Keep Calm and Party On
As I am now one short week away from the beginning of my twenty-seven month adventure with the Peace Corps, I've decided it's about time I got this blog up and running. Mostly I was waiting to come up with a name good enough for this blog baby and partially because I have a perpetual fear of plans falling apart. Thanks to my old roommate, Bobby, and his clever wordplays this blog's got a kick ass name but as for my fears, I'll just have to suck it up and trust. Así comenzamos!
Though this feels like the beginning, my journey with the Peace Corps actually began last June. I watched a large chunk of my friends graduate and move on to new jobs/apartments/travels (and, to keep things realistic, back home with their parents in some cases) while I had one last quarter to finish up. It was time to make a plan. Volunteering with the Peace Corps was something I had considered after choosing to major in civil engineering so I decided to revisit the idea. After a complicated application, a nerve-wracking interview (because I'm a nervous person, not because my interviewer was scary) and a stack of tedious medical/dental paperwork I was on my way to MALI as a Water and Sanitation Extensionist departing at the end of May.
You might be wondering to yourself, "Heyyy, I thought this blog with the kick ass name was about Perú!" And so the plot thickens...
About a month before my departure date I found out that Mali had become too politically unstable for existing and future PC volunteer projects and was told to sit tight for an unknown period of time. I cried for a day (perpetual fear affirmed) as the next two years of my life seemed to dissolve but I can only imagine the situation affected the people of Mali and the PCVs who were sent home. What I did gain from the experience was a greater sense of trust in the Peace Corps for my safety and well-being. A week or two later, my placement officer chatted with me about other possible projects and the decision was made to send me to Perú as a Water and Sanitation Extensionist departing September 13th instead.
Fast forward four months and here I am. My bedroom is in boxes, I've got a week full of goodbyes, I'm desperately scrambling to learn as much spanish as I can, I have an untimely jury summons to deal with tomorrow and I'm hiding from the dreaded task of packing two years into two suitcases. It's exciting/sad/ridic but I will push past the fear because that's what you do.
So for now, keep calm and party on.
Though this feels like the beginning, my journey with the Peace Corps actually began last June. I watched a large chunk of my friends graduate and move on to new jobs/apartments/travels (and, to keep things realistic, back home with their parents in some cases) while I had one last quarter to finish up. It was time to make a plan. Volunteering with the Peace Corps was something I had considered after choosing to major in civil engineering so I decided to revisit the idea. After a complicated application, a nerve-wracking interview (because I'm a nervous person, not because my interviewer was scary) and a stack of tedious medical/dental paperwork I was on my way to MALI as a Water and Sanitation Extensionist departing at the end of May.
You might be wondering to yourself, "Heyyy, I thought this blog with the kick ass name was about Perú!" And so the plot thickens...
About a month before my departure date I found out that Mali had become too politically unstable for existing and future PC volunteer projects and was told to sit tight for an unknown period of time. I cried for a day (perpetual fear affirmed) as the next two years of my life seemed to dissolve but I can only imagine the situation affected the people of Mali and the PCVs who were sent home. What I did gain from the experience was a greater sense of trust in the Peace Corps for my safety and well-being. A week or two later, my placement officer chatted with me about other possible projects and the decision was made to send me to Perú as a Water and Sanitation Extensionist departing September 13th instead.
Fast forward four months and here I am. My bedroom is in boxes, I've got a week full of goodbyes, I'm desperately scrambling to learn as much spanish as I can, I have an untimely jury summons to deal with tomorrow and I'm hiding from the dreaded task of packing two years into two suitcases. It's exciting/sad/ridic but I will push past the fear because that's what you do.
So for now, keep calm and party on.
Great first entry Jamie. Keep 'em coming.
ReplyDeleteGo Peru - more blogs pot favor.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Jamie. You'll do great!
ReplyDelete