Things I'm Going To Miss...

Friday May 26th (10pm)

Things I'm going to miss....
My parents 50th birthdays
My great grandma's 100th birthday
Lacey's 21st birthday
Alisha's graduation
Charlie's wedding
Dark chocolate
Donato's pizza
My quiet little private apartment
Cell phone and internet access
Seeing a classroom full of middle schoolers
YMCA classes
Talking on the phone to family and friends
Oprah
Driving
Walmart
Family cookouts
The spring and fall seasons
Middle schooler's humor
Washer and dryer (soon be hand washing)
George Foreman grill, toaster oven, and refridgerator
Popsicles (with the cheesy kids' jokes)
Spaghetti, alfredo, grilled chicken, mashed potatoes
American food
Vanilla candles
Bath & Body Works
Privacy / alone time
Relaxing on the couch with a good movie
Air conditioning
Sleeping in
My bed
The convenience of a Wendy's drive thru
Getting pedicures



People I'm going to miss...
Everyone :)
My parents
My brother Charlie
My grandparents
My aunts and uncles
All my cousins
All my friends
Teachers I teach with
My students
My cats


Things I'm not going to miss...
Balancing my checkbook
Paying bills
The feeling of rushing from place to place
Cold snowy winters
Traffic
One-way streets
Cat litter box

Feeling A Little Overwhelmed

For some reason the dates and times are often incorrect when posting so I think I need to start including the date and time of post each time :)

Monday May 22nd 6pm

Alright so I've gotten through the application process, survived the huge medical portion, practiced patience as I awaited my invitation, talked to my placement officier and have accepted my invitation, completed my passport and visa paperwork, notified my landlord, transferred my car and started to sort other finanical obligations, packed everything into boxes, taken apart furniture, make donations to Salvation Army, talked to my family, friends, and co-workers, made lists of things I want to pack and take to South Africa with me, made list of books I want to take with me, and am in the process of completing my updated resume and aspiration statement. The past month has been very busy and emotional. I think it is partially because its the end of the school year and the kids are getting excited for summer break. Another part is due to my decision to move at the end of May to be able to move home to spend the last seven weeks with family and friends rather than staying in Wilmington through June. Right now I think I'm just feeling a little under the pressure to complete PC paperwork, plan lessons, teach, grade, pack everything in my apartment, organize and clean my classroom, and I still feel like there are so many things that I can't keep up with right now. So like I said, I'm feeling just a little overwhelmed right now.

Reality Sets In

I've talked to a few of my friends this past week about my invite to South Africa. I know that I've mentioned it to them before but I don't know if they really took me seriously then. I had a really good talk with Rebecca (my old M.Ed study buddy, co-RA, roommate) and she got me even more excited about it! She confirmed a lot of the things that I had been thinking. She kept saying that it was a perfect time in my life: being in my early/mid 20's and being flexible at this point in my life, bachelors and masters degree as well as two years of teaching experience under my belt, and financially nothing holding me back. We also talked about how it would be a good time for me to get a fresh perspective on another culture, how education is structured and valued and implemented in another country. She was excited for all the possibilities and doors it could open for me. I hadn't talked to Rebecca for probably two months so it was great to talk to her and hear her be so positive and encouraging.


I went and talked to my landlord Wednesday about ending my lease. He said there are no middle of the month pro-rated options so I could either end it June 1st or July 1st. I decided that I would go with June 1st and plan to move Memorial Day Weekend. That means I have three weeks before I have to have everything packed! So tomorrow (Sunday) I decided I would get started with the packing! Several things went through my mind as I begin packing this afternoon.

Wow, I've got a lot of crap was one thing. It was exhausting to go through everything and decide what I wanted, what I didn't want, and then getting into it to fit neatly into boxes. As I kept packing more boxes, I kept reminding myself to pack each box full because I have limited storage space, yet at the same time I didn't want to throw anything out that I am going to need in a few years. It's really amazing how much stuff one person can have. I think Peace Corps is really going to help me to sort out what's important and what's not important. I know that all the material things that I have aren't important, but I don't think that I truly know how much I have compared to how little others have in other parts of the world. I think reality really hit today as I was packing. I would not be using or seeing any of the stuff that I was packing for probably two and a half years. Peace Corps was no longer something that I had thought about, it was now something that I was going to be doing very soon. Another thing I kept thinking about was how much 80lbs. is and how much stuff I would be able to take with me. I want to be prepared rather than wish that I had brought this or that, yet at the same time I don't to stand out by having a lot of things that others don't have. I assume, based upon what I've read from information PC has given me, that I will be in a rural area so I'm not sure what will be available and what I should bring. I guess I have two months to decide on all that. I think reality really kind of started to set in today. My mind was wondering all day as I packed up my apartment stuff: what will my living conditions be like? how rural of area will I be living in? will I have running water or electricity? will I live in separate house or in room attached to host family? how close to a city will I be? how close will I live to other volunteers? what the climate really going to be like? cold and hot weather, what clothes will I take that will allow for layers? are hba or other personal items will I take that won't be able to be bought in South Africa? what teaching resource books and leisure books will I take? would it be more benefical to just have people send me 3-4 books in an envelope or would be better to just pack them? wonder how many pictures I'll take and how many memory cards I'll need? should I take a laptop or will that make me stand out? what other technology items do I want to take? I don't know if I have ever been so excited and so nervous about something in my life like this.

My Invite

I spoke with my Placement Officier on Monday May 1st and he said that my invitation would arrive within the next day or two. Just hearing him say that got me excited that I was finally going to know exactly where and when I'd be going. The next day, May 2nd which just happens to be my birthday, I decided to drive home during my plan period to check to see if the invite had come. As I pulled into my drive it didn't look like any big package was waiting for me, but when I opened the screen door I saw the big package I had been waiting for! So I'll be headed for South Africa July 17th as a Primary Math Education Teacher Trainer! The packet had lots of information specific to my program, general information about South Africa, a Peace Corps volunteer handbook, a CD-ROM full of information about South Africa, a packing list, etc. As if that wasn't enough reading material, I went to Barnes and Noble to buy a few travel books on South Africa the next evening! Well, I've got enough reading material and more paperwork (passport, visa, aspiration statement) to keep me busy. I've had a lot of good birthday and lots of neat birthday gifts, but I think my Peace Corps Invite package might be one my biggest birthday gifts so far!