My Introduction to Blogging

So please bare with me as I am very new to this whole blogging thing. I am really hoping that this blog will be a great way for me to tell my stories and to connect with people. Here's a summary of the past month and a half.

On April 28, 2010 I received a call from my Peace Corps placement officer and we had an extremely long conversation about my experience, my skills, and his thought process for where he would offer me placement. For the past 8 months I had been expecting to leave in August 2010, which would have been over a year since my interview. But, he actually gave me a choice! From what I understand that is pretty rare. The choice was between a program going to Eastern Europe and a program going to Africa—both Health Education. He gave me 24 hours to make my decision, which ultimately was not that hard. I knew the answer in my gut pretty soon after I heard it—Africa. But I still gave Eastern Europe a chance—more developed, electricity, functional infrastructure, which could enable me to get more things done. But what really sealed the deal was seeing Greg Mortenson, yes I mean the author of Three Cups of Tea and Stone to Schools, which I still need to read. Anyway, my friend had an extra ticket to see him speak and I was on my way to meet him for dinner before the speech when I had gotten the call from my placement officer. Well, it just so happens that Greg was born in Tanzania and spent the first 6 years of his life there, where his parents were missionaries. And with a little internet research I deducted that the program I was being offered in Africa was in Tanzania. Ergo, it was a sign! I really do not believe in signs, but this was just the icing on the cake and proved that Africa was meant to be! Ultimately, the decision was not too hard. I think the most shocking aspect was that I was leaving in a little over 6 weeks! I was still working full time and my job was under the impression that I was leaving in August. Luckily, I told them the next day and everyone was extremely supportive and understanding.

When I received my official invitation I did a little happy dance in the living room with my dog! Wooo! All my anxious tendencies and feelings of wanting to pull my hair out quickly melted away as I opened that envelope—which is extremely thick by the way. Of course I started doing tons of research about Tanzania, which only made me even more excited. From the beautiful beaches, to the smiling people, to the Serengeti and Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania looks like such an amazing country! I could not be happier that I am going there. I know I made the right decision. So, I am off to Philadelphia for staging on June 14, 2010 and then leaving the country June 15, 2010!

I am going to be a Health Educator, which is great! But not only do I need to learn Swahili, I also need to learn more about Health! And how to stay healthy without the resources we are so used to here! I downloaded a Swahili language app on my iphone (this is going to be piece of technology I miss the most) but so far I have not made much progress.

So with just about 6 days left in the country I am doing all the last minute visiting of friends and shopping. So far I am not too nervous because it does not really seem real. And I am not sure it will really seem like reality until I actually step on the ground of Tanzania.