This morning I woke up on the floor of a small room in Sucre, Bolivia, three friends sleeping beside me, peace washing over us.
You won. We won. Barack Obama, you will be our next president. You, a man of great composure, vision, heart, wisdom, passion, and dangerous good looks, will be at the helm of our nation. I have never felt so proud to be an American.
Last night twenty of us, Peace Corps Volunteers of Bolivia along with friends from many nations -Bolivia, Germany, England, Australia, Nigeria, Norway, and Holland- huddled in a little hostel around a television, and we watched victory come down on you. On all of us. Tears rolled down as we watched your numbers rise, as Virginia, my home state, gave you her thirteen electoral votes (the fist time it’s gone democrat in over fifty years), as CNN declared you the victor, and as we listened to you speak of your gratitude for the opportunity you’ve been given, of your passion for making our country great again, and of the great tasks that lay before us.
The whole world was watching this race. The whole world was hoping. And now we’ve done it. We, the people of the United States of America, have elected a man we believe in, a man who has defied history and started a revolution –a wave of renewed hope in our nation, a belief in what America can be, can do, can give.
On September 14, 2008, the 113 Peace Corps Volunteers of Bolivia were evacuated to Peru. Because of political tension between the US and Bolivia, we could no longer live and serve and work in the country that had become our second home. A number of us went on to continue Peace Corps service in other countries, some returned to the States to carry on with life there, and many of us, myself and my husband included, returned to Bolivia on our own to carry out the projects we’d begun and to say goodbye to the friends in our village that had become our family. We are grateful for the opportunity to be back in this beautiful and impoverished country. And though it is so many worlds away from the USA, I am at home, and, today, I feel more American than ever. Throughout the campaign our Bolivian friends cheered on ‘El Negro,’ and last night, it was not only the Americans who felt the victory. There is much to be done to mend relations with the dozens of nations that the US has wounded and disregarded over the last eight years, and we will work with you, for you, to that end. We will work for peace, and we will work for a brighter future for the children of all nations.
In a few months we will return to the US. I am excited to come back home, to work hard there, as I have worked hard here, to increase community activism, to empower women and children to be leaders, and to protect the human rights and natural resources of the world. I am excited, too, to turn on NPR and hear your voice, to witness the unfolding of new education, health care, and environmental programs, to watch you extend a hand of friendship to the powerful and poor nations alike, and to work with you to make America the country it was born to be. It is a place of possibility and innovation, of astounding natural beauty, and of opportunity for all whom are born within or cross her borders. May it be forever so.
I extend my deepest congratulations to you and your beautiful family and the warmest welcome I can offer from afar. I hope one day to shake your hand. You give us hope for the future of our great nation; together we will serve it well.
You won. We won. Barack Obama, you will be our next president. You, a man of great composure, vision, heart, wisdom, passion, and dangerous good looks, will be at the helm of our nation. I have never felt so proud to be an American.
Last night twenty of us, Peace Corps Volunteers of Bolivia along with friends from many nations -Bolivia, Germany, England, Australia, Nigeria, Norway, and Holland- huddled in a little hostel around a television, and we watched victory come down on you. On all of us. Tears rolled down as we watched your numbers rise, as Virginia, my home state, gave you her thirteen electoral votes (the fist time it’s gone democrat in over fifty years), as CNN declared you the victor, and as we listened to you speak of your gratitude for the opportunity you’ve been given, of your passion for making our country great again, and of the great tasks that lay before us.
The whole world was watching this race. The whole world was hoping. And now we’ve done it. We, the people of the United States of America, have elected a man we believe in, a man who has defied history and started a revolution –a wave of renewed hope in our nation, a belief in what America can be, can do, can give.
On September 14, 2008, the 113 Peace Corps Volunteers of Bolivia were evacuated to Peru. Because of political tension between the US and Bolivia, we could no longer live and serve and work in the country that had become our second home. A number of us went on to continue Peace Corps service in other countries, some returned to the States to carry on with life there, and many of us, myself and my husband included, returned to Bolivia on our own to carry out the projects we’d begun and to say goodbye to the friends in our village that had become our family. We are grateful for the opportunity to be back in this beautiful and impoverished country. And though it is so many worlds away from the USA, I am at home, and, today, I feel more American than ever. Throughout the campaign our Bolivian friends cheered on ‘El Negro,’ and last night, it was not only the Americans who felt the victory. There is much to be done to mend relations with the dozens of nations that the US has wounded and disregarded over the last eight years, and we will work with you, for you, to that end. We will work for peace, and we will work for a brighter future for the children of all nations.
In a few months we will return to the US. I am excited to come back home, to work hard there, as I have worked hard here, to increase community activism, to empower women and children to be leaders, and to protect the human rights and natural resources of the world. I am excited, too, to turn on NPR and hear your voice, to witness the unfolding of new education, health care, and environmental programs, to watch you extend a hand of friendship to the powerful and poor nations alike, and to work with you to make America the country it was born to be. It is a place of possibility and innovation, of astounding natural beauty, and of opportunity for all whom are born within or cross her borders. May it be forever so.
I extend my deepest congratulations to you and your beautiful family and the warmest welcome I can offer from afar. I hope one day to shake your hand. You give us hope for the future of our great nation; together we will serve it well.
1 comment:
Hoooooorayyyyy!!! The whole world rejoices. Lift a glass from afar in a toast to progress.
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