It's official. I've jumped.
This past week I moved out of my apartment of two years and pseudo-officially ended my job (also of two years). This is it. The ball of change (or delight?) is most certainly rolling. As much as you might expect one to be freaking out when faced with mega life changes such as this, I am actually surprisingly happy with where I am right now. I mean, I've got a month in Maine to savor and play and prepare!
The sun, while MIA most of June, has made a brief appearance - it's a wonder how much more summery summer feels under the sun - although even the soggy weather is comforting in a way, it's so Maine. While I no longer have the comforts of my own home, I am so very appreciative of my time in my wonderful apartment - the meeting place of Winter and Spring (streets) - and very thankful for the gracious comforts of others' homes. Directly after moving out of my apartment, I landed in the most perfect sanctuary for peace and relaxation...or maybe just the perfect tub? I was house sitting in Freeport and was able to read, bathe, eat, bathe, hike, and bathe. You get the idea. Now I'm living with my temporary room mate and full-time friend, Courtney, and I'm looking forward to spending lots of good, goofy, quality time with her before I leave Maine.
It's odd to think that my time in Maine is short. There's so much I want to do before I leave! So if you're in Maine, let's do something. Let's catch a Sea Dogs game, munch on some Duckfat fries, go for a hike, eat at the Green Elephant, toast to the future in the Old Port, play volleyball, meander at the museum for free, anything!
While it will be quite hard to say goodbye to Maine (yes, the whole state, the entirety of which I have been intimately acquainted for two years...well, almost), I'm looking forward to my roadtrip back home to Colorado in August. Two of my dear and delightful college friends, Tori and Dorothy, are flying out to help me get me and my stuff back home to Niwot, CO before I officially ship out (early September). We've got a beast of a moving truck - a 22-footer - and are planning to take our time seeing the country on the back roads: Burlington, VT, the Adirondacks, Syracuse, Ontario, and Chicago (past Chicago?? If you have any fun suggestions, please let me know). And one of the best parts - we get to go to the circus before we leave! Magical!
Okay, now for Some of What I Know...and Some of What I Don't Know
Where am I going?
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Palau. Where!? Well, check it out...
But here's the catch - we're talking about two different island nations with many, many tiny little dots on the map, each of which is different. So where EXACTLY will I be living for two years? No idea. And I won't know until after the first phase of training. That'll make preparation a tad more interesting, but I do know I will be in FSM for the first phase of training...I'll get that info posted soon.
For how long?
By serving in the Peace Corps I am committing myself to 27 months - three months of pre-service training (PST) and two years of actual service. Afterwards? We'll see. I ain't got no crystal ball, and even if I did, I wouldn't use it except as a paperweight...I'm opening myself up to the wonder and mystery of the future.
What will I be doing?
I have been assigned to a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)/Community Development Program. Again, I won't know the meaty specifics about what exactly I'll be doing until after I am officially placed during PST.
Where will I live? What will I eat?
I will be living with a host family, one or two during both phases of PST and then another for the duration of my service. These families are prescreened by the Peace Corps and receive a small payment from my monthly stipend for opening their home to me. I'll get my own room, but beyond that, their life is my life. Including their diet, which I foresee to be the tricky one. I don't mind bucket showers or outhouses, but I've been a happy, healthy lacto-ovo vegetarian for over three years now (meaning I eat dairy and eggs, but no meat, including fish) for a whole host of reasons. I've done small experiments to reintroduce meat into my system, but I'm finding it difficult, quite frankly, to afford the kind of meat that my belief system supports, ie local and organic. Plus, I've never been keen on fish. Ultimately, I'm not losing any sleep over this, but if I had to pick something to worry about, I'll put my worry-chips in the fish'n'chips pot.
Finally, I'm new to this whole new-fangled blog contraption that the kids are raving about nowadays, so I'm not 100% sure how you can best stay up to date with my posts. The best bet may be to 'subscribe' to my blog, which I believe means you'll get an update whenever I post something new. If anyone is interested, I can also start an email list and send out a personal email whenever I post. Oh, and you can post comments here as well, which would make me really happy. Whatever works best for you works for me, as long as it helps us keep in contact.
I know this is an adventure of my lifetime, and I'm excited to share it with you. Thanks for ready and until next time, whee!
