Friday, December 25, 2009

Functional Christmas FTW!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Wrapping up one more year! A lot has happened this year!

Jan 2nd, 2009: Said goodbye to Ginger. She was a good dog, and lived a full life. I miss her.

Feb. 7th: ICCA Regionals (International Championship of Collegiate A cappella), where my group, Capital Green, took FIRST PLACE! (Check it out: www.msucapitalgreen.com. Good stuff.)

Feb.19th: Received my Peace Corps Invitation: teaching ESL in the South Pacific Islands!

Feb - August: Subsequently banged my head repeatedly against walls and desks trying to get all the medical/dental stuff done. Wisdom teeth, shots, blood tests, more blood tests, more blood tests, saw the hematologist who finally confirmed that I am not, in fact, anemic, despite the PC Medical Offices' persistent accusations... Ugh.

Feb. 20th: Attended the United Students for Fair Trade conference in Chicago... made lots of great contacts!

March 14th: ICCA Semifinals. Didn't place, but it was a great show anyhow!

April: Working hard with my full class load, tons of Cap Green gigs, PC stuff, and getting ready for graduation!

May 3rd: Cap Green Spring Show: my last official concert after 5 years of co-ed a cappella, with some of the most amazing and talented people I've ever known.

May 9th: Graduated from MSU with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Social Science - International Studies, specialization in Anthropology!

June 2nd: Started teaching ESL at the Lansing Refugee Development Center, as the main instructor for Adult Advanced English.

June 25th: turned 24!

June-August: Taught at the RDC and painted apartments, all the while living with the fantastic gentlemen at our self-proclaimed frat-house, Pi Pi Pi.

August 2nd: became homeless, but continued to teach and work somehow

September: Dorm gigging with Cap Green... kinda shade, but I was still around and leapt at the chance to sing with them one last time!

Sept 14th: Took the GRE. Did pretty well.

Sept 23rd: Back up to the UP. Depressed for a few days but it got better. Sort of like mini culture-shock going from a place where... well, where there are people and things to do... to the UP. 'Nuff said.

October: Tutoring Chinese TECH students in English. Good times, at least when they showed up.

Nov. 27th: Received my Peace Corps invitation to serve in Paraguay with the Early Elementary Education program!

Nov. 28th: Impromptu 5-day trip back down to East Lansing to visit friends. 5 days of couch surfing turned into nearly 2 weeks of me being a homeless vagrant after I missed my ride back up north. But I never had to sleep under the Bogue Street Bridge once, and I even got to sleep in a bed a few times. My friends are awesome.

December: Shoveling snow, stacking wood, and working. Preparing mentally the best I can for February.


So that brings us to today: Christmas day. (Well, I suppose technically it is the 26th, since it's after midnight... details.) It was a very functional and recession-themed Christmas. My family wrapped most of our gifts in reusable gift bags, which is also better for the environment, not wasting all that paper. My sister got books about Ghana, where she will be heading in January. I received functional Paraguay items, such as socks, long underwear, hat, gloves, and a manual on basic bicycle repair and maintenance. I still have quite a bit to pull together as far as packing goes, but I'll leave that for the last minute. (I'm not actually PLANNING on leaving it to the last minute... but I know myself pretty well, so I'm just being real here.)

I've decided not to bring my computer. The ol' boy is on his last legs (aka fan motor) anyway, and since I'm not even guaranteed to have electricity in the first place, I'll just leave it at home. I must note: as if on cue, my computer just started making some really awful sounds, somewhat reminiscent of a lawn mower, or perhaps a car engine revving but not turning over. I think it's pissed.

Soon I will start the list-making phase of travel preparation. What on earth will I absolutely need in Paraguay for two years? I have only a vague sense of how much my bag will weigh.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Invitation!

It came! It finally arrived! After months and months of agonizing uncertainty, the verdict is:

PARAGUAY!

I will be working with and assessing early elementary school teachers, developing more effective and inclusive teaching methodologies. I actually know very little about Paraguay. Just that it is landlocked between Brazil and Argentina, the capital is Asunción, and they speak Spanish and Guaraní. I will have to learn Guaraní. I will state for the record that right now it looks very different and difficult and I'm a bit intimidated. The only words I know so far are che (I), nde (you), and avei (also). I cannot, for example, read any of this:

Mayma yvypóra ou ko yvy ári iñapyty'yre ha eteîcha tecoruvicharendá ha acatúape jeguerekópe; ha ikatu rupi oikuaa añetéva ha añete'yva, iporâva ha ivaíva, tekotevê pehenguéicha oiko oñondivekuéra.

Translation:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

I hope some time in the future I look back on this post and say "omg I can't believe that I couldn't read that, it is so very very easy!" Someday.

Anyway, with the invitation packet came a bit of paperwork to do, so I suppose I should get to that instead of wasting time sanguinely sipping my crack-coffee and languidly lounging on a faux-velvet violet couch in a cafe in Michigan.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Flirting with the Peace Corps

Yesterday, my placement officer called me for a final evaluation. She said I'd find out if I got an invitation within 10 business days. That was yesterday. Today I got that breath-catching "Application Status Update" email, and I opened it as quickly as my 14.4k modem connection would allow. (About 15 minutes. Sad.) Big blue letters sprawled across the top of the page: "Congratulations! You have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer." YEAH!

I'm not in the clear yet, however. Along with my Invitee packet comes MORE PAPERWORK. (I wonder how many hectares of rainforest fall to the Peace Corps Application Process each year? Interesting paradox.) While I hate doing the paperwork, I think this round should be less taxing than previous bouts. It is also the last hurtle to clear before I am approved for Orientation.

I have to apply for a State Department Passport, which is actually pretty sweet. It will expire 3 months after my service is done, but I wonder what doors will be opened (or closed?) to me in those 3 months. Hm.

I may or may not have to submit more medical/dental work. I severely hope not... I have several thousand dollars in my mouth and body that the Peace Corps required, even when my medical and dental professions told me that they didn't think it was really necessary. Hoops. Bloody, toothy hoops.

I have to submit another letter of intent. I guess this makes sense, but maybe they should realize that if I've stuck with this bloody application thus far, then I must be pretty damn committed. It hasn't been a frolic in the park with skittles and champaign.

They also found it necessary to instruct me to tell my family and friends that I am going. Umm... Actually, now that I think about it, this may have merit. I haven't told my parents about my invitation yet. (Then again, when I told them I was accepted to grad school, I quickly learned what a mistake that was.) Perhaps I'll wait until I have my plane tickets in my hand to let them know. That way there's no grey area in which they can pounce and complicate matters. They don't seem to realize that I'm 24, not 12. I don't claim sage wisdom, but I'm not a complete dolt either. Apparently that's a "parent thing."

I still don't know exactly WHERE I'm going. They seem to want to keep this a secret for as long as possible. My placement officer wouldn't tell me over the phone, nor is it on the website. This information will be included with the Invitee packet I'm due to receive within the next 2 weeks.

But I want to know NOW! ... Breath in, breath out. Patience.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Choices, choices

After months and months of waiting for the Peace Corps, un-returned calls and general radio-silence, I decided to just go ahead and get on with my life. I had already been keeping an eye out for possible grad school programs for months. I had been considering the Masters International program, which would combine both Peace Corps and grad school. Unfortunately, I did the steps backwards, and applied/was accepted by the PC before I even applied to grand school. Therefore I would have to do the entire application process over again. Uuuuuuuugh! (I will not even go into the ridiculous hoops I had to jump through to be accepted by standard PC.)

I was, however, accepted by my #1 grad school, for the Masters International MPA program. I have not accepted yet, as I was waiting to discuss my options with the Peace Corps.

Well, they finally called me today, and I got some questions answered. According to my placement officer, I have been cleared for final placement. This means, I am told, that I should receive my invitation within the next 2 weeks. I would likely leave in early February. OR, I could opt for the MPA PCMI (wow that's long), begin classes in Fall 2010, and put off my PC service until 2012.

I have been waiting for this for a long time. The chance to get out and see the world, test myself, fail, regroup, and try again, each fall making me stronger. True, California would surely be a change of scene, but not enough of one. I think that I am going to accept the Peace Corps offer as it stands now, and put off grad school until I return in 2012. From that point I can apply to the PC Fellows program and complete my Masters degree with a lot more international experience, and hopefully a more concrete sense of direction.

Here's what I know about the program my placement officer hinted at:

1. Although she wouldn't tell me the country, I expect it is in the South American Andes. She said I "might not use my Spanish skills much, but rather learn the local indigenous language." This implies a rural community inside a Spanish-speaking majority. Ecuador, Peru and to some extent Paraguay, fit this profile most readily.

2. I will not only be teaching English, but also health, communications, math, social science and "life skills," whatever that means.

3. I will be teaching early elementary school, most likely kindergarden through second grade. Oooooh boy.

4. OOOR they might send me to Eastern Europe/Central Asia for a standard ESL program. She did not elaborate on this option.

I will certainly be on edge for the next two weeks. Every large envelope will make my heart jump into my throat. I suspect my average breaths-per-day rating will be much lower than normal, for my tendency to hold my breath when excited or anxious. (Especially on the phone, for some reason... this makes me sound like I am standing up to my neck in uncomfortably frigid icy water with no shoes or means of escape.

Relax. Breath in, breath out. All there is to do is wait.