right where we belong

Of all of the people who applied to volunteer in the Peace Corps, we were accepted. (One in three applicants is accepted.)
Of all of the countries Peace Corps works, we were assigned Suriname. (Peace Corps works in 73 different countries.)
Of all the regions in Suriname where Peace Corps Volunteers live and work, we were assigned the interior of the country. (PCVs work in the city or in districts or in the interior.)
Of all of the tribes in the interior, we were assigned Saramakans. (Peace Corps works in Aukan, Matawai, and Saramakan villages)
Of all of the Saramakan villages we were assigned Tutu. (Volunteers work in seven different villages along the Suriname River.)
Of all of the villages along the river, a professor named Kofi brought students to do archaeological research in Tutu.
Of all of the universities in America, Kofi is a Black Studies professor at Portland State. (Both of us graduated from PSU.)
Of all the people in the world, one of Kofi’s students married a man from Tutu.
Of all of the neighborhoods in Tutu, we lived next door to this man’s brothers. (His nieces were in our English classes and preschool.)

Yes! that’s the man in the picture. his name is Alfons. and now we live in Portland. and so does this man from Saramaka. he is an excellent cook, has a wonderful partner, loves up our baby, and makes us feel right at home. on Monday he left to visit his family in Suriname. we can’t wait to hear his stories.

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