Something I wrote for my fellow Volunteers that I read at our Close of Service conference

 I have traveled a bit while being in Bulgaria so I have spent a lot of time in Bulgarian train stations, but with the end of my time in Bulgaria looming I decided to pay more attention to these centers of transport much more carefully and fondly. When you just sit back and pay notice to life unfold in front of you, you'll begin to see stories and tales far more interesting than in those Turkish soap operas. Given this I was recently sitting on a train waiting for it to leave. It was late, as usually, and even though it was late arriving and therefore late to leave I knew that it wouldn't be departing anytime soon because all the train conductors were outside smoking. Normally I would of been irritated by the lack of punctuality and lack of information about our impending departure, but given my new vision for what was happening around me I noticed an older couple caught in a prolonged goodbye. I am sure their story was much simpler than the one I developed in my head and will share soon but I couldn't help but create a history and story for this couple. They both looked sad yet happy. Their faces featured smiles but their eyes showed pain, and here they were forced to prolong something that seemed unpleasant. It was then that I realized that this couple is a perfect representation of what will be happening to not only me but to all of us in the next three months.
Whether or not they'd like to admit it or acknowledge it we have become a family... As dysfunctional as any family that has come before it. I think of you all as my relatives and maybe all of us don't see eye to eye, get along, or love each other; there is no denying that we are forever bonded by this experience. Nobody can or will ever know what we went through, I venture to even say that no other Peace Corps group can relate to us just like we can't relate to them because we are different people here at a different time. Now the time has come to separate our family, this will be the last time we will all be together....... can you feel the weight of that? Surely you must and if you don't you should because this family understand what just happened to you. Nobody back home can relate and we have even warned that they might not care past the initial welcome home celebrations. After all could you ever really explain what a "Baba" is? I don't mean a Bulgarian grandmother, I mean a "Baba!" We do.
So as we are trapped in this bitter and prolonged goodbye waiting for our already late train to leave, realize that this time is a blessing because the universe is giving us sweet extra time, the same that it gave to that sweet couple. So with smiles, frowns, or indifference on our faces we say goodbye but our eyes should reflect the pain in our souls, the pain of saying goodbye and of our family being torn apart.