The Beginning

A month and five days: that's what separates me from beginning my stint as a Youth Development Coordinator in Cameroon. How's it feeling right now? Overwhelming. Exciting. Terrifying. Empowering. That's the thing with this, there are a million unknowns and a million emotions that go along with every little bit of this. And, you know, I'm okay with it. That's the way life is supposed to be, or so I hope.

So, what's the preparation actually like? Just like with the rest of the application process, there are times where there are millions of pieces of paperwork and other times where you hear absolutely nothing. Theoretically all of us are supposed to be spending our time studying French. Luckily, I've managed to borrow a copy of Harry Potter in French from a friend, which makes studying a million times more interesting. Plus, unlike Allegheny, NO ESSAYS! Besides that, there's a lot of packing and shopping. I feel like I am single-handedly backing the recent economic growth (you're welcome!)

September 21 is the big day. All of us in my class of volunteers will be flown out to Philly for staging (Peace Corps orientation, if you will.) We get our millions of vaccines and medications, do a host of crazy team-building activities, and then we all fly out to Yaounde (the nation's capital) and later Bafia together. Training is two and a half months long, once it's over, we'll get matched with a site somewhere in the country and move out to actually start our jobs mid-December. Youth Development is a sector that's totally new to Cameroon, so there are way more unknowns associated with my job than there are for most volunteers. Guess I'm just going to have to get reeeeeeally good at being go-with-the-flow and not all micromanage-y.

So, that's my Peace Corps life right now: full of preparation, unknowns, and lots of excitement. As the time comes closer to leave, there'll be another post. And, more importantly, once I arrive hopefully I'll be able to post often.

Take care!