly even offended by this strange behavior. They, in turn, begin to act a little strange toward the returnee...and thus the seeds of misunderstanding are sewn.


And this last one, friends, is the one my group had to discuss. I'll follow it up with our responses...which i'll tell you, are pretty darn close to something you may hear outta my mouth if you dare ask these absolutely ridiculous question:


Typical Reentry Problem #4

Returnees have grown enormously and have gained skills and knowledge that is valuable for and applicable to almost any professional or social environment. However, it is difficult and takes some time to discover how all this can be applied in the States. In the meantime, others (family, friends, and future employers) see the 2 years at a "fun experience" but not terribly serious or useful. The RPCV often gets remarks life: "It's really time to get serious." or "You have to make up for lost time." When this happens, at the same time that the RPCV is still struggling to find his/her place in the US environment, it can lead to discouragement and feelings of inadequacy.



possible responses to "get serious":

--get a life.

--get a new friend because i'm no longer going to breathe oxygen within 30 feet of you.

--i love my life, i don't need to be serious.

-- Would you like to read my DOS/Qualification statement? (kind of an inside joke, but most RPVCs and the like will get it)

--Serious? Ever heard of AIDS?



possible responses to "lost time":

--Shit! Where'd it go?

--I lost that time with your tax dollars so technically it's your fault it's gone.



don't freak out, it's best we all be aware that i'm going to resent you all. ha ha, whoa, just kidding. that's another thing, my sense of humor has undergone a bit of a change, you might say.


so yeah, less then THREE MONTHS until i depart Burkina Faso!!! woo hoo!


love jane(and laura)

P.S. from Laura: Since jane had already written this pretty accurate account of our COS conference and we have the same sense of humor, I did minor editing that applied only to her, but hope you get the gist of the week. Next some photos!