Boon (n)- Something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit
Well, I'm off! By the time you're reading this, I will have landed in Zambia and be eagerly inhaling all the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of my host country.
Preparing for Peace Corps service has taken much preparation. I would have been even more utterly lost without the help and support of so many people. From the very beginning, conversations with friends and family about whether or not Peace Corps was the right decision, a motivational speech from the lady at the Hilo Police Department while I was getting fingerprints, help navigating the requisite paperwork from the folks at the post office, the talk-it-through conversations with roommates covering to-do lists, advisors helping me file paperwork to finish my master's degree before my departure, people making time to spend with me whether traveling in person or communicating through video chats, incredible generosity in helping me find the items to make my life in Zambia more enjoyable, thoughtful connections to others who live/have lived in sub-Saharan Africa, wishes for safe travel, resources and preparedness from the Peace Corps staff, and most of all, endless love and support from my family.
I have received an overwhelming boon of encouragement. It makes me tear up now, to feel so loved. I take great comfort in the idea of being in a foreign land far over the sea, undoubtedly occasionally lonely, but steadfastly connected and cheered forth by my own community at home.
Sincere thanks, to all of you.
I also wanted to take a moment to identify the boon we, as Americans, live with in our everyday lives. Occasionally, a shake-up of the everyday privileges we enjoy is essential to our appreciation. From the day I received my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps, I began to reconsider the simplest of actions: turning on the light, using the faucet to get a glass of water, sleeping without a mosquito net, access to information, pursuing an education, having a flush toilet, being white in the United States, being moderately well-traveled... the list in interminable. In the past few days of staging, we have again confronted our culture, our perceptions, our values as Americans preparing to integrate into a foreign culture and our way of life is staggeringly comfortable.
There's nothing like seeing your life from the outside to make you appreciate what you have. Even if you're not planning to live in a developing country, I encourage the exercise of gratitude for our boon.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Equanimity
Equanimity (n)- mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain
Peace Corps asks a lot of preparation from its volunteers! As you might imagine, the process of sending young (and older) Americans off to live in a foreign country is somewhat arduous, at least from this side.
For those of you who are curious, the Peace Corps application and preparation process consists of:
- a lengthy application online, including recommendation letters, essays, and lots of personal information about your life and experience.
- a telephone interview
- an invitation to serve, which must be accepted or rejected within three days
- legal clearance, including fingerprinting and background checks
- medical clearance, which was a barrage of paperwork, spanning blood tests, immunization history, additional vaccines, medical history, optometry and dental appointments, dredging up of paperwork and documentation from specialists of decades past
- application for a visa and Peace Corps passport (which is a temporary passport, parallel to a diplomatic document)
- submission of transcripts and proof of degrees
- financial and personal arrangements to be out of the country for two + years
- travel arrangements to a domestic staging event
- packing (that's an understatement)
- spending as much quality time as possible with friends and family ❤
THEN, if you thought you were done
- Staging event: where I am now, in Philadelphia, to pick up paperwork, attend training sessions, and meet my peers (three days)
- Travel to host country
- Orientation to Peace Corps in your host country (another three days)
- Pre-service training: ten weeks of intensive training encompassing cross-cultural skills, technical skills, local language, and education about life in your host country. In Zambia, I'll be staying with a host family during this period and learning how to be a local (hopefully).
- End of training evaluations: if I pass my language tests and am deemed ready to serve, I will swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and be sent to live in a village.
This has been a one year process thus far. With all this preparation and build-up, I'm certainly experiencing a noteworthy range of emotions: excitement of this dream of mine coming true, fear of not being successful in my efforts, curiosity about my new life, anxiety about being so far away from loved ones, eagerness to get to work, Overall, a feeling of readiness, of openness to new experiences, of embracing all that is to come in the next two years.
The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers whom I have had the pleasure to meet all exude a remarkable, humble sort of confidence. It's competency combined with patience and tolerance, as well as a drive to succeed regardless of the work involved. What I hope to personally gain most out of being a Peace Corps Volunteer is something approaching that equanimity.
Peace Corps asks a lot of preparation from its volunteers! As you might imagine, the process of sending young (and older) Americans off to live in a foreign country is somewhat arduous, at least from this side.
For those of you who are curious, the Peace Corps application and preparation process consists of:
- a lengthy application online, including recommendation letters, essays, and lots of personal information about your life and experience.
- a telephone interview
- an invitation to serve, which must be accepted or rejected within three days
- legal clearance, including fingerprinting and background checks
- medical clearance, which was a barrage of paperwork, spanning blood tests, immunization history, additional vaccines, medical history, optometry and dental appointments, dredging up of paperwork and documentation from specialists of decades past
- application for a visa and Peace Corps passport (which is a temporary passport, parallel to a diplomatic document)
- submission of transcripts and proof of degrees
- financial and personal arrangements to be out of the country for two + years
- travel arrangements to a domestic staging event
- packing (that's an understatement)
- spending as much quality time as possible with friends and family ❤
THEN, if you thought you were done
- Staging event: where I am now, in Philadelphia, to pick up paperwork, attend training sessions, and meet my peers (three days)
- Travel to host country
- Orientation to Peace Corps in your host country (another three days)
- Pre-service training: ten weeks of intensive training encompassing cross-cultural skills, technical skills, local language, and education about life in your host country. In Zambia, I'll be staying with a host family during this period and learning how to be a local (hopefully).
- End of training evaluations: if I pass my language tests and am deemed ready to serve, I will swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and be sent to live in a village.
This has been a one year process thus far. With all this preparation and build-up, I'm certainly experiencing a noteworthy range of emotions: excitement of this dream of mine coming true, fear of not being successful in my efforts, curiosity about my new life, anxiety about being so far away from loved ones, eagerness to get to work, Overall, a feeling of readiness, of openness to new experiences, of embracing all that is to come in the next two years.
The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers whom I have had the pleasure to meet all exude a remarkable, humble sort of confidence. It's competency combined with patience and tolerance, as well as a drive to succeed regardless of the work involved. What I hope to personally gain most out of being a Peace Corps Volunteer is something approaching that equanimity.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Entelechy
Entelechy (n)- the actualization of form-giving cause, as contrasted with potential existence.
Where my first knowledge of the Peace Corps came from, I don't know, but it has always been a dream of mine. Someday, once I was grown up, maybe I would travel to a faraway country and spend a few years of my life trying to help others. Even in it's childlike simplicity, I still like the idea.
That vague, well-intentioned plan of wanting to join the Peace Corps someday has quite suddenly seized entelechy. I have accepted a position with the Peace Corps and will be living in Zambia for the next two years. I will be a part of the Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) project and my specific title will be a Rural Fish Culture Extension Agent.
The reality of this is slowly, slowly setting in. In small doses and tiny thought bubbles, I'm beginning to realize the actualization of my new job:
The reality of trying to pack for two years away (this could be going better at present)
The reality of moving thousands of miles away from friends and family*
The reality of needing to adjust to a foreign culture
The reality of learning a new language in order to communicate with the people of my host country (Zambia has about 72 unofficial, mostly tribal languages. I'll be learning one of six major languages most common to my assigned village. I'll keep ya posted!)
The reality of living abroad as an American and feeling disconnected to current events in our country
The reality of serving as a representative for our country (eep)
The reality of living without the comforts I'm accustomed to (there will likely be no electricity, running water, or internet access in my village)
The reality of moving to a country where people face an entire host of challenges to everyday life that are utterly unimaginable to me. Living with the constant risk of HIV/AIDS, malaria, parasites, venomous snakes, limited access to healthcare, malnutrition, and all sorts of other issues must require a different kind of strength.
The reality of living in a country where homosexuality is illegal and women are commonly seen as subservient to men (Female literacy is on the rise in Zambia, but still the rate of female literacy as a proportion of male literacy is 72%, Unicef Zambia stats)
The reality of my actions possibly being able to improve people's nutrition and quality of life, even in small ways
The reality of my actions possibly being able to prevent over-harvesting of existing ecosystems
The reality of following through on that dream of mine. Six-year-old me is proud of twenty four-year-old me.
The reality that I'm leaving, and therefore must be ready, in six days!
*I'm lucky enough to be closer to my sweetheart and his lovely family while I'm in Zambia. The feeling of having someone familiar in the same time zone, on the same continent, is astoundingly reassuring.
Where my first knowledge of the Peace Corps came from, I don't know, but it has always been a dream of mine. Someday, once I was grown up, maybe I would travel to a faraway country and spend a few years of my life trying to help others. Even in it's childlike simplicity, I still like the idea.
That vague, well-intentioned plan of wanting to join the Peace Corps someday has quite suddenly seized entelechy. I have accepted a position with the Peace Corps and will be living in Zambia for the next two years. I will be a part of the Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) project and my specific title will be a Rural Fish Culture Extension Agent.
The reality of this is slowly, slowly setting in. In small doses and tiny thought bubbles, I'm beginning to realize the actualization of my new job:
The reality of trying to pack for two years away (this could be going better at present)
The reality of moving thousands of miles away from friends and family*
The reality of needing to adjust to a foreign culture
The reality of learning a new language in order to communicate with the people of my host country (Zambia has about 72 unofficial, mostly tribal languages. I'll be learning one of six major languages most common to my assigned village. I'll keep ya posted!)
The reality of living abroad as an American and feeling disconnected to current events in our country
The reality of serving as a representative for our country (eep)
The reality of living without the comforts I'm accustomed to (there will likely be no electricity, running water, or internet access in my village)
The reality of moving to a country where people face an entire host of challenges to everyday life that are utterly unimaginable to me. Living with the constant risk of HIV/AIDS, malaria, parasites, venomous snakes, limited access to healthcare, malnutrition, and all sorts of other issues must require a different kind of strength.
The reality of living in a country where homosexuality is illegal and women are commonly seen as subservient to men (Female literacy is on the rise in Zambia, but still the rate of female literacy as a proportion of male literacy is 72%, Unicef Zambia stats)
The reality of my actions possibly being able to improve people's nutrition and quality of life, even in small ways
The reality of my actions possibly being able to prevent over-harvesting of existing ecosystems
The reality of following through on that dream of mine. Six-year-old me is proud of twenty four-year-old me.
The reality that I'm leaving, and therefore must be ready, in six days!
*I'm lucky enough to be closer to my sweetheart and his lovely family while I'm in Zambia. The feeling of having someone familiar in the same time zone, on the same continent, is astoundingly reassuring.
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