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One of the PCVs from Kaz19 let all of us Kaz20 folks know about a video on YouTube of a winter picnic they took. Said it would help give us an idea of what a -40 day was like. Doesn’t look so bad….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2EWmnryxk8

Before my friend Travis left Abingdon for grad school, he gave each of us in the group a gift that, as I recall, summed up a part of the friendship we shared with him. My gift was a StoryPeople print called “Different Plans.” The story in the print is of conversation similar to one that Travis and I probably had a million different times. From the back porch of Bellas to numerous stretches of river (usually between the rapids), we talked about that particular subject often.

Travis finished his degree this Spring and just returned from a month in Africa. I’m five weeks from boarding a plane to begin my Peace Corps service in Kazakhstan. As I prepare to pack away my StoryPeople print, I can’t help but reflect on how well Travis had me pegged with that particular gift, but I’ll let you judge for yourself:

I don’t know how long I can do this, he said.
I think the universe has different plans for me
& we sat there in silence & I thought to myself
that this is the thing we all come to & this is
the thing we all fight & if we are lucky enough
to lose, our lives become beautiful with mystery
again & I sat there silent because that is
not something that can be said.

I found out this morning that we’re staging in Philadelphia on August 17. One of the other people in the group got her staging packet and left a post on our group message board to let everyone know. My packet should be here soon. I feel like I’ve really made some headway this weekend in packing and preparing for the trip. I sold my kayak and all associated gear yesterday to a guy from Memphis. He’s the photo editor for Ducks Unlimited’s magazine, so I might try to send him some photos of any waterfowl I see at Saryarka. It just got added to the World Heritage List:

Saryarka is a largely undisturbed area of Central Asian steppe and lakes in the Korgalzhyn and Naurzum State Nature Reserves. These are key stopover points for globally threatened species and provide feeding grounds for up to 15-16 million birds. They are also home to the critically endangered saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica). (From press release on IUCN site)

How cool is that? I’m definitely going to find the time to check that place out. To be that close to a site like that and not visit would be tragic.

I think I’ve checked off almost everything on my packing list. Picked up a few more things last night and it feels like I almost have it all. One of the things not on the list was Apples Are From Kazakhstan. Neat book. Started reading it last night. Probably will be the bedtime reader since my time should be spent packing and studying Russian. As soon as July 22 rolls around I should have much more time. Trying to work a 40+ hour a week job while preparing to leave the country for a few years can be a bit tricky.

Tonight I spent a good two hours at REI trying to pick up various things I might need for the next two years in Kazakhstan. I had the suggested PC packing list in hand and everything. I eventually ended up talking myself out of everything I came to get.

First major purchase I rethought – hiking boots. The PC list said that I’d want good boots because there was a lot of good hiking there. OK, I’ll bite…at first. The more I thought about it, though, the more it seemed like a bonehead move. I’ve got some pretty good waterproof trail runners that would work for day hikes or even extended trips going light and fast. That started to turn the tide in my head. What sealed the no deal? Um, KAZAKHSTAN IS THE FRIGGIN’ STEPPE! Except for the area around Almaty, i.e. near Kyrgyzstan, the whole country is flat. Not much need for hard core hiking boots to walk on flat ground, right? Did I make the first blunder of my trip? Maybe, but I’m feeling pretty good about my choice.

The other major non-purchase? Heavy duty, waterproof winter gloves. I’ve got several pairs of ski gloves that should get me through. Will they be warm enough? Doubtful. My fingers get cold on the lift here when it’s barely below freezing. Something tells me, though, that the good people of Kazakhstan probably have the secret to surviving 40 below temps in glove form right there in their own country. I’m just saying, that’s all…

I did buy a duffel bag that I’ll use to pack my backpack. That way none of the straps are hanging out to get caught up in the inner workings of the luggage transfer process. Plus, I’ll have an extra empty bag when I get there

Got a few new pairs of Smartwool socks and another pair of Ex Officio undies. I’ve got the boxer briefs and I also plan to try the tighty whitey version, too. I’m trying to find the best synthetic underwear with funk repellent technology. The last thing I want to do in seb zero temps is start my layering with cotton, i.e. death cloth. That’s just dumb. Synthetic, wool or silk, kids – that’s how I plan to roll. Price is a factor, though. Dropping a C-note on four pairs of skivvies is a tough pill to swallow.

Just a few more purchases and I think I should be set. Now I just have to sell a bunch of things and do all I can to minimize the amount of stuff I’ll have to transport back to the Tri-Cities for storage.

Is someone getting link-happy with his blog already? Perhaps.

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.