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.