The "G" Word

As excited as I am to be headed off on an African adventure, there is no escaping the dreaded word goodbye. 

Fact: goodbyes are the worst. For the last few months I have been happily stressing out about every other aspect of the Peace Corps preparation stage—from paperwork, immunizations, physicals, and dental x-rays to new purchases (like a nifty head lamp), and the selling or storing of everything I already own. I have had a suitcase partially packed for 3 months. Who does that? A neurotic person, that’s who. Add to that the time I’ve spent researching Peace Corps/Rwanda and attempting to teach myself some vocab in the local language, and I have basically been making myself a nervous wreck. But I have not forgotten some important advice I got from a former Peace Corps volunteer to spend as much time with friends and family as possible before leaving. So I’ve done just that with my Boston crew—bonding with Lara and David’s beautiful new baby and living it up at the fabulous going away party they threw me. Sharing laughs over a beer with Lisa as she re-counted some recent Match.com dates gone awry. Visiting the lemurs at Franklin Park Zoo with Dave. Hiking with Tyler after a 6-egg omelet…not a great life choice to eat a 6-egg omelet before a hike by the way. lol Sharing in my friend Kate and (her hubby Nick’s) current pregnancy updates over burgers and fries at Shake Shack.

Dalia, Lara (Mommy), and me

Good food and friends at my going-away (Thanks, DiCrescenzos!)

In the Noanet Woodlands

All the while, I’ve been postponing that awful word goodbye. Until Wednesday when my office threw me a send-off complete with taco dip, cake, a PowerPoint presentation set to James Taylor’s “You Got a Friend,” and a riveting game of Rwanda-themed Jeopardy. You’d be hard pressed to find a more epic office going-away party.

Good luck cake from my cohorts at EDC

Time to face the fact that goodbyes are in order. Today is my last day of work and then Saturday I am headed to NJ to spend 2 weeks with the fam. But I've decided to wrap my goodbyes in the promise of postcards and Skype dates. Because it's not like I'm going to Mars. It's Africa, and I will be back. And I will most certainly harass all of you in the U.S. to write me letters and send along things I might not be able to get in Rwanda like stick deodorant and Big Macs. Ok, so maybe that second one can't go air mail, but at least eat a Big Mac in my honor. 

2 Months Notice

After about a month of submitting paperwork, nailing down a packing list, and sifting through medical screening requirements, I now feel as though this is actually happening. So much so that yesterday I gave my official notice at work. I was concerned that letting my office know 2 months in advance of my last day might be jumping the gun, but everyone was very supportive and excited for me, and there didn't seem to be any negative response since I'm giving them time to find a replacement. Hooray! I've also discovered that my company actually does a good deal of work in Africa, and that some of my colleagues are currently collaborating with the Rwandan government to help improve the country's education system. My co-workers have already started to offer up advice and photos of their experiences:

Thank you to my co-worker Nancy for these great shots! And if you want to read more about the work Education Development Center is doing in Rwanda, click here.

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. :)