Well, my toolkit tells me I have been dentally cleared. No more hurdles, all my clearances are in. Except for placement clearances. I'm not sure if I owe them a form or not. I don't know if I already filled it out or not, I can't remember. But they haven't asked me for anything, so...
Once I have been placed I'm sure they will ask me to prove I learned some French. I really hope I don't have to go to some college and take some test to prove it. That will be a pain in the ass. Le fille boit du lait. There, I speak French. I really need to get back on doing Rosetta Stone. Like, today.
So as long as Peace Corps doesn't ask me for anything else, I'm just awaiting my invitation, which should come in the next 3-5 weeks. If we still don't know what's going on with my show by the time I have to answer my invitation, I'm just going to accept.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Every Day is a Day of Prep
Ok, so I have been pretty lax on the French this week. In my defense, I am looking for a new place to live (have to be out of my apartment August 15), downsizing and packing my life away, and reading a TON of PC blogs.
I have found some really good ones. And I am much less scared of going to one of the Big 4. I mean, Niger and Mauritania do not sound like a walk in the park...they sound HARD, but doable. Senegal and Mali sound like peaches compared to Niger and Mauritania (exaggeration much??). I can do it. I'm not scared!
The night watchman at the building where I work is from Togo. Sometime I should find time to talk to him about West Africa.
Things are moving REALLY slowly with my potential TV show. I mean, it's nearly August already! I'll probably be getting my invitation in the mail in the next 3-5 weeks!!! I still don't know what to do...I don't want to decline the invite and then the show doesn't sell anyways and I'm stuck working in TV until like next Spring or something before they can find another assignment for me. Plus, now I'm kinda excited about the desert!
Also, I'm realizing how unrealistic my packing list is as of this moment. I keep adding shit to it every day as I read these blogs and see what PCVs are asking for, and what they wish they had. More than one blog has talked about a shower item going down the latrine hole during a bucket bath, which made me start thinking I should bring a basket of some kind. But then I read a blog where a girl talked about buying a plastic purple bucket in-country and thought, shit, I could find something that would serve that purpose in-country. So yeah, I definitely need to downsize the packing list.
I think as far as the skirts and pants go, I am only going to bring 2 or 3 and have more made in-country. It seems like most girls just wear "bohemian-style" skirts and T-shirts most of the time, so that is probably what I will plan on. Especially because the vast majority of blogs talk about the fact that PCVs in these countries lose A LOT of weight (one girl said 25 lbs. in 3 months)...so if you bring 8 pairs of pants, they might only fit you for 3 months and then you'd have to have others made, anyway.
I dunno, reading these blogs has been VERY helpful. Not only in my packing strategy, but in helping me know what to expect and shaping my outlook on the Big 4. To be brutally honest, when I realized it was probably going to be one of those 4, I seriously reconsidered doing it. After reading all these blogs, I'm up for the challenge.
I have found some really good ones. And I am much less scared of going to one of the Big 4. I mean, Niger and Mauritania do not sound like a walk in the park...they sound HARD, but doable. Senegal and Mali sound like peaches compared to Niger and Mauritania (exaggeration much??). I can do it. I'm not scared!
The night watchman at the building where I work is from Togo. Sometime I should find time to talk to him about West Africa.
Things are moving REALLY slowly with my potential TV show. I mean, it's nearly August already! I'll probably be getting my invitation in the mail in the next 3-5 weeks!!! I still don't know what to do...I don't want to decline the invite and then the show doesn't sell anyways and I'm stuck working in TV until like next Spring or something before they can find another assignment for me. Plus, now I'm kinda excited about the desert!
Also, I'm realizing how unrealistic my packing list is as of this moment. I keep adding shit to it every day as I read these blogs and see what PCVs are asking for, and what they wish they had. More than one blog has talked about a shower item going down the latrine hole during a bucket bath, which made me start thinking I should bring a basket of some kind. But then I read a blog where a girl talked about buying a plastic purple bucket in-country and thought, shit, I could find something that would serve that purpose in-country. So yeah, I definitely need to downsize the packing list.
I think as far as the skirts and pants go, I am only going to bring 2 or 3 and have more made in-country. It seems like most girls just wear "bohemian-style" skirts and T-shirts most of the time, so that is probably what I will plan on. Especially because the vast majority of blogs talk about the fact that PCVs in these countries lose A LOT of weight (one girl said 25 lbs. in 3 months)...so if you bring 8 pairs of pants, they might only fit you for 3 months and then you'd have to have others made, anyway.
I dunno, reading these blogs has been VERY helpful. Not only in my packing strategy, but in helping me know what to expect and shaping my outlook on the Big 4. To be brutally honest, when I realized it was probably going to be one of those 4, I seriously reconsidered doing it. After reading all these blogs, I'm up for the challenge.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The French Classes Commence
Ok, so I just got Rosetta Stone French 1 and 2 in the mail. I installed it and have already started trying it out.
I have already learned stuff, seriously. And I've only done a couple of lessons. The lessons are easy, too, and repetitive, but not exactly, which makes it effective...it repeats the same words but in different contexts so you learn what that word means, not just what it means in that context.
Pretty cool software if you ask me.
I think I am going to require myself to work with it 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I am finding that my training in Spanish is helping a lot... I know I shouldn't worry that much about the French, since where I am will probably speak an African language in the end, and I'll only get to use my French in the capital, but hey...it's a requirement!
Now let's see how good my French is by the time I leave!
I have already learned stuff, seriously. And I've only done a couple of lessons. The lessons are easy, too, and repetitive, but not exactly, which makes it effective...it repeats the same words but in different contexts so you learn what that word means, not just what it means in that context.
Pretty cool software if you ask me.
I think I am going to require myself to work with it 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I am finding that my training in Spanish is helping a lot... I know I shouldn't worry that much about the French, since where I am will probably speak an African language in the end, and I'll only get to use my French in the capital, but hey...it's a requirement!
Now let's see how good my French is by the time I leave!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
"Stuff"
I wonder how most departing volunteers deal with all of their "stuff." A fair amount can probably leave whatever they have at their childhood home with their parents. I bet there are some moneybags who rent a storage unit the whole time they are gone. I bet some give everything they have to goodwill and take off.
My mom/stepdad are kind of nomads. She is probably going to leave her job sooner than later and move (I've heard murmurs of North Carolina, where my grandparents live). She will take some of my stuff, but as it is she lives in a 2-bedroom apartment. My dad/stepmom have a big house, but it is in Southern Illinois - more than halfway across the country.
From my count as of now, there are probably 45 file-sized boxes plus suitcases of clothes and some furniture (dresser, futon, shelves) that I am intending to keep. There is no way my mom would even store all this, let alone move it across the country.
I remember when I left Ithaca College the summer of 2003, I managed to fit everything I wanted to bring home in my Volvo. His name was Lance. He was silver. I think he was only two years younger than I am! I didn't have him very long. But that isn't the point. Yeah, I had left some stuff (mostly old memorabilia) in my parents' house, but then we were all moving to California and I had to downsize. Unfortunately, they ended up buying space in a HUGE 18-wheeler and I did not have to get rid of much more than I left at IC...I remember putting boxes on that I really had no idea what was in them. Today I am sifting through that stuff asking myself if it's memorabilia worth saving or not...I mean...what would be cool in a scrapbook when I'm 80??
Anyway. Just saying...it's hard to downsize.
My mom/stepdad are kind of nomads. She is probably going to leave her job sooner than later and move (I've heard murmurs of North Carolina, where my grandparents live). She will take some of my stuff, but as it is she lives in a 2-bedroom apartment. My dad/stepmom have a big house, but it is in Southern Illinois - more than halfway across the country.
From my count as of now, there are probably 45 file-sized boxes plus suitcases of clothes and some furniture (dresser, futon, shelves) that I am intending to keep. There is no way my mom would even store all this, let alone move it across the country.
I remember when I left Ithaca College the summer of 2003, I managed to fit everything I wanted to bring home in my Volvo. His name was Lance. He was silver. I think he was only two years younger than I am! I didn't have him very long. But that isn't the point. Yeah, I had left some stuff (mostly old memorabilia) in my parents' house, but then we were all moving to California and I had to downsize. Unfortunately, they ended up buying space in a HUGE 18-wheeler and I did not have to get rid of much more than I left at IC...I remember putting boxes on that I really had no idea what was in them. Today I am sifting through that stuff asking myself if it's memorabilia worth saving or not...I mean...what would be cool in a scrapbook when I'm 80??
Anyway. Just saying...it's hard to downsize.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Reading Niger Blogs
Today I dedicated my downtime at work to reading PC journals from Niger, using www.peacecorpsjournals.com, which has journals by country.
The reason I am concentrating on Niger is because I know an RPCV named Jennifer who served in Niger in the 1990's and want to compare what she says with what I read.
I read that Niger is actually the 3rd most difficult post Peace Corps has. It is beat only by Mongolia (extreme cold) and Mauritania (extreme heat...also another of the 4 I might be headed to).
It's weird because when I read these journals, the people don't seem that nervous before they go. They're just like WAHOOO I'M OFF! I mean, they're nervous in the way that ANY PCV is nervous, but not in the way I am...I am not really worried about the things most PCVs worry about before they go, like missing their friends and family, television, different foodstuffs, learning the language, fitting in, things like that. For me, I am expecting all of that and it doesn't worry me.
I'm nervous about NIGER (or whichever of the Big 4 it ends up to be). I'm nervous about not being able to do my job because of the heat and illness PCVs seem to contract (in Niger there are 334 cases of diarrhea a year for every 100 volunteers). I'm nervous about not feeling healthy because all I eat is fried meat (although I have allayed this a bit...I bet if I learned how to can fruit and veggies I could do it in the cold season and still have some in the hot season...besides that it seems like when there is meat, there really isn't that much of it and your diet really is just rice and onions).
Yeah, mostly the whole thing boils down to my fear of heat and fear of not having access to enough fruits and vegetables. That's what it boils down to. I guess with reading these blogs, I am trying to lessen those fears, and to a degree I have (one girl says her typical breakfast is bread or oatmeal with peanut butter and raisins and for lunch she has rice and beans or macaroni with veggies or tomato sauce; another blog talked about the fact there is NO humidity, so it's not like you're drenched in sweat all day - it evaporates almost instantly).
Anyway. The Big 4 are seeming nice right now, as I just started working full time again today. I am reminded of why I wanted to join the PC in the first place.
The reason I am concentrating on Niger is because I know an RPCV named Jennifer who served in Niger in the 1990's and want to compare what she says with what I read.
I read that Niger is actually the 3rd most difficult post Peace Corps has. It is beat only by Mongolia (extreme cold) and Mauritania (extreme heat...also another of the 4 I might be headed to).
It's weird because when I read these journals, the people don't seem that nervous before they go. They're just like WAHOOO I'M OFF! I mean, they're nervous in the way that ANY PCV is nervous, but not in the way I am...I am not really worried about the things most PCVs worry about before they go, like missing their friends and family, television, different foodstuffs, learning the language, fitting in, things like that. For me, I am expecting all of that and it doesn't worry me.
I'm nervous about NIGER (or whichever of the Big 4 it ends up to be). I'm nervous about not being able to do my job because of the heat and illness PCVs seem to contract (in Niger there are 334 cases of diarrhea a year for every 100 volunteers). I'm nervous about not feeling healthy because all I eat is fried meat (although I have allayed this a bit...I bet if I learned how to can fruit and veggies I could do it in the cold season and still have some in the hot season...besides that it seems like when there is meat, there really isn't that much of it and your diet really is just rice and onions).
Yeah, mostly the whole thing boils down to my fear of heat and fear of not having access to enough fruits and vegetables. That's what it boils down to. I guess with reading these blogs, I am trying to lessen those fears, and to a degree I have (one girl says her typical breakfast is bread or oatmeal with peanut butter and raisins and for lunch she has rice and beans or macaroni with veggies or tomato sauce; another blog talked about the fact there is NO humidity, so it's not like you're drenched in sweat all day - it evaporates almost instantly).
Anyway. The Big 4 are seeming nice right now, as I just started working full time again today. I am reminded of why I wanted to join the PC in the first place.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Niger vs. Costa Rica
Ok, so I just went through and read the Living Conditions section for Costa Rica. After reviewing Niger's section today, and Mali and Mauritania and Senegal over the last few days, I began to wonder if any other countries actually were any better, as far as the living conditions and heat go...
Well, Costa Rica sounds friggin' amazing. You have a phone, electricity, running cold water. The climate is basically like Southern California (60 - 90F), probably more humid as there is a lot of rain in the rainy season. One drawback is that you live with a host family the entire time. It says it's easy to remain a vegetarian, as rice & beans is the staple meal. You can wear tank tops. Internet access is nearly everywhere.
Compared with where I am probably going, where there will be no running water, no electricity, POSSIBLY cell phone coverage, 120F, hardly any rain, the staple diet is fried meat and a starch, internet is only in large cities, and you can't wear tank tops.
I would be happy if there was some fruit and vegetables and I could wear tank tops...really that's all I want.
Well, Costa Rica sounds friggin' amazing. You have a phone, electricity, running cold water. The climate is basically like Southern California (60 - 90F), probably more humid as there is a lot of rain in the rainy season. One drawback is that you live with a host family the entire time. It says it's easy to remain a vegetarian, as rice & beans is the staple meal. You can wear tank tops. Internet access is nearly everywhere.
Compared with where I am probably going, where there will be no running water, no electricity, POSSIBLY cell phone coverage, 120F, hardly any rain, the staple diet is fried meat and a starch, internet is only in large cities, and you can't wear tank tops.
I would be happy if there was some fruit and vegetables and I could wear tank tops...really that's all I want.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
120F
I feel like I really need to experience 120F before I go. Here in LA, it got to around 110F right before I came back from my trip and everyone was DYING...It seems like from what I'm reading it would only be THAT hot 2-3 months out of the year...but GOOD GOD...that would be 2-3 months where I'd be doing next to nothing and my weight would be melting off of me due to loss of appetite.
How hot is it in Death Valley? That's kinda close.
How hot is it in Death Valley? That's kinda close.
Peace Corps Medical Kit
For a long time I have wondered what exactly is included in the PC Medical Kit. One RPCV told me "it has like 1000 condoms, and you'll never use anything else in it!"
And I was like... ....ok.
Here is what it actually contains (according to peacecorpswiki.org, Niger page - other countries' lists were slightly different):
Basically what I am hoping is that when you get all your stuff once you've accepted your invitation, they really tell you specifically what they are going to provide and what they aren't. Because if you really need something when you get there that you thought you'd have (like multivitamins, not on this list), it could take months for your family to get it to you...bummer!
And I was like... ....ok.
Here is what it actually contains (according to peacecorpswiki.org, Niger page - other countries' lists were slightly different):
Medical Kit Contents
Ace bandages
Acetaminophen 325 mg (Tylenol)
Adhesive tape
American Red Cross First Aid & Safety Handbook
Antacid tablets (Tums)
Antibiotic ointment (Bacitracin/Neomycin/Polymycin B)
Antiseptic antimicrobial skin cleaner (Hibiclens)
Band-Aids
Butterfly closures
Cepacol lozenges
Chlorine dropper bottle
Clomtimazole 1% antifungal cream
Condoms
Cough lozenges
Dental floss
DiGel tablets
Diphenhydramine HCL 25 mg (Benadryl)
Hydrocortisone cream 1%
Ibuprofen 400 mg
Insect repellent
Lip balm
Malaria kit
Stool sample kit
Oral rehydration salts
Oral thermometer (Fahrenheit)
Pseudoephedrine HCL (Sudafed)
Scissors
Sterile gauze pads
Tetrahydrozaline eyedrops (Visine)
Tweezers
White petroleum jelly
Zinc oxide
Basically what I am hoping is that when you get all your stuff once you've accepted your invitation, they really tell you specifically what they are going to provide and what they aren't. Because if you really need something when you get there that you thought you'd have (like multivitamins, not on this list), it could take months for your family to get it to you...bummer!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Dr. Bronner's Soap
Ok, so I bought a quart of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap at REI mid-May. I have been using it as my body wash every day since then. Originally I tried squirting it out of the big bottle into a big cup each time, and then diluting it with water and pouring it over myself. This seemed to use up the soap pretty quickly. Then I went on a 3-week vacation, brought only a 3 oz. container of it and just used a small amount on my hands each shower. The 3 oz. container lasted about 4.5 weeks! And, obviously, I am clean!
I did the math and what it says is that if I bring 1 quart (32 oz.) with me, which I was planning to, it will last me about 10 MONTHS!
This is great news! They sell Dr. B's in smaller containers, as well, so my family can ship me small containers throughout service with care packages, and I should be ale to use Dr. B's the whole time. I don't know why I'm worried about soap. I guess because I don't like using bar soap, and I don't use washcloths or loofahs or sponges (I used to until I read they were rife with bacteria and it was best to just use your hands, so I do). And it's nice to be able to use a natural soap.
Once I run out of shampoo, I am going to try to use the Dr. B's on my hair, too...because I also wonder about shampoo...I am going to cut my hair pretty short before I go. As it is, I only wash my hair every 4 days or so. I worry about it using up too much of the soap. So that's my next experiment. Once my face wash runs out, I'm going to experiment on my face, too. Imagine only having to use one soap/product to cleanse your entire body, head to foot? That would be convenient. Plus, it's 100% natural! I learned about Dr. B's when I was a kid because it's what we used to bathe in the river. I've heard of people who use NOTHING BUT Dr. B's for EVERYTHING - laundry, dishes, cleaner, mouthwash, toothpaste, EVERYTHING!
I guess I'm concerned about soap because my recruiter told me that I would only be able to find "products for white skin" in the major cities and that they'd be 3x as expensive. And being cheap and hating to be uncomfortable, I'm trying to work out a potential solution, even in the worst of circumstances. I like to be self-sufficient.
I did the math and what it says is that if I bring 1 quart (32 oz.) with me, which I was planning to, it will last me about 10 MONTHS!
This is great news! They sell Dr. B's in smaller containers, as well, so my family can ship me small containers throughout service with care packages, and I should be ale to use Dr. B's the whole time. I don't know why I'm worried about soap. I guess because I don't like using bar soap, and I don't use washcloths or loofahs or sponges (I used to until I read they were rife with bacteria and it was best to just use your hands, so I do). And it's nice to be able to use a natural soap.
Once I run out of shampoo, I am going to try to use the Dr. B's on my hair, too...because I also wonder about shampoo...I am going to cut my hair pretty short before I go. As it is, I only wash my hair every 4 days or so. I worry about it using up too much of the soap. So that's my next experiment. Once my face wash runs out, I'm going to experiment on my face, too. Imagine only having to use one soap/product to cleanse your entire body, head to foot? That would be convenient. Plus, it's 100% natural! I learned about Dr. B's when I was a kid because it's what we used to bathe in the river. I've heard of people who use NOTHING BUT Dr. B's for EVERYTHING - laundry, dishes, cleaner, mouthwash, toothpaste, EVERYTHING!
I guess I'm concerned about soap because my recruiter told me that I would only be able to find "products for white skin" in the major cities and that they'd be 3x as expensive. And being cheap and hating to be uncomfortable, I'm trying to work out a potential solution, even in the worst of circumstances. I like to be self-sufficient.
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