On "Leaving"

So, I’m leaving tomorrow. This is a reality that I don’t think I can fully comprehend until I land in Philadelphia. Or perhaps not even until I am hit by the inevitable (and very real) wall of humidity upon stepping off of the plane in Benin. Well, just to be safe, maybe I better give it a couple of weeks after that. I have spoken with a lot of people about this “leaving” business (“I’m doing what?”) over the past two weeks, and, for lack of a better word, it has been unreal. I don’t think that I had even thought about “leaving” and all of those things that accompany that word until I spoke with my Aunt Michele on Saturday. After I photocopied some of my vaccination records at the farm, she said goodbye as she walked out of the office and hugged me, explaining: “just in case I don’t get to see you again before you leave.” What?! Of course you will! Only then did it occur to me that my departure was around the corner, threatening to collide with me if I rounded that corner too quickly and naively. Sure, I’ve been going through the motions of packing, shopping, and making travel arrangements, but little did I think about how I was doing all of this so that I could “leave” at the end of it. 

Probably because “leaving” implies so much more than what I intend to do. As long as two years might seem at times, it also has a tendency to fly by just when you want it to take its time.  Gosh, many of my friends will barely be half way through their graduate studies by the time I get back! “Leaving” is also a nearly impossible feat when even people in developing countries (read: me) have access to technologies like Skype and universal cell phone coverage. Indeed, I will be anything but totally disconnected. Time and distance become so finicky in these types of situations. 

Luckily, I’ve had a few experiences which have brought this realization home and which have made my “leaving” a little more tangible and less nebulous. We are in the process of selling my beloved Tortoise (so many wonderful miles in that car!) and I called Verizon the other day to ask about discontinuing my cell phone service. I’ve even made arrangements for my faithful companion Stanley to be taken care of by my family (Mom and Dad – just drop a few pieces of Betta food into his bowl once a day to win his heart over). So final. It’s almost as if I’m moving to Africa in a few days or something.

This brings me to your role in all of this. I will miss all of you immensely, so I hope you’ll write me a letter updating me on your latest adventures. Also, please follow my blog by clicking on the link to the left of these posts! Do it. 

Keep in touch everyone.

Now, off to make this experience a little more real…

Application Timeline

I know that most of you will find this boring, but I really appreciated reading other people's application timelines when I was applying to the Peace Corps. The process is so long and convoluted that once in a while, I think everyone asks themselves whether their application has somehow, purely on accident, fluttered off of some administrator's desk and been carried down into the darkest recesses of our nation's capital, only to be found again during the next government shut-down. Thus, these timelines reminded me that yes, other people experience it. Nothing will test your patience more than a Peace Corps application.

It went something like this:

June 11th (2010):  I begin my application online.
September 30th (?): I finish my application, after numerous career planning appointments, several recommendations, and a few essays. And then I wait.
November 10th: I interview with my regional recruiter. She tells me at the end of the interview that she will nominate me for a position! Hooray!
November 12th: After a quick call from my recruiter, I receive my official nomination by email: Environmental Education in sub-Saharan Africa, to be departing in mid-August, 2011.
November 23rd: I receive my medical packet.
January 17th: I send in my completed medical packet, but only after three appointments with the college health center, the loss of at least 5 vials of blood, the most thorough physical exam of my life, a dentist appointment, and wrestling with a ream of paperwork regarding a recent concussion. I wait (quite a while).
April 12th: My patience exhausts itself. I send an email to PC making sure my application isn't missing anything. I get a reply back immediately saying that the nurse has not had time to review my file yet.
April 26th: Call from the PC nurse. Something is wrong with my blood test paperwork. My doctor fixes it and I send the new paperwork in two days later.
May 2nd: My online status says medically cleared!
... 3 hours later: My placement officer calls and says that she has a position for me, but I would leave earlier than expected. French-speaking Africa as an environmental action volunteer to depart June 29th. She says I need to make a decision about this position by the following morning (Eeek!!). After agonizing over the departure date, I call her the next day and say yes.
May 6th: My invitation comes in the mail, and my placement is in Benin! The entire application took about 11 months from start to finish.

Hopefully this may serve as a reassuring resource for those of you who wish to or are applying to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. Good luck!

Up and Running!

Hi everyone!
I finally have my blog up and running so that, in the future, the very elusive blog reader may find all of the juicy details of my life right here. I know, you're pumped. Don't get too excited though - I'm here until June 30th and therefore won't be blogging until a bit after that. I would love to see everyone before then, so feel free to stop by the house some time to distract me from my packing, French learning, and paperwork :) .

Here is a rough map in case anyone is interested: