Into the West
In a few days I will celebrate one year at my work site. That's the first of hopefully two years of service with my community for improved agricultural production, community-wide nutrition, income generation and management, and gender equality. Also in a few days, the next generation of Volunteers will take their oaths of office and anxiously head to their work sites. I'm proud of my year's work at site and in helping train these new Volunteers, but I will unfortunately be absent from celebrating either of these accomplishments. That's because tonight, I'm traveling home. Etoile Rouge, a central point in Cotonou I will be in Minnesota (with a brief stay in Wisconsin) for three weeks to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. I will miss the charms of living and working with my community, from daily gardening and leading trainings to afternoons stripping corn and visiting with neighbors. An infinitely long series of joys, jokes, and connections h