“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to leave the shore.”

Hello again! So I left off last time with a promise to share how I’m feeling about this journey, which is something so many of you have inquired about. But first I’ll fill everyone in on a couple of basic details I forgot the first time around:

• The Peace Corps is a 27 month program. The first three months will be in training (which will be in the country that I will serve in). This training will consist of language and culture lessons, first aid, basic survival skills and job training. During this time I will be living with a host family and will have a lot of contact with other Peace Corps Trainees (PCT)
• After that I will receive a site assignment which will be the area where I will work for 24 months after I have been sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PVC)
• I will have vacation days, 48 in total which I can take in any increments that I choose (I’ll probably be coming home at least once, if not twice). Many of the country coordinators do not count travel within the country against this vacation time, which means I would get to experience more.
• The Peace Corps pays for everything, including vaccinations, airfare, food, shelter etc. Upon coming home I will also be given around $6000 compensation.
• While at my site I will be living alone and will probably be the only PCV in town. However many volunteers spend weekends together and travel around the country together, so I will not be too far from English speaking friends.

So I think that covers it for now. If you have any burning questions, post them as a comment or shoot me an emails.

So now for the mushy stuff…

The first feeling that hits me is a thrill of anticipation, laced with a tiny hint of adrenaline. This will probably calm down as I get more used to the idea. I am so excited for such a new experience.

The next thing that hits is anticiption, in a nervous “I want it to be here but I never want it to come” sort of way. I have read a lot of blogs and I know about the loneliness, the exhaustion, the discomfort of living in such a poor country  and being so alone. One PCV wrote, “It totally strips away so many things that define you, your friends, your family, your commnity, your language, and at the end of it all, the core essence of you is all that is left.”

I am looking forward to this, even though I know it will be one of the most difficult times of my life. I am looking forward to the challenge, of finding the edges of myself.

It is also not quite real yet. I know hypothetically how hard it will be. I know how much my diet will change (and anyone who knows me knows that I’m pretty picky so this will be a huge challenge for me.) I know I will sleep uncomfortably and probably get some exotic disease. But knowing these things and actually experiencing them will be a far different thing. So we’ll see how it goes.

My mid term exams are over, they’ve all gone pretty well. I have an number of essays due next week and after that I will be done for a little while.

Also, for anyone who is keeping track of the little things, my interview has been moved from Monday until Tuesday.