The Sixth-month blues

I'm two weeks away from being here on this island for a full 6 months. I just heard the other day that at the sixth-month mark volunteers often go through a down period. I think I'm there, which might be surprising given my last entry. There's just a bit of uncertainty now with my assignment. Last week the prinicipal at my school was terminated by the board of directors. The principal is also the one I was working closely with and it was she that requested a volunteer in the first place. The school is very very small and without her there really is no one else there to be my counterpart and make my work sustainable after my 2 years. There is some hope however, as the board is re-thinking their hasty decision. They've been meeting to discuss their issues with the principal but as of yet she is not hired back. It's quite possible that I'll be looking for another assignment if she is in fact gone for good. On an upnote though, I did start attending a class to learn New Zealand Sign Language. I had my first class last night and it was uplifting to see successful deaf Samoan citizens in the community working. It's a fun group of people and I was able to talk with a New Zealand women who works for a disabilty advocacy group here. She has a lot of ideas and I think I might be able to have a good secondary project with her organization. I'm going to work hard at getting out of my "funk". Homesickness is just kicking in full force right now. I have been receiving some amazing packages lately. You all are way too good to me. I can safely say that I don't think I'll be needing any nice smelling lotion for awhile. I have been given just about the entire bath & body collection (well, not exactly, but close!) Thank you Thank you Thank you for all the love and the wonderful comments you are leaving.