The Bostonian Abroad

-- The Prelim exam has been attempted once more. Unprepared, I took it as a practice run for the real one in January. I do not expect to do well. As before, it did not seem as horrifying as I had feared. This summer was taken up in repair of the self. This was necessary after the breakdown of the spring. A new way of looking at it was needed, and I think I've started to build one. That perspective I had lost is starting to return to me. I don't feel stuck anymore. I don't feel doomed. I can do this; it's just going to take time.

-- I knew Tom and Eileen. We served together in the Peace Corps. They were among those I considered to be my best friends in Peace Corps Fiji.On many occasions, Tom and Eileen stayed at my place in Suva when they came into town from their teaching stint at Sigatoka Methodist School to do PC business, catch a movie and maybe get a bite at the golden arches. They were just like the rest of us PCV's. They went through the challenges of Peace Corps life and were open and honest about their experiences.They were, like me, healthily cynical and had a great sense of humor. When I found out about what had happened to them, I was beyond shocked. To see their PC ID's on CNN was something I was totally unprepared for.Over subsequent months and years, I have heard all of the ridiculous things said about Tom and Eileen, and I know that it would make their eyes roll at the self-serving nature of it all.Tom and Eileen were two of the most wonderful, vivacious, adventurous, and gener