March 2012
11 posts
Yesterday, after quite a bit of traveling, we arrived in Tirana and took a two-hour bus to Elbasan. It’s so beautiful here. I’ve got Albanian phone, my leke, and it’s already starting to feel like home. Of course, I’m still in a hotel awaiting the move to my host family on Sunday. Tonight, my biggest task is to stop saying “I am America.” Une jam nga Americka,...
This morning I woke up, after nine hours of sleep (desperately needed), to the reality that I’m officially in the Peace Corps (albeit as a trainee). Yesterday was rough. Saying goodbye to family was by far the hardest of the events and I’m pretty sure it was the first time in my life I felt physically ill from nerves. Despite resistance from me and my heavy bags I made it to DC and...
In times like this I revert to the mentality of a two year old. I absolutely do not want to leave home. And anything you say or do will not change my mind.
But eventually my mind overrides itself (a very strange concept) and I leave with the initial fervor I possessed upon applying for the Peace Corps.
OMG Ihaveonedayleft. As soon as I opened my eyes this morning, those are the only words I could create. I could care less about daylight savings, it lost me an hour of this busiest of days. My room looks like no packing has been completed, copious amounts of laundry must be done, paperwork must be signed, sealed, delivered, emergency Albanian must be learned written down, hugs must be given, and...
February 2012
5 posts
For the past few months, ever since I received my lovely invite, I haven’t really been able to answer questions about what I’ll be doing in Albania. I have a title, Community Health Educator, but all additional details are decided and explained once I arrive. The PC ideally wants to place volunteers in jobs that suit our strengths and interests, which is why I wont know more until I...
A packing playlist requires many things: it must energize at times for heavy lifting and arranging, it must calm for times of concentration and double-checking, and above all it must provide constant enjoyment for those dreadful periods of fear and bewilderment.
Behold, the packing playlist:
Dear Mr. President - Fitz & The Tantrums
You Talk - Babyshambles
Apple Of My Eye - Ed Harcourt
...
Procrastination has gotten the best of me. My resistance to packing might be some form of denial. All I know is that it gets harder to leave the safest corner of my room by the hour. One thing about the packing experience that I do enjoy is how freeing it is to simplify. I’ve become a maniac - things are tossed, prized possessions are packaged, and very few items remain to be stored. My...
The timeline of my Peace Corps application process is something that I think many people have heard of partially at least, depending on when I was around them. Some saw my frustration stage, some my excitement, and most were around for the waiting state - that long period of time when I could do absolutely nothing but wait for an update from the offices in D.C.
I don’t know exactly when or where...
One day this past summer in San Francisco I had some spare time. I already knew I was heading to Albania and I think it was the first time it actually registered in my mind that I had joined the Peace Corps. As I waited for my dear friend to get out of class I picked up a random book, The Motorcycle Diaries, and began reading. A passage I came across that day perfectly explains my thoughts on what...
