How can I live such different lives, and be the same person inside?

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll see that I’ve been traveling from Lesotho to Paris to California, and I keep asking myself, how can I live such different lives, and be the same person inside?

I cannot explain how it feels to move from my rural village in the mountains of Lesotho, to the metro and tourist-filled streets of Paris, and now the California beaches. It just doesn’t make sense that I can be the same person, and live in completely different environments.

I have one week left before I return to the orphans and vulnerable children in my African village, and I know what’s going to happen; I’ll be asking myself, “Was that really me in Paris on a boat ride on the river Seine? Was that really me swimming in the Pacific at San Clemente beach? Was this a dream? I cannot seem to answer the question:

How can I live such different lives, and be the same person inside?

If you’re in Orange County, California, next Tuesday, July 19th, I am going to share my experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, southern Africa. If you’re curious to learn more about what it’s really like to move away from luxuries like electricity, toilets, showers and running water, please join me at Mimi’s Cafe in Irvine. The address and time are mentioned below.

I plan to delve into the reality of working as an English teacher in a tiny village, where the only traffic seems to be herds of cows, sheep, goats, and blanket-clad men on horses. The only sounds are roosters, pigs, donkeys that sound like elephants, fighting dogs, and the Basotho people who yell from one mountain to the next. My new life is 6,000 feet above sea level, in “The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho,” Southern Africa.

During my presentation:

I plan to delve into the nitty-gritty of my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer and entertain you with my daily challenges:

• Learning to live with zero privacy
• My “failed” attempts at communicating in Sesotho which have barely progressed beyond formal greetings
• My amazing public transportation adventures

The positives of my Peace Corps experiences and what I’ve accomplished so far:

• Improving the English teaching program at my school
• Forging friendships with teachers and my counterpart at school
• Receiving numerous donations of clothes, shoes, books and school supplies from wonderful people through my blogging which have greatly benefited the orphans and vulnerable children at my school
• Other recent accomplishments I shall mention during my presentation

What I plan to do after the Peace Corps, and how I hope to motivate more 55+ to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I started my Peace Corps “PST” (pre-service training) in Lesotho in October 2015, and this will be my first visit home. I have shared many stories on my blog since I arrived, and as time goes by, I keep learning new things about my environment, and myself.

Julia Capizzi, the amazing Peace Corps recruiter in Orange County, asked me if I’d like to share my experiences when I return this July for a quick vacation to visit my family and friends. I said “Yes,” and am asking all of you who live close by to attend, and bring a friend(s) along.

The Peace Corps Presentation will take place from 5:30 p.m., until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19th at Mimi’s Cafe in Irvine, CA.