one year later

October first of last year I arrived in Azerbaijan. A brief bus ride later I arrived the hotel where I'd be staying the next few days and signed onto the incredibly slow internet. The first email I opened was from my mom telling me that my dad had died that day.
This was not a surprise. The week before I was supposed to leave my dad was in a hospice program at our family friend's house. My dad had been (mis)diagnosed with FTD about two years earlier, and I spent all of September in and out of the hospital after he fell and hit his head the day before his birthday. Despite this deciding to come to Azerbaijan knowing it would be either right after or right before my fathers death was easy. It sounds cold, but Peace Corps was something I knew I wanted to do, and more importantly I knew it was something my parents wanted me to do. While in the hospital my dad would wake up worrying that I was missing my flight to staging, and even with all the other confusion, 'Mike is going to Azerbaijan' was a constant.

One year later I can say this: Today, October first, is just another day. I woke up, went to school, taught classes, got frustrated, talked with friends, laughed, played some games, listened to music. That's not to say I don't think about my dad. I still have bad dreams and am perhaps a touch more sensitive (which is saying something), but as time has gone on its gotten easier. I was worried that today would bring it all back, that it would be like starting from square one. But its not. Its just October first. And if I remember this day for anything, its going to be for whats helped me the most in the last year: being in the Peace Corps. I think if I told a lot of my friends this they would laugh, but I love being here. My work isn't easy, but its introduced me to some the best people I have ever met. I spend my days walking through a mountain village that resembles the Shire. I teach classes and have clubs with amazing, talented kids. There are challenges, but every one of them is trumped by the fact that this has been one of the best years of my life. And I can't wait for part two.