And so it begins…sort of

It’s the first of what I hope will be many posts to this blog over the next 28 months, but my Peace Corps adventure started some time ago. The true beginning of this adventure happened nearly two years ago. That’s when my then-girlfriend and I started talking about joining the Peace Corps together. I did quite a bit of research on the organization and even started to fill out an application.

Things didn’t work out with that particular young lady and the Peace Corps dream seemed to fade with the failed relationship. Oddly enough, a TV newsmagazine documentary on the murder of a PCV in Tonga in 1976 was the thing that set me on the path to dust off the old application and start the process anew.

Sure, that may sound twisted or insensitive, but it’s just how it happened. I remembered reading about that particular incident during my initial research, and all the interest just came flooding back. Point of clarification: as my application was done online I didn’t physically clear any dust from it before digging back in to the app.

Moving rapidly along, application submitted, recruiter called to request interview. Decided to go to Atlanta for the interview. Thought I’d hear back from recruiter a few days after the interview. Thought wrong. Given two program options and two region options to choose from that day (programs and regions available vary from person to person, this is just how it worked out for me). Programs were teaching English or community development. Regions were Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Each region also had two departure date options. Thought about it for a few days, consulted friends with knowledge of both regions, chose TEFL in Central Asia departing in September. Got medical kit in mail. Took me about a month to get all the squared away – actually had to do some follow-up which isn’t exactly fun. It also got kind of pricey, even with insurance. Clearances started happening – dental, legal and medical. Called recruiter to see if/when I might hear from placement office. Received impression that it wouldn’t be too much longer. Good impression. Heard from first of two placement officers not long after call to recruiter. Second call was to follow up on my tutoring experience in college and to see if I would be available to leave in August instead of September (flexibility!). Told placement officer that as long as I didn’t have to leave on or before August 2 that I was cool to go. Wedding to attend August 2 and ditching that was not an option. Quickly learned that the program I would be invited to didn’t leave until the 17th. Got really excited. Came home at lunch on June 20 and found invite. Called my friend Eric, a scholar of things in and around Central Asia, who thought it was hard to beat Kazakhstan for an assignment. Called placement officer and accepted invitation.

So here I am. Lots of other key details from the last 6 months have been omitted. I had a lot of great people helping me along the way. Some of the most insightful help came from a group of RPCVs in the Nashville, TN, area who really helped me make sense of things.

I’ve been working on getting rid of things I don’t want to take with me. Some I’ll sell. Some I’ll give away/donate. Others may just end up in the trash. I’ve been working on my language skills. Taking stock of what I have and figuring out what else I’ll need. Starting a blog….

At any rate, the thing that really spurred me to action this evening was the process of culling my belongings. As I have been sorting through the things I own and deciding what to keep and what to let go I’ve been having the most surreal experience.

Certain things trigger memories, both single instances and series of events, and it’s almost as if I relive the moments with each trigger. What’s been so interesting about the process is this overwhelming feeling that I’m packing up my old life, to a great extent. I know that there are things from the past that I’ll carry with me on my new adventure and that some things I will come back to when the Peace Corps adventure is over. But at the same time, there are some things that will no longer be a part of my life. They will be removed from it forever. Perhaps some of them may be replaced by similar items in the future, but the original items will be lost forever. Only the memories will remain, and those may well be fleeting.

Perhaps this experience is a metaphor for life itself. Perhaps not. I’ve thought a lot about so many things since I started my application. I have a sense that this will be an incredible, life-changing event. I don’t know what I’ll do when it’s over, but I have such great peace with that uncertainty. The reason I have that peace is that I know with all certainty that at the conclusion of my service I will know what to do. Maybe I’m putting way too much of an expectation into something that tells you to enter with no expectations, but I don’t think so. And if I’m wrong? Well, I guess I’ll just have to deal with that when the time comes.