It's officially August, and I've just booked my flight to DC for Peace Corps Staging and Orientation on the 31st!! Twenty-four hours after I depart New York for DC (on what happens to be my brother's birthday), I'll be departing DC for Managua, Nicaragua!! Then the adventure truly begins!
The closer I'm getting to my departure date, the more real it's becoming. It's hitting me how much packing and preparing I still have to do. No matter how many packing lists I peruse, I still feel like there are things I'm missing. Is it really possible to pack and prepare for twenty-seven months in a foreign country?? Not to mention how difficult (if not impossible) it's going to be to fit everything I need into the 80lb luggage restraint! Still though, I'm more interested in spending my last month here among family and friends. I want to soak up every moment I've got left with the people I love. I've always been a procrastinator and I know that I work best under pressure...therefore I know I'll be all packed and ready to go on the 31st regardless of how unprepared I feel right now. =P
Aside from the stress of packing for the unknown, I've also been realizing how hard it's going to be to face certain aspects of my service completely alone. I know I have the support of most of my family and true friends, which means everything in the world to me. I know that because of that, I won't ever truly be alone. But chances are, I won't be able to just pick up a phone and vent to someone about the frustrations of my day. I won't have someone with me to hold my hair when I'm puking my brains out because of some parasitic infection. I won't have someone to struggle through Spanish with and laugh with about how incompetent we feel(except of course during language training with my fellow PCVs =P). Missing those daily connections with the people I love is definitely going to be harder on me than missing hot showers, a critter-free bed, and all of my favorite fooooods. I'm more than confident though that I'll stay in close touch with those who are closest to me, and that's all that matters. Thank you guys so much for being behind me in this life-changing decision of mine. I'm so thankful and glad to have so many people to share it with. <3
Speaking of staying in touch, here's the address I can be reached at during training!!
Krista Blasch, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3256
Managua, Nicaragua
Central America
Krista, my love! I loved your post. :D Ahh, if only we could be roommates, then we would at least have each other! hehe. I, too, have been realizing things.. and it seems that I can't even picture it very well even though I know it's coming.. It's like it's never going to be "real" until it's actually happening. All I know is that it's going to take a world of MENTAL strength to survive and thrive down there. I guess we have to remember that, no matter how hard it's going to be, we will come back November 2012 as better and stronger women than we are today. xx -Sara
ReplyDeleteHaving just gotten back from Nicaragua, I can reassure you that it's really not as hard as you think it is. Also, PC is expanding like crazy in Nicaragua. When I went into my site there were 15 people in my entire department, when I left there were more than 30. Their favoring a "cluster" approach for placing volunteers. So while I didn't have a sitemate for the majority of my service, I had an environment volunteer sitemate for the last 8 months. You'll also find that Nicaragua is such a small country that when you really do need to see another volunteer, it's a lot more viable. Furthermore, there are few environment volunteers that don't have cell phones. Cell phone service in the country is getting better all the time, so you're a whole lot more "in touch" than you think. No need to worry.
ReplyDelete