Holy hell...I'm going to Rwanda

Last Thursday I received an email from the Peace Corps inviting me to serve 27 months in Rwanda as a Community Health Agent volunteer, beginning June 11th. Wow...I mean...wow. I was pretty blown away. I immediately ran the gamut of reactions:

• I am so excited, this is what I have been hoping for since I applied last August!
• Africa is pretty far...that means it will be expensive to fly out there from America. Translation = I might not have any visitors for 27 months. (sad face)
• How are my parents going to react to this?
• What a great experience! Between learning a new language, immersing myself in a completely different culture, and gaining health sector job training, this will be a life changing gig.
• So the local language is kinyarwanda, you say? Oh snap, this is gonna be hard.
• Working as a health volunteer in an area suffering from AIDS, malnutrition and malaria will be pretty intense.
• Wait...Rwanda has Peace Corps volunteers? Is it safe? Turns out that it is—the violence that we associate with Rwanda occurred 20 years ago and the country is now in a period of growth and reconciliation (refer to About Rwanda portion of this blog for more info about the country). And the Peace Corps suspends programs in unsafe countries—a recent example of this is Mali.
• OMG I will get to visit the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat! (OK I only thought of that one after some research about the country, but it's pretty exciting, right?!) I just did a quick Google search and have every intention of meeting this guy in the near future:

So I immediately called my mom and she was excited for me, which was a relief. In fact, apparently she had a dream the night before that I was in Africa and she and my brother, Chris, were planning a trip to visit me. Whew, that took a bit of the edge off. The few friends I told also had a positive response, including Buck, a fellow team leader who will be working with the Peace Corps in nearby Zambia at the same time. So now I am basically in the stage of filling out mounds of paperwork and wrapping my head around everything from vaccinations to dental x-rays, updated resume, special Peace Corps passport application, student loan deferment, Verizon cancellation, packing list...ahhhhhh! My head is spinning. But the point is, I AM GOING TO RWANDA! Wow. More info to come, friends.

Positive Thinking

My mother is of the belief that if you want something to happen you must will it into being. In addition to choosing your goal and lining out the ways in which you will accomplish it, you must also believe that this thing is going to happen. So essentially, it's not enough to just want something. And hard work, though integral, is not quite enough either. You must actually see yourself in the end zone, attaining whatever awesome thing got you all riled up in the first place. You must envision yourself making those big bucks, looking out over the Grand Canyon on your dream vacation, or standing at the alter next to Mr. Right. In theory, this positive thinking will send good vibes out into the universe, causing the cosmos to line up in your favor. Example:

Me: Hey universe, wouldn't it be super cool if I had a pony? (thinks positively, reads numerous equine magazines, builds barn and stands inside envisioning self on future pony... looking awesome)
Universe: Wow, that vision is entirely convincing! You are totally killing it on that future pony. (promptly sends pony to me via express mail) Done and done.

(Sidenote: I do not actually know this pony. He is from the InterWeb).

It just makes good sense that Goal + Hard work + Seeing yourself on the pony = Reward.

Since 2010 I have thought about joining the Peace Corps, but it took a lot of hard work and confidence-building to finally apply. And as the application process has progressed I've taken steps to put myself in the mindset that although I have not yet received a formal invitation to serve, it will happen. In recent months I've consolidated my belongings, moved into a month-to-month apartment rental, worked a part time job to pay down personal debt, and even sold my car over to my mom with the intention of giving it to her when I leave for the Peace Corps. Then finally I created this blog because, dag nabbit, I will get this job! That is if we all think positively, of course. :)