Roshawn Hollie, 131 YinD

I looked at a million words the rhyme with “goodbye.”

The best rhyme I found was “apple pie.”

If I compared this experience to apple pie, I would say that it was cooked well and taken out of the oven at the right moment. We all started out as single ingredients. We were sugar, flour, butter, water, cinnamon, apples, eggs, and salt separated across the states. It took time for us to blend together. We were thrown into bowls, some smaller than others, while others were in bowls too big to handle. We were beaten like eggs, sliced like apples, and mixed until the texture was just right. We weren’t perfect right away. Some apples were cut too thick. Some insisted on pinching just a little more salt into the mix, and after three months of tasting apple pie filling, we were finally right. Off into the hot oven of Thailand as we leave our mixing bowls. Though separated in service, we stayed connected through social media, vacations, and even some letter writing. We have each other. We’re in this oven together, slowly rising. We are slowly rising to the top to be our best selves. While our crusts harden and the filling bakes, we remind each other that at some point, we will be taken out of this oven. We will come out on top, baked to golden perfection, ready to serve the people of Thailand. We are sweet, inviting, and pair perfectly with ice cream.

Some apple pies rise quicker than others, burn in the oven, or are ready to be taken out sooner than expected. And that is where I’m at. I feel like an apple pie who has served all her pieces, and it is time to clean the pie tin. It is time for something new. Maybe another apple pie or maybe I’ll be pecan next. But I am ready to be served, just not in an oven in Thailand.

Apple pie is a dish best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and for some people, also a drizzle of caramel. I am happy I was able to serve with you all and experience Thailand, but now it is time for me to clean up my plate. New recipes are out there, and I am ready to see what’s cooking. To the 130s, thank you for the guidance and helping us stir the pot in our communities. To my fellow 131s, keep on cooking and serving up Thailand. This is a place we need a leave with good taste. I look forward to seeing what you cook up next.

Bye bye, my Peace Corps pie.