T minus 3 weeks and counting, before departure. (I actually found out recently the T stands for time. A little sad I’m just finding that out as old as I am.) Alright, the application process is over. Now what? You know the region you’re going to & when, but that’s basically it. A lot of your questions are answered in the welcome kit. Once you’ve accepted your assignment to the Peace Corps they send you a welcome kit, which takes about 3 business days to get to your home. What REALLY adds to the anticipation of receiving the kit is that at the time you DON’T know what country you’re going to. I was given a general location, Sub-Saharan Africa, since they can’t tell you the specific country over the phone. In my case, I was accepted for an assignment on a Friday, so I had to wait 5 days instead of 3. It was like a blind date, except w/ a continent. You have all types of best & worst case scenarios going through your mind. I tried to keep my mind clear of expectations, so not to be disappointed. On a side note 2 of the most significant moments of my life have come via UPS. My college diploma & my PC assignment welcome kit. Given the fact that I didn’t even know I had graduated until then(thanks to my idiot academic advisor), both reactions were about the same. You know the reaction Michael Jordan had when he won his first big playoff series w/ a game winning shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers & he jumped about 4 feet in the air w/ a flurry of fist pumps, that was me, except I didn’t get a hug from Scottie Pippen. After settling down from finding out the country of service I started to read the welcome kit. You have some task to complete immediately. First, I had to send an email saying I accept the assignment to the specified country. Then I had to send an updated resume & write an Aspiration Statement & email that to the Ethiopia country desk. In the kit I received a Peace Corps volunteer handbook, an Adjustment handbook, a handbook for volunteer family members, and a handbook on my specified assignment/job (I‘ll talk about my assignment in my next post). I also received a packet of folders which mostly contained documents to fill out for orientation the day before I leave the country. It also had press release forms, insurance forms, & my passport & VISA application papers. The first, & most important task is to apply for the passport & VISA. Otherwise I wouldn’t get a plane ticket, and there goes 10 months down the drain. You get a different passport specific to the PC, so I had to send my current one in w/ the app. They don’t send it back. I’m supposed to get both passports, PC & personal, & my VISA at staging in Philadelphia. So I’ll have 2 valid passports, which makes me feel like a poor man’s version of 007...003.5!
There were also some dental & immunization task I had to complete before being cleared for departure as well. You can accept an assignment before getting required dental work done, so I still had to get my bottom wisdom teeth pulled & another tooth restored. I was nervous about the wisdom tooth surgery b/c of all the horror stories you hear. It actually wasn’t that bad. They put me under so I felt no pain, & there was hardly any pain after either. There was a lot of blood though. I had to keep gauze in my mouth for almost a week. Good thing I didn’t let them take all 4 wisdom teeth out, I would’ve been sucking on tampons for a week. I also had to get a yellow fever shot, which is specific for Ethiopia. It has to be documented on a yellow WHO(world health organization) card. I’ll have to keep this w/ me at all times, like a passport.
About 6 weeks out you’re sent a packing list, which is very detailed. It’s like a combination of packing for college, camping, and vacation all together. The list contains male & female items, some which I’ve never heard of. A “diva cup” for example, was something that not only I was unfamiliar with, but the women I asked as well. I made the horrible mistake of googling it. I was expecting some sort of rain forest make-up kit or a Mary Kay survival make-up kit. You won’t get a pink Cadillac from selling diva cups, maybe a red one. I’m going to try to upload the packing list to the blog, but I may have to paste it b/c I don’t think you can upload word documents. You’re advised to keep your packing weight to 80pnds, which is virtually impossible w/ what you’re asked to bring. I’ve already started picking up some things, rain boots, sleeping bag, binoculars, duffle bag, compass, canteen, survival knife, rope, & duct tape. It probably wouldn’t be wise to have female company over w/ all the slash & dash equipment in the apartment now. Yesterday I received a revised packing list & note on dressing appropriately. They say dressing there is not considered a manner of expressing yourself like here, but a manner of respect for the people around you. So no short skirts, profane t-shirts, tank tops, or spaghetti strap tops. It’s a more difficult adjustment for women b/c they’re expected to dress extremely conservative. I'm going to miss short skirts & high heels as much as the women do...let me rephrase that, I'm going to miss seeing women in short skirts and high heels.
Around 4 weeks out you receive a staging information email. It tells your where orientation is & where/when you depart the U.S. Orientation for me is in Philly on Oct. 3rd. There will be plenty of other PC volunteers there, although I’m not sure if all will be going to the same country. The PC flies you to staging from the closest airport of your choice, which will be RDU for me, since I‘ll be staying w/ my brother my last week end. So now I’m just spending my time getting items from the packing list, doing a little cultural research, & preparing to pack up & move. I’m to the point now where I’m mentally drained from the preparation & wondering what life is going to be like for the next few years, and I’m just ready to get to work & just live it.
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