Posh Corps

So I finally made it to the Philippines!!! I am still trying to get over the jet lag but my body still thinks I am on the east coast and is getting use to being 12 hours ahead! So far Initial Orientation (IO) is not what I expected. I guess because we are such a large training group (there are 144 of us) the only place that we could all fit for IO was a resort just outside of Manila. It is a really nice resort complete with real toilets and toilet paper, maid service, water park, and spa. It is quite comfortable but totally not what I expected at all. I don't really feel that I am in the Philippines right now. The temperature and flora make it feel like a blend of Charleston and Costa Rica, I am surrounded by my fellow American Peace Corps trainees constantly, and the Filipinos that I do interact with are all from the higher class and speak English. I guess this is the point of IO - to slowly acclimate us to the Philippines and the Filipino culture, but I can't wait to really see the Philippines and begin the uncomfortable yet rewarding process of acclimating to a new culture and language.

We did have a really cool show put on by Bahay Tuluyan, a non-profit organization working with abused, neglected and street children. It was a really great show put on by kids that have successfully made it through the program but made me glad I am Environment and not Youth Development volunteer. (If I forgot to mention, there are three sectors: Children Youth and Family, English Education, and Environment - Coastal Resource Management.)

I can't wait to start hearing more about my sector (Environment) and Thursday I will find out what region I will be training in and what language I will be learning! Can't wait!!!

For now I will continue to make friends among my fellow Peace Corps trainees, as we are told over and over again that it is our colleagues that will be our life line of support as we face the many obstacles ahead of us.

Musings from Japan

So I obviously haven't had much internet access before now or it has been expensive and I was hoping to have been able to make some posts before this but thankfully airport internet in Japan is free :)

It is currently 7:00 AM on the east coast, and 8:00 PM here in Japan. We are waiting for our plane to refuel and get cleaned before we board again for the Philippines. I really hoped to have some sushi for my breakfast / dinner here in Japan but we don't have enough time and there isn't much open in the terminal right now. Interesting note, I used the restroom here and it was a new experience... no seat, just a toilet opening on the floor and some handles to hold on to, at least there was toilet paper! My limited interaction with the people here has been very friendly. We had to go through security again and one of the security officers was nice enough to go around and collect our water bottles and empty them before we went through the check.

A brief recap...
Staging in Detroit was good. I have met a lot of people and made some good friends already. It is really great to be around all these people when what we all have in common is that something made us decide to actually apply and stick with the application process of peace corps. I feel so privileged to be part of such a dynamic and elite group!

Staging consisted of a lot of bonding exercises of us talking about the challenges that we are going to be facing. It is a touch of reality to think about the road we have ahead of us, filled with amazing times but also difficult times. It is comforting to know that we are all going through it together and making connections with each other now so we can go to each other in the future during those difficult times.

After staging we got some time to go out on the town if we wanted. A group of us decided to go to Ann Arbor for dinner and drinks. It was a really great time for us to continue to get to know each other.

Our flight to the Philippines was scheduled to depart at 3:30 PM, unfortunately it was delayed due to mechanical problems, which was kind of scary but we made it to Japan! Which took 12 hours by the way! I really don't want to get back on the plane but we have another 6 hours of travel ahead of us to get to the Philippines. It was weird on the plane since we were kind of following the sun. At one point we had to close all of the windows and they turned off the lights to sort of simulate a "night time". Then we got to Japan and it was night time again. I was hoping to be able to see some of Japan from the plane but it was already dark when we arrived. Perhaps I will be able to see it in two years on my return trip!

Well I am feeling really out of it right now and am all screwed up timewise already. I apologize if this post is a little random or weird, I don't think my brain is fully functioning right now!

I will try to post later once I have recovered from the time change and will also try to post some pics!

Leaving for Japan for Manila soon!

I heart giant duffel bags

First I would like to say THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of my friends and family for all the well wishes as I prepare for this journey. My DNR friends were awesome and took me out to lunch on my last day which was really nice. I am so lucky to have been able to work with such a great group of people!

Also my Chuck-town friends gave me a GREAT farewell party weekend, complete with pinata, a surprise guest (yeah Katie!), and concert! I already miss you all SO much! STAY IN TOUCH!

Now I am back home in the good ole NA, hanging with the family. It is really weird to think that I won't see them for 2 years. I did get skype on my computer though and even did a practice run video chatting with my Aunt in VA. So add me to your contacts if you have Skype, although I will be 12 hours ahead (so I will be living in your tomorrow hehe). 

So I am pretty sure that I must be the LAST person in my training batch to pack because I finally got everything packed today... leave it to me to wait two days before I leave!

Here is all of my stuff (note: my backpack is already filled with a tent, snorkeling gear, drybag and camping gear):

And here is it all packed away in my GIGANTIC duffel that I bought today:

That is what two years packed away looks like for me! And I even have room to spare!

So Thursday I will be leaving for Detroit from Augusta, connecting in ATL. I will stay in Detroit for roughly 24 hours to complete my staging, which from what I gather is just a lot of paperwork and preparing to leave the country. Then we all will travel together Friday morning to Manila, Philippines, which is an 18 HOUR flight! I haven't been on that many flights in my life and I don't think any of them have been longer than 2 maybe 3 hours, so this will be interesting. At least I will have a plane full of fellow PC volunteers to get to know!

I am not sure what my internet access will be like through all of this but I will try to update when I can!

Wish me luck!!!!

Are we ever ready?

Wow. I can not believe time has gone by so fast.

I have moved out of my apartment and been crashing with friends, found the kitty a new home, and  packed my life away into storage. These things should make me feel more ready right? Then why do I feel like I need more time? I have come to the realization that there is no "ready" for the type of life transition that I am about to embark on. This is a very hard truth for me to face since I have always been a goal setter and organized planner. I like planning out for things and feeling ready for what I set out to accomplish. But this isn't like moving across the state to college or for a job. This is so much bigger and I am beginning to realize that a person can never really "be ready" for this type of change.

This all may sound kinda like a bummer, but really I am totally stoked to start my Peace Corps adventure in the Philippines! I look forward to meeting my fellow volunteers and immersing myself into another culture and way of life. I just will very much miss my friends and life here, even though I know this is the right choice for me. I am just enjoying my last days in the US, spending time with those I care about and will miss, and vow to keep in touch.

Philippines here I come, ready. or not.

Staging Info Coming Soon

I received an email today telling us that there are TWO staging events for Philippines Training Batch 269. This is unusual but I guess that follows since I have also learned that our training batch has 145 volunteers in it! Past years Philippines training batches have had around 60 people and had their staging event somewhere on the west coast, which makes sense if you flying to the Philippines.Therefore I am a little confused as to why our staging events are closer to the east coast - Philadelphia and Detroit are where the two training batches are going to be. Now I wait till Monday to receive my staging information and how to go about buying my plane ticket to Detroit!

I can't believe my departure date is so close! Where did the summer go?

Count down officially begins...

One month from today is my departure date!!! and there is still SO much for me to do! I am moving out of my apartment in less than two weeks and living on Kelly and Gretchen's couch for two weeks before going to see my parents and flying out of Augusta. I haven't received my staging information yet but it should be getting here very soon! I also let me boss know the last day I will be working. I just can't believe a month from today I will be on a plane flying to the other side of the world... it's a little surreal sometimes! Even though I am totally excited about going to the Philippines I am definitely sad to leave my family, friends and Charleston behind. I have always known that I want to serve in the Peace Corps and this really is the perfect time in my life - done with grad school, have lots of work and volunteer experience, and the job market is not the best. But at the same time, I have a decent job here in Charleston, the best friends anyone could ask for, and I'm living in a beautiful coastal city. I could see myself almost settling down here and am at the point in my life where I guess that makes sense, but when I think about being settled I get the itch to travel and do more. So although I can see two paths my life could take right now, I feel 100% positive that the Peace Corps is the right decision for me and that if I didn't go, I would regret it for sure.

That being said, I really hope to be able to stay in touch with everyone often and people keep asking me if I know where I will be and what kind of internet access I will have. It can be frustrating sometimes to have to tell them I won't know that until probably at least half-way through my training. But that is the Peace Corps way - not knowing and having to wait!

I am starting to really get all of my stuff together that I will need to pack. It's hard to know what is too much and what isn't enough though. And I am really worried that if I don't pack enough/the right clothes I won't be able to find things that fit me in the Philippines (I am probably a lot taller and bigger than most of the girls there). I ordered a pack online though and it's in the mail now so I will just have to see how much stuff I can fit in it! I really want to try to have one bag and one carry-on although they allow us two bags, but I have a feeling I am not being realistic about how much stuff I am going to want to take with me....

31 days and counting!

Loaded Questions

So yesterday I got my Site Placement and Host Family Questionnaires and I can't help but feel how heavy my Philippines fate depends on each answer I write. Would I prefer to live with a host family with or without children? An older or younger couple? What do I feel my major strengths are? How rural would I prefer to live? How basic of living conditions?.... All these questions! Part of me just wants to say "Drop me off in a village on the coast with a little hut!" It's like camping for 2 years right? I love camping!.....heh

Then there's the host family... I have heard many great stories about how close volunteers get to their host family but I have been living on my own now for 6 years. I am not used to having "parents" around and definitely not kids. But when I was in Costa Rica, talking with children was an excellent way to learn the language. I used to volunteer at a day care just so I could play and talk with the children, and they were so cute! However I am not the most patient of people when it comes to kids.... I'm the kind who likes the kid when they are smiling and laughing and being cute, but they second the kid starts to cry or decides its more fun to throw things at me, get it away from me! (Don't judge me, you probably do it too.. unless its your kid, in which case you're just happy he's not throwing things at you for a change.)

I almost just want to answer "no preference" to it all and let fate decide.... but I'm probably not going to do that. Everything about the Peace Corps process is so defining. We are always being asked to define what are our strengths, preferences, expertise, etc. I'm only 23! I didn't know I had to define myself already. I kinda thought I was still a work in process and the PC was going to be part of that process.

Totally unrelated, I'm going to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros tonight! I am so stoked! The show is completely sold out and it's going to be awesome! Also makes me wonder, what kind of music shows I might see in the Philippines?