My first blog post will try to answer many of the questions I have already started getting. Unfortunately, the answers I have will not be very satisfying.
What do I know about the future?
Where will you be living? I don’t know. What will your communication be like? I don’t know. Are you able to come home at all during your two years? Yes, but I don’t know when. What is the climate like where you will be? Well, that depends on where I will be placed. What will you be teaching? I don’t know. What ages will you be teaching? It depends on what classes I am given to teach, students will be anywhere from 12-25 years old. How long will you be gone? 27 months.
Let me explain a little about what I do know. On July 7th I will be flying from Minneapolis to Washington DC for staging. Staging is a brief, yet intense orientation to the Peace Corps and the general demands of being a healthy, safe, and effective Volunteer. Staging is a one day event in DC and then the following morning we (myself and the other education volunteers) will fly to Tanzania. Once in Tanzania I will stay for 5 nights at a hotel/training center in Dar es Salaam (the administrative capital). During that time I will have a general orientation to medical obligations, administrative issues, safety and security, introductory Swahili, and intercultural sessions. I will then move to Korogwe (a small town containing Korogwe Teacher’s College) where I will stay for 4 days in designated guest houses before moving in with my host family. I do not know my host family yet or anything about them but I am looking forward to meeting them! I will be living with my host family in Korogwe or a surrounding village for 3 months. During those three months I will have intensive language, safety and security, intercultural, personal health and technical training. The goal of the three months of training is to give volunteers enough skills and information to allow us to live and work effectively in Tanzania.
Part way through those three months I will be assigned the site where I will spend the next two years. I will be able to visit my site and familiarize myself with my future home as well as have time to stay with a current volunteer and experience daily life as a volunteer. Most likely, I will have my own home in the community where I am placed. At the end of the three months of training I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and officially move into my new community where I will live and work for the following two years!
One theme has been common in all the conference calls and information I have received. “Try not to have any expectations.” This is because the experience is different for every volunteer. I have been told that the fewer expectations I have going in, the easier the transition will be. Often my answer is simply, “I don’t know,” when I am asked questions about my upcoming Peace Corps experience, but I am okay with that and I am looking forward to having so many incredible experiences.
How do I feel?
Are you scared? Yes. Are you excited? Yes. Are you sad? Yes. What are you most excited about? Everything. What makes you the most nervous? Everything.
I have a whirlwind of emotions about my upcoming departure to Tanzania and the fact that I will be living there for 27 months. I am excited for the opportunities and amazing life experiences I will gain. I am excited to gain a second family in Tanzania and be immersed into a new culture and life. I am excited to meet the other volunteers going with me, some current volunteers, the other teachers in my community and the students I will be teaching. These are just some of the many things I am excited for. However, there are also fears. Will I be able to learn the language well enough to not only survive but to be able to build connections with people? Will I be able to handle the emotional, physical and mental challenges that come with Peace Corps Service? When will I next see my family and friends? I have never lived outside of Wisconsin and with that I have never lived more than a 3 hour drive from family. In less than 3 weeks I will be leaving without knowing the next time I will see my family and friends. I am sad knowing that I will miss out on big life events of those I care about back home. I will miss weddings, funerals, births, graduations, engagements, birthdays, and many more significant life events.
All of these thoughts have been running through my mind since I first applied to the Peace Corps back in October and have been increasing more and more ever since I accepted the position in December to serve in Tanzania. Although there are many fears and saddening thoughts, the excitement far outweighs the fears and sadness. I know that Tanzania is where my next step is supposed to be and I am ready to begin my new journey.
For those of you who will be following me along this journey, thank you for all your love and support and I will see you when I see you!