Fresh New View (January 2, 2009)

Every night not plagued by clouds, I gaze directly upwards at the Milky Way. It coincides with Orion’s Belt (which is the only constellation I know, thanks to Men in Black), and it’s beautiful. First of all, the stars in this part of the world are beyond words, glistening proudly seeming non-affected by light pollution. I don’t remember them being so brilliant when in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. To be able to see these stars for the next 2 years (with a potential 3rd) fills me with sheer excitement!

I first saw the Milky Way on Christmas Eve’s eve. The visiting PCVs and I were just staring northward at the fresh new view we hadn’t yet seen in our lifetimes when I noticed there was a distinct arc of brightness. I asked, and Abby, a volunteer also living in my province, pointed out that what I saw was in fact the Milky Way. We all, then, stared in amazement at the ‘Way, something we had heard about in school for years, but only then were seeing for the first time. That night, we also saw about 6 shooting stars, including one huge one that left a long streak in the sky for about 5 seconds.

I was going for a jog on the evening of December 29th and, after greeting about a dozen locals, I found myself in the middle of a field amongst a great 360-degree view: to my back was a clear blue sky, to my left a fantastic sunset shining brilliant hues of vermillion and peach, to my right a beautiful array of clouds, both white and ones reflecting shades of the sunset, and to my front a huge approaching thunderstorm. Looking ahead I saw ominously dark clouds, the outline of the rain falling in the distance below those clouds, and lightning that would flash about 5 times in rapid succession in the one place and with the same shape.

With these spectacular views, as well as spending both Christmas and New Years at the beach, it’s a great reassurance that Peace Corps was a good decision.