Sunday, April 25, 2010

doing the same stuff I did before...

Last spring, when I got my invitation to Guinea, I had to do a whole bunch of stuff after accepting my invitation, like write an aspiration statement, update my resume and apply for a government passport and visa, not to mention the slew of other personal things to do like getting rid of stuff, storing stuff, canceling Netflix, selling car, etc...

Well now I'm doing the same stuff all over again, except this time most of it is done already. I don't have to get a government passport because I already have one! I just had to update my resume and sort of tweak my aspiration statement that I'd written for Guinea.
I felt like I was sort of cheating at first, but then I realized my aspirations haven't changed much since last year. For example:

My strategies for adapting to a new culture include:
- Withholding judgment and staying in the moment
- Remembering that cultural adjustment takes time and being patient with myself and others during that adjustment period
- Being accepting of and patient with different cultural behaviors, even ones that I may find puzzling
- Trying not to compare to the new culture to my own cultural background, and when I do, celebrating the differences

By the end of my service, I think that I will have gained an insatiable thirst for knowledge, traveling, and new experiences. This may shape my life differently or push me in directions that I cannot yet imagine. I hope that I will have been inspired to continue to engage in activities that will help communities and people in need. I hope that I will have grown into a more compassionate, more open, more aware and wiser person. I hope that I will have developed lasting and meaningful friendships.

So that was just a sample. Pretty good, huh? Don't copy me, other future PCVs! Haha!

Anyway, I also got rid of most of my things before serving in Guinea, but now I have the opportunity to re-assess what I should store and what I should take along and what I really don't need. Today I've been trying to organize my things that have been stored in Joy and Tony's garage. (They are sooo good to me!) I am getting rid of 90% of my substantial book collection, which sort of breaks my heart, but then I remember that it's just paper so get over it! I am getting rid of clothes I never wear. I am cleaning and simplifying and it feels good.

Another thing I'll have to do all over again is PST (Pre-Service Training). Hmmm. I've been reading about the PST in Nicaragua and it seems similar to the one I did in Guinea. It is a community-based training, which means I'll be living with a host family. I will have sessions on cross cultural stuff, health, language, teaching, etc...
Sometimes I think about going through the whole thing again and I'm like wooooaahh I'm crazy for doing this. But I must remember to be patient because it will be different and new this time and I'll do a stellar job because I've learned so much already in Guinea.

Also I'm excited about meeting my new training group. I know they will never be like G-18, but I'm sure they'll be awesome and smart and I'll love them all!

Can you feel it in the air? Everything is changing! I am blessed.

Next step: study Spanish! I've been slacking...

Thursday, April 22, 2010

officially accepted my invitation!

I got my invitation packet in the mail today and read the job/country descriptions. I was right: it's a TEFL job in Nicaragua!
And of course I sent my acceptance email right away!

Here is a link to the Nicaragua Welcome Book: http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/niwb524.pdf

In other news, some of my Peace Corps Guinea buddies will be coming to visit me in AZ next weekend. YAY!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

invitation on the way!

I got an email today from Peace Corps telling me to check my online toolkit and it said that there is an invitation kit on the way!
Once I get the invitation, I have ten days to accept or reject the assignment. The kit will contain information about my country and about the job I'll be doing there.

Now I'm not supposed to know this, but I am almost 100 percent sure that it is Nicaragua. I talked to a placement officer on the phone a few days ago and she told me that it's a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) program. She also said that I would be leaving in the end of August and I happen to know that Nicaragua has this program and the staging date is August 31.
I should be getting the invitation this week, so I'll write more when I get it.

For now, here's some info on Nicaragua: http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/Nicaragua

Peace!

Friday, April 2, 2010

medical clearance, por fin!

Dang that's a big deal! Now that I am dentally and medically cleared (again!), I should be getting a new assignment very soon. YAY!