24 days to go!
Well, it’s been a little while since I’ve written. My world has gotten so surreal! I continue to go to work, do my laundry, see my family, hang out with my delightful friend Phil, and basically go about my daily life. These are short moments of “normalcy,” because every 5 minutes or so I remember that I am leaving for Mozambique and either it feels like a dream (as if it is happening in some alternate reality of which I am not actually a part) or I really get it that I am actually leaving and feel a rush of excitement like a bolt of electricity running through my body.
I’ve decided that I can’t think about the reality of it too much, because I don’t think that my immune system or mind could handle the constant state of high excitement and anxiety that accompanies moving to a country so far away, to live in an unfamiliar culture, with an unknown language, in an unknown place within the country doing unknown work. My motto with this whole adventure has been to get the stone rolling down the hill by doing everything I need to do, until ultimately I get off the plane in Maputo and there is no turning back. The goal is to do this without worrying too much about what it will actually look like once I’m there. I’m sure it’s beyond my ability to accurately imagine it anyway.
Because of Facebook, I’ve been getting a sense of at least some of the folks I will be training with as well as some of the volunteers in country. The current volunteers seem to love it there! And more than one has told us that we have hit the Peace Corps jackpot in terms of assignments. I’m taking this as a very good sign. Apparently we (Moz 16) are the first group of solely health program volunteers to arrive in country. I am assuming this is a part of the new expansion of the health program in Mozambique, but true to the Peace Corps modus operandi, it’s all a mystery to us. It seems like there are some wonderful people from all over the country out there preparing for this same adventure and I can’t wait to meet them all!
I’ve also been stomping my way through my list of different tasks and have been doing a great job of getting things crossed off. It’s amazing that it’s already been a month since my invitation, but I feel good about the progress I’ve made.
Packing is a huge pain. It’s amazing how quickly 80 pounds of luggage adds up, and trying to decide what I need in training and what can be stored until my placement and what I can fit into a carry-on bag is like solving a Rubik’s Cube. I keep trying to tell myself that all of the things that I “can’t bear” to not take with me are likely to seem like unnecessary extravagance once I get there. But seriously, in my head, I DO need 15 pairs of pants! I DO need 5 dresses. So I’m waiting for one of those special moods that I get into where “stuff” seems unnecessary to trim down my piles of packing (I used one of these moods to consolidate all of my stuff into a single carload for the move to Boise, so I know that it’s possible). The photo below shows just the clothing portion of my draft packing adventure…there is a whole huge suitcase already full of other supplies.
Other notes: I found a Portuguese tutor, so that is helpful, and he is going to help me get ready for the basic navigation I’ll need to do before training begins. Also, I sold my car, so I am a biker babe now, which is actually fun (minus the watery eyes and sweaty pits that I seem to have every time I get to work in the morning!).
Well, that’s my update! I’ll try to update at least one more time before I leave with instructions for sending care packages and letters, wish list items, etc.
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