12/27/08
There is a pale hanging over the various Christmas gatherings I am attending. It is like people are falling into a dark hole of their own excesses fearing the pain that may await them. Even younger children reflect the anxiety of their parents as their Christmas gifts this holiday are not as lavish as last year. No one has lost their jobs or homes, but belts are tighter.
My own net worth is half of what it was when I joined the Peace Corps, yet I feel apart from the apprehensions gripping others. Maybe it is my isolation from the constant bombardment of news and water cooler chatter, maybe it is the serenity of living with less, or maybe it is a complete ignorance of my own situation.
As my thoughts begin to anticipate a return to Samoa and the remaining months there, I wonder if today's unanticipated events will define my younger Peace Corps associates as immigrating from from Russia affected my grandparents, the Great Depression shaped my parents, and the Vietnam War molded mine.
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