The Adventure Begins

Today is the first of February, 2010. A year ago today, I was logging in to my account on the Peace Corps website, checking anxiously to see if my recently-mailed medical evaluation had been approved (it hadn't, and wouldn't be until April). I had no idea at the time that I would be stepping on a plane bound for Philadelphia in 380 days, or that I would be departing from there for Zambia in 382. I had no idea that I would be going to an English-speaking country (I had just started an intense night course in French, having been nominated for placement in French West Africa), or that I would be spending Christmas with my cousin in London (my initial tentative departure date was set for September, so I was expecting to spend Christmas far away from cold, snow, and family), or that I would sleep in my own bed at home at all during 2010.

But this is the way of the Peace Corps; more than a sense of adventure, cultural sensitivity, or the right pair of shoes, the most important quality of a successful Peace Corps Volunteer is flexibility, followed closely by patience. There is no greater preparation for the stressful and frustrating twists and turns of the real world than the zen-inducing Peace Corps experience (if you can pee in a ditch for two years, you can do anything), and there is no greater preparation for the Peace Corps experience than the Peace Corps application process. At times it feels as though the folks in Washington turn the application process into an arduous task on purpose, and why shouldn't they? What better way to ensure that only the most committed volunteers arrive on foreign soil? What better way to minimize as much as possible the number of volunteers who, homesick and lonely and ill and depressed, decide to go home before the experience has ever even started? The Peace Corps demands commitment and loyalty from the very beginning, so there is never any doubt what you are getting yourself in for; those who wish to serve must be willing to stand and wait.

I started my Peace Corps application in October of 2008. I was nominated on November 5th, 2008, for a forestry project in sub-Saharan Africa. My dental evaluation was approved in late February, and my medical evaluation, after months and months of research, tests, blood samples, vaccinations, medical records requests, doctor's appointments, and bills, was approved in April. I was invited to Guinea in September, then dropped from that assignment due to "tensions and conflicts in the country" just before Halloween. I was re-invited to Zambia on December 3rd, 13 months after my initial nomination, and two weeks ago I finally began packing (again). During the past 15 months I also graduated from Smith College, went to Rome with my mother, took a solar power course online, visited my Dad's family on Cape Cod, dropped the online solar power course, re-learned to ride a bike, visited my two roommates in Indianapolis and Philadelphia, visited my friends at college (twice), read The Poisonwood Bible, crashed my bike into a bush, and spent the holidays in London with my cousins.

It has been a long year of waiting, preparing, and finding ways to occupy my time. I am proud and excited to be finished with this "waiting and hoping" stage. In fifteen days, I go.

Whether you're someone I know and love or someone who is thinking about the Peace Corps and just wants to lurk on current volunteers' blogs for awhile before making a decision, welcome! I promise to do my best not to bore you, and to provide as frequent updates as possible (traveling to places without electricity may make it difficult at times).