I knew it would be hard to say “goodbye” but I had no idea how hard until now.
Ready to Hit the Road September 10, 2007
Well, 5 days left and counting. I’m ready to hit the road! I had a serious moment of reconsideration a couple weeks ago after reading a horrifying newspaper article that was clearly anti-Peace Corps, but a few loyal and true-blue friends helped me work through it.
So after 12 days on the road visiting family and friends, I am back in WI with my parents, finishing up some legal work, and checking over my packing list for the 50th time. What does a person do 1 week before leaving their home for two years? Well, I don’t know what exactly I SHOULD be doing but this is what I AM doing. Spending as much time as possible with Mom, Pa, and Baby Phil, eating ice cream and all my favorite homemade dishes, and braving the freezing fall rains by hiking outside so I can etch the beautiful WI River Valley terrain in the deepest recesses of my brain. I was planning on posting a list of all the things I predict I will miss while I am gone, as well as a list of what I packed and the various shots I have to subject my body to, but its almost time for dinner so I will save that for another day.
Until then…
Travel Plans August 22, 2007
Hi Everyone! More information is coming in every day but still not enough to definitively say what I will be doing, where I will be living, or what my future life will be like. However, I can say that I am flying to Washington D.C. on September 16 for “staging”, which is a brief introduction to Peace Corps service and a chance for me to meet the 25 people I will be serving in El Salvador with. On September 18, I will fly to San Vicente, El Salvador for 3 months intensive language and job training. At the end of the training I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and assigned a community based on my progress and adjustment to life in El Salvador. I can hardly wait!
Almost done waiting… August 2, 2007
I want to express my gratitude for the outpouring of support people have bestowed upon me as I continue my long wait for an assignment. Almost everyone is leaving Champaign-Urbana over the next week for their new careers so the air is saturated with nervous anticipatory excitement. And as annoying as it is that I have no idea what is in store for me over the next 2 years, as I say goodbye to friends I realize, I’m not alone in my anxious wait. There are at least 15 other people agonizing right along with me! Not that I want you all to suffer anxiety attacks but there is comfort in numbers. Especially when those numbers genuinely care. So, thanks everyone!
And here is the latest update… I received an email yesterday that my placement is complete…
And that’s it.
Nothing else.
So, hopefully by the end of next week I will know more??? (BIG QUESTION MARK)
Still waiting… July 27, 2007
Here is the latest update. I called the Washington Office today because I was really becoming concerned. As it turns out, my placement officer is on vacation until August 3rd. So, at least 1.5 more weeks of waiting to go.
To Answer Jen’s Questions July 26, 2007
My best friend, Jen, brought up a few excellent questions that I didn’t realize I neglected to answer. Thanks for pointing that out, Jen!
1. What is Agroforestry, and I would like to add, how am I “qualified” to do it?
Agroforestry is the practice of sustainable farming and forestry. So, agricultural practices that simultaneously benefit both the environment and the farmer, and keep farms producing food indefinitely. For example, things like composting, crop diversity and rotation, natural fences, and proper irrigation techniques. Agroforestry Peace Corps volunteers promote water and soil conservation projects like the ones I just mentioned, develop fruit tree nurseries, fish hatcheries, home gardens and apiaries, teach human nutrition and livestock health, and work in meat and wool production. At this point, I cannot honestly say what I will be doing. Anything listed above is a possibility as is living in a metropolitan area writing grants for agricultural projects. Hopefully we will find out soon. Right now, it looks like the Peace Corps is sending Agricultural volunteers to Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. The Peace Corps set up an “Applicant Toolkit” that is full of resources for me to reference, but at this point in the semester I cannot devote much time to exploration. I plan on submerging myself in the literature and research once I move to Merrimac, WI, population 400, at which point, I will expand upon my explanation.
In order to work in Agroforestry, the Peace Corps requires 3 months work in animal husbandry, crop or vegetable garden management, and informal teaching or tutoring. Volunteers must also demonstrate an interest in environmental issues and land stewardship. Although I am from the burbs and have a Masters in Library and Information Science, my work as Educational Programming Assistant at Volkening Heritage Farm qualifies me for the job. At the farm, I worked with chickens, cows, and a substantial vegetable garden. I also interpreted food preservation and historical land conservation techniques. I forsee the knowledge gained while attending library school being applied in any number of ways depending on the needs of my community. For example, writing grants to fund agricultural projects, conducting research on agricultural developments, or establishing an information resource center.
2. Why do you want to do this? Why join the Peace Corps?
When I was 15 or 16 years old, I finally became interested in the world beyond Lisle, IL. I corresponded with a girl living in Germany on a regular basis, my family hosted a foreign exchange student from Spain, I discovered Rick Steves, studied World Literature, became close friends with a boy from Turkey, started listening to world music, and eventually traveled to Spain myself. This pursuit for life experiences beyond the familiar continued into college where I majored in Cultural Anthropology and interned at the Field Museum’s Center for Cultural Understanding and Change. I could never stick to one part of the world though. I took world religion but seemed to lean most towards Islam. I studied Japanese Drama, Yiddish Literature, the experience of Latin American diaspora, German, Arabic, and even studied abroad in Egypt for a summer term. The one thing I noticed in doing all this was that reading about people living in cultural environments different than my own or even visiting other countries for a short period of time did not permit me to experience other cultures as deeply as I hoped. For example, I could read all I wanted about the pyramids. I could even go visit them. But it didn’t mean anything until I conversed with the children who stand in the shadows of the pyramids, selling junk to tourists to supplement their families’ incomes. Even so, as much time as I spent talking to people, eating their food, visiting their mosques and homes, I still felt like a tourist. An outsider looking in.
I will always be an outsider when visiting somewhere other than Midwest, USA. And I don’t want it to come off as though I am not proud of where I come from or who I am. Knowing who you are as a person is an essential part of not losing yourself when living abroad and understanding how to survive in unfamiliar surroundings. But I am a cultural anthropologist at heart. A permanent participant-observer. At least with the Peace Corps, I can give something back and hopefully be invited in for a more personal, in depth, experiential look at a world view and lifestyle other than my own.
This was long winded and a little airy, but hopefully it answered your questions.
Waiting… July 21, 2007
It is July 21st and I still don’t know where I am going. All I know is that I am (probably) scheduled to leave sometime in (most likely) September for (maybe) Latin America to (possibly) work in Agroforestry. Nominees joke that how patiently you wait for an assignment is one of the application exams. I think I am going to fail.
I do have some exciting news though. I received a call today from the Washington Office. Apparently I neglected to include my TD immunization record. As soon as I fax it, they will send me an assignment. So, my next post will include more definitive info.
Until then,
Angie
