Of Life in A Fish Bowl

Two Weeks Left

2012-02-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

It doesn't feel real. I'm leaving in 14 days (well, actually I'll be on the plane 14 days from now) and it just doesn't feel real. Maybe I feel this way because I have yet to pack up my room, or that I'm still going to work everyday like I always do. My paper chain is so small it's scary (14 paper loops doesn't take up much room) and my last day of work is this Friday. My mom's family came down to our house yesterday for a 'send off' get together and today my dad's family is coming over. Things are winding down and the pressure is starting to wind up. I've got e-mails from the country director about language tests and online safety orientations. I need to get my personal property insurance and pay off my loan. This is really happening.

So why doesn't it feel real?

Am I in denial or something?

You'd think with a room cluttered with luggage and items waiting to be packed I'd get the clue.

Maybe reality is just waiting to smack me in the face when my 8-5 job is done and all that lies ahead is a week of room packing. I'm really not looking forward to feelings of panic or doubt when all I have to think about is 'next week I'm gone'. I suppose I can only hope the out of the other 44 people in my group, at least one other person will feel that way.

Misery loves company and such.

Anywho....

Had the best time ever with my sister in California. Here are a few choice pictures from the trip.

Me after Splash Mountain. Never gotten this wet before.

Me and my sister Julisa.

From left to right: me, my sister and her boyfriend, Eric. On the Teacups.

Sisterly love on Space Mountain

My sister and her boyfriend in front. Me in the second row.

Us in the middle row: just three monkeys.

The next two weeks will be a mix of emotions and very busy days. Hopefully I'll find a few moments to breath, but that may have to wait until I am sitting on the plane.

Cheers!
Christine

24 Days To Go!

2012-02-09T07:46:00.001-08:00

24 days until lift off (6am on Sunday March 4) and today I’m off to California to spend some time with my sister and hit Disneyland and Knott’s Berry farm. Never been to Knott’s Berry farm before and I super excited to go.

After that its the sprint to the end with my last day of work on the 24th, giving me 10 days to pack up my room and try to figure out how I can fit everything I think I need into two bags and not go over weight.

Gah!

Will post Disney pictures when I return.

56 days to go

2012-01-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

Just in case you've forgotten what my original count (192) looked like, here is a reminder:

Well, it's been quite a while since that day.

I'm down to 56. Just 56 little days left. My suitcases are on the floor, half packed with those things I won't need until I leave and a few things I may still use thrown on top of them. My tablet is bought. I got a bluetooth keyboard (that rolls up of all things!), travel speaker (a little round ball thing that I can practically close my fist over yet has ENORMOUS sound), rechargeable batteries, solar panel charger, Keens, good knife and multi-tool. I have my pillow, quick-dry towels, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and bug tent. Power and plug adapters bought. Prescription sunglasses, two solar powered flashlights, lantern and two headlamps are packed away. 160 movies are on one external hard-drive. 4 TV series on another.

Only a few things left to get: Chaco sandals, some toiletries, and various clothing items that I can't pack until the last moment.

For some things, 56 days can feel like an eternity. I know when I first counted 192 days, I couldn't help but think: it will never come. We always seem to do that. The things we want the most seem to approach our present like a snail. While on the flip side those things we dread seem to leap at us unnaturally fast. There is so much left do to in these next 56 days that I know they will pass far more quickly than the last 136. Aside from the last minute things to pack, several days will be spent with my sister in California. Disneyland and Knottsberry Farm with my sis and her boyfriend seem like a splendid way to say goodbye to the USA.

But I also have to file for an extension on my driver's license because the DMV doesn't renew more than a year before a license is due to expire. Mine expires in April of next year. I leave in March, so instead I have to file for a year extension, TWICE. Once before I leave, and once while I'm in Africa since it will still expire before I get home. There is no way in hell I am going to retake that damn test. You'd think there would be some sort of special exception for Peace Corps Volunteers. There is for military personnel on duty overseas. Why not the Peace Corps? If anyone knows different, PLEASE tell me.

Also get to transfer power of attorney to my parents and make sure they are authorized to access my bank accounts in case I need something (or something happens to me, perish the thought). Have to buy insurance for all the stuff I am taking over (electronics, I hear, like to grow legs and walk off in Senegal, so the more protection the better) and....

Drum roll please!

...I have to either pay off my loan in full or apply for deferment.

There has been a great debate in my head over the last six months on this issue. Pay it off, or defer? Pay it off, or defer? If I defer, it's frozen and no interest accrues and I keep my modest savings account. But it is there when I get back and it will still need to be paid off. If I do it now, I cut my savings in half (*shudder*), but it's done. Nothing hanging over my head, nothing waiting to take a bite out of my resettlement payment. But it does cut my savings in half. What happens if there is an emergency?

Hence my dilemma.

I may end up having to make that decision after the next couple of paychecks so I know exactly where I stand financially. I don't like waiting until the last moment for these kinds of things, but when it comes to having enough money to get by or not, I may have to wait that long.

On a pleasanter note, I have been doing self defense classes since October and will be testing for the next belt on Saturday. I'm super nervous about the written test - and little less nervous about the physical test. But it should be exhilarating. I'm apparently challenging to purple belt, instead of the white/purple. Didn't do that on purpose, but what the heck, why not? Belt level doesn't matter to me anyway. I just need to know how to do the stuff. And I feel like I have learned a lot. Hopefully I'll never need to use it, but if I do, hopefully I'll remember and act without really thinking about it.

I think that's all for now.

Cheers!
Christine

On Thoughts of Autumn and Progress

2011-10-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Autumn is here. After an unending winter, non-existent spring and a delayed summer, autumn has shown its colored and wet face. I love the Pacific Northwest at this time of year. There is a lot of talk about people being more depressed in this area because of the dark, cloudy days that endure for about 8 months of the year - I am most certainly not one of those people. While I don't particularly enjoy not getting any snow (always a rainy Christmas - rarely a white Christmas) and am always extremely jealous of those regions of the country/world that get it, I can't bash the rain.

The smell right before and after, the puddles, the sound of it hitting the leaves, pounding on the roof and of course the downpours that can soak a person to the bone in three seconds - I love it all. It can be inconvenient of course - all the horses are in at the stables I ride at so all the stalls have to be cleaned which sucks - there is just something about it that makes me feel like I am at home. Doesn't seem to matter where in the world I am - China, Sweden, England, Florida - rain brings me home. I hope I can take that mindset with me when I am in Senegal since their rainy season can be pretty intense. My two biggest fears - so far at least - for my upcoming service is that a) I'll be so miserably homesick I'll early terminate (ET) and come home or (even worse) b) get some kind of disease/injury that I won't be able to finish my service and have to come home.

I really need to stop thinking about these sorts of things. Worrying now about 'what may be' isn't going to help my mental health as the days wined down.

So enough about that.

I've just started a self defense class that my mom insisted I take. After being told my entire life not to hit people or shout, this is going to be an adjustment. Looks like it will be fun and a real work out - which I desperately need - but it does pretty much fill up my week. My only free night during the week is Friday. With two nights a week for self defense, two nights for horses and one for ESL tutoring on top of my 8-5 job it's a bit of an understatement to say I am exhausted by the end of the week. Here's hoping I don't burn myself out before the real hard work (read: Peace Corps) begins.

My packing list is slowly being checked off. I got my osprey pack, sleeping bag, rain jacket, several pairs of capris and most importantly my Toshiba Thrive tablet. I cannot say enough about this thing. I LOVE IT. Full sized usb port is the only way to go. Don't give me this micro crap. Thumb drives and external hard drives are NOT micro and being able to watch movies is a must. I love the android honeycomb OS and the android market is pretty decent. It has a ton of books - which will be important. Angry Birds is free - but with the added annoyance of full screen adds cutting into play between levels. So not sure if the free is worth it. Personally I think they need to open up their movie offers to be actually bought rather than just renting, but then my current scheme makes that pretty irrelevant.

What is my scheme?

I've converted all my iTunes movies to normal MP4 format so the android system can read the files. A great little program called Audials. Best discovery ever handed to me. It also does wonders for DVDs. I'm through season 1 and halfway through season 2 of making digital files of the Star Trek Voyager series. Have a couple old movies done as well. So at least in the entertainment department I'll be set. Right now I need to figure out which ones I'll record, so that is another list in progress.

Here's to 145 days until lift off.

Cheers!
Christine

To Start...

2011-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

I suppose the first post on any blog is the place to explain why a person even has a blog in the first place. If the description isn't a dead give away, allow me to expand: I'm leaving for Senegal in March next year for service in the Peace Corps. This (and my companion tumblr blog) is where I will (hopefully) keep in touch with the outside world. Letters to and from Africa will take weeks, though I know they will be much appreciated, so I thought a blog would be best.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with African geography, Senegal is the western most country on the continent. [See photos] It's only about the size of North Dakota, is a former French colony, predominantly Muslim, has one of the most stable governments in Africa (though the next Presidential election is looking to shake things up) and is extremely poor. Part of my pre-departure 'homework' is to study up on the country and its history. While there is no way I can learn what the country will be like or what to expect simply by scouring the internet, I don't want to fly over there totally blind.

I don't have much of an idea of what I will be doing once I get there. I'm in the Preventative Health and Environmental Education program. The job title of Environmental Education Extension Agent doesn't really say a lot and the program description that was sent in my invitation packet didn't help much either. Apparently in this position I could be doing anything from digging a new well, planting trees, establishing a community garden, teaching kids about proper hygiene, promoting women's health, etc.

That's a big 'ol umbrella.

Specifics, it seems, don't enter into anything the Peace Corps does until you actually get in country.

So for the next 6 months I'm going to do some ESL tutoring, study up on the languages (there are 7) through the resources the Peace Corps has and I'm going to see if there is any possibility of joining a community garden. My placement officer just said for me to work on anything 'community development' related. Getting the extra experience is difficult since I work full time during the week, and most gigs are during the day, so I've really got my work cut out for me.

From reading blogs of current volunteers in Senegal I know I'll need one thing for sure: a three year supply of pepto-bismol.

The remainder of my packing list is still in progress, though you can see what I've thought of so far on the sidebar. Some of these things I have, most I still need to get. I know, I know, 'you're still 6 months out, why rush?' you ask. I'm not in a rush, per se, more that I need to have a steady prep going each month or else - knowing my procrastinating self as well as I do - I will find myself on the other side of the new year with two months left and freak out.

So I shall chug along my merry way, working, reading blogs and preping. Soon enough - as everyone tells me - March 6th will be here and I'll be on a plane headed to the wilds of Africa.

Cheers!
-Christine