>3 Weeks

So it is exactly three weeks from yesterday that I will be boarding a plane from JFK Airport to fly to Brussels, and then on to Rwanda. Less than three weeks! It seems like just a few days ago that I was trudging through day after day of teaching tennis on Nantucket, with seemingly no end in sight and no word whatsoever from the Peace Corps.

And now, I'm nearing my final few days in Arlington staying with Ashley and Mishka, Ashley's self-proclaimed "canine substitute" for me during my two year stint in the Peace Corps. A cute little six week old Vizsla (pronounced "Vee-shla"), I'm counting on him to help soften the impending difficulties of my departure. While nothing can necessarily make this time "easy" (read: not miserable) for Ashley and I, hopefully having someone to come home to will bring some comfort.

So how does one get prepared to leave for two years? I've thought about this, and I've concluded that you really cannot get fully "prepared", because with the Peace Corps, you really don't know what the hell you are getting prepared for. I don't know which city I'll be living in for pre-service training (the 10 week training period before I am shipped off to my "permanent site" which is where I'll be working and living for the next two years), and I certainly do not know where my final site will be. What will my community be like? Where will it be located? What will my living conditions be? (I don't really care at all about my living conditions, whether I have running water or electricity or whatever. The only thing I really would like is consistent internet access so I can stay in touch better. I think Ashley would strongly agree with this...Am I wrong Love?). Will I be living with a host family? What will my internet access be like. What ages will I be teaching? (For anyone who didn't know, my primary project is teaching English in a secondary school. The most detailed description I have received up until now is that I will be teaching the age equivalent of 7th - 12th grade in American schools, which only reflects the age of my students, for I have no idea how basic or advanced their English language abilities will be. In 2008 Rwandan schools switched from using French to English....If you are realllllyyyy interested, here's a couple articles talking about the switch http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/14/rwanda-france and http://www.buzzle.com/articles/229555.html and http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5vwAUGsnmZmLHPpGRBtL0j7HROQ

What I was saying before? Oh right, not being able to actually prepare for leaving. But I suppose I should qualify that statement, because it is true that you can prepare in the physical sense (well, kind of. I don't think you can prepare for inevitable traveler's diarrhea and random sicknesses. And oh, awesome side effects from anti-malaria drugs, I hear that I should start getting prepared for some tripped out dreams). But in the psychological sense, you can only do so much. How does one prepare to leave family and friends (and of course youuuuuu Ash) for so long? Or mentally prepare for indefinitely trying hardships, but which you cannot possibly imagine? The hard times every volunteer has with loneliness, lack of visible progress from the work they've done, difficulties assimilating within one's community, etc....I could go on and on with a list of things which all fall under the heading of what I like to call "shit that will be difficult to deal with" (poetic, nay?). The best solution I've come up goes roughly something like "getting mentally prepared to deal and not flip out when shit becomes difficult".

Anyway, if anyone is interested in a few of the specifics I have right now.....

Staging (read: fly to the same city as all other Rwanda volunteers leaving at the same time as me and go through some pre-service orientation stuff, talks and exercises to help you prepare, etc). Staging will be in Philadelphia on October 19th - 20th. I will fly to Philly on the morning of the 19th, and then take a bus on the 20th from Philly to JFK Airport (I think it's because it's cheaper to put us up in Philly then NYC for staging, but it's much easier to fly from JFK).

Pre-Service Training: October 21st - Dec 29th, 2010. I'm not sure which city in Rwanda this is being held in yet. But during this time, all the volunteers in my group will be in the same city. Training includes intensive language training (in the native and universal Kinyarwanda language), safety and security training, health training, training to help you acclimate, and of course, training for your primary project (for me, learning how to actually teach a classroom ha...). I'm sure there will be other parts I haven't listed....

Service: Dec 30th 2010 - Dec 30th 2012. After pre-service training, I will officially "swear in" as a volunteer, and then after that I will be sent to my permanent site, probably in some rural community (though I do not know how far from Kigali or another larger city I will be, it varies a lot. I've read a lot of blogs from volunteers right outside of Kigali, so who knows). This is where I will remain for my two years, and where I will actually be able to begin settling in and trying to become a part of a community...

Home: Any day after Dec 30th 2012. Given how long it takes to travel, I'd say it's unlikely I'd be back on U.S. soil to celebrate the New Year, but I should be back sometime shortly thereafter...

And at some point during these dates, I will have vacation time to visit home and to travel. I accrue 2 vacations days for every month of service (this does not accrue during the pre-service training in Rwanda, so I only start earning vacation time in January 2011). I can use the vacation time however I want, I just have to inform Peace Corps Headquarters in Rwanda and get it approved (it's a security protocol). And of course, visitors are always welcome :). The only exceptions are no visitors during the first three months of my service, or the last three months (I'm pretty sure at least. And I don't believe I can travel during these times either).

Anyway, that's enough for now I think. I'll try and start posting more regularly, and adding things like how to send me stuff (and how to do so while minimizing the chances of it getting lost or having all the items inside ransacked), and where my pre-service training city will be, etc....