Ready or Not!

Packing sucks. I included some pics of my first attempt at packing this week. I don't have final pics to upload because I'm giving up and finishing in the morning..along with 282802 other things I need to do before 9am tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning I leave for LA.

Tuesday night I leave for Fiji.

Wednesday never happens (Fiji is 17 hours ahead of Minneapolis).

I arrive in Nadi, Fiji Thursday morning at 5:30am after a 11.5hr flight (still Wednesday for ya'll). 

We hit the ground running right away when we arrive in Fiji. We have some basic training in a hotel in Nadi, Fiji along with Peace Corps Trainees for Tonga for a couple of days. Then we take a two and a half hour bus ride to Pacific Harbour and spend a night in a hotel. Then we take a two hour bus ride to our host family villages where we will spend the next two months learning language (Fijian and possibly Hindi), cultural taboos and norms, and immersing ourselves into everything Fiji...even getting to know the wildlife (Fijian rats better watch themselves!).

My mailing address until November:

Missy Martin
Peace Corps/Fiji
Private Mail Bag
Suva, Fiji
SOUTH PACIFIC


Some Random Facts About Fiji and Peace Corps in Fiji

*Peace Corps has been in Fiji since 1968 (two years before their independence from Britain)
*Peace Corps did leave Fiji from 1998 to 2003 due to a coup. There is a large Indian population (Indo-Fijians) who often conflict with the Fijians.
*In Fiji you are considered youth until around age 35, or married
*Gender roles are strongly defined
*Many religions are represented but the major three umbrellas are Christianity, Hindu and Muslim
*In Fiji, "...an open door is an invitation for people to come in while a closed door is considered rude..."

After I am sworn in as an official Volunteer in November I will be placed in a position working with the Ministry of Youth, Ministry of Education or Ministry of Health. Any position I am placed in should be focusing on the goal of educating and modeling better nutrition and exercise for the youth of Fiji. I could be placed on one of six islands, could live with another volunteer or live a few hours from the nearest volunteer, could be in a city, town, village or outer island. I will be assessed over the next two months as well as interviewed and surveyed on my thoughts for placement. 

Flights are Booked, Let's Look Back

Received the highly anticipated email today saying I could go ahead and call Peace Corps' travel agent and set up my flight for staging in LA (August 31st) and flight to Fiji (September 1st)!!!

I have started to take the final steps of selling furniture and my car, filling up my parents' storage with all of my lovely belongings, talking to school loan lenders and Sprint, and booking as many play sessions with friends and family AS POSSIBLE. After getting my car beautifully detailed today in preparation to sell it, I came home and reflected back on what got me here from 11 months ago when I decided to apply for the Peace Corps. And as most things in my life, the vision I had for what I wanted took a turn. I went from really wanting to become fluent in Spanish to being offered a position (in FIJI) to utilize my Family Life Education and Parent Coaching work in a way I hadn't even thought possible.

This is the 492 word essay I wrote for my application (max allowed was 500....so much pressure when this is pretty much all they judge you on initially).

The challenges I have faced, chosen and stumbled upon have one thing in common: they have permanently changed me for the better. I participated in a two-week study abroad course in Belize, Central America to study the local culture. My fascination with this new culture led me to connect with Cornerstone Foundation, a local non-profit focused on empowering youth, woman and families to improve their situations by connecting them with meaningful resources. I proceeded to spend three months that summer immersing myself in San Ignacio, Belize working with Cornerstone and immersing myself into the local culture. I ate the local dishes, attended cultural celebrations, and informally picked up Creole (Belizean).  Through the autonomy given to me at Cornerstone I was able to create sustainable youth programs by collaborating with the existing community infrastructure. Success in these programs was not easily come by; I was faced with many challenges. It was essential for me to slow down and observe my community in order to create successful relationships and recognize the needs of those around me.

After being accepted into City Year as an AmeriCorps member, I moved to the neighborhood of East Harlem, New York. East Harlem is an area of concentrated poverty with high school graduation rate of around fifty percent. Working as an AmeriCorps volunteer during this time was a rewarding challenge in which I found much fulfillment. I lived on a small stipend, received food stamps and inhabited a 700 square foot apartment with three other volunteers. This was my first time living in a United States city as a minority. Many of the volunteers began their time in Harlem with fear. They were afraid of the unknown, of the statistics, and of the people who seemed so different than them. I embraced this. I acknowledged the hellos from those hanging out outside the laundry mat, visited the deli on the corner daily, and made myself approachable. Allowing myself to be receptive allowed me to quickly become friends with the people of East Harlem. My friends’ stories were much different than mine. Our conversations ranged from gangs and guns to parenting styles. These conversations gave me insight as to the needs of the community. Drawing from these discussions bettered my work in the school in how to implement interventions, approach parents, and mentor youth.  I had to be creative and resourceful in my work.

I am highly prepared and motivated in regards to Peace Corps service. I trust that my education, experiences, cultural acceptance, and motivation to improve a piece of the world will lead me to work through any challenge that may arise during my service. I know that I will learn just as much from the Peace Corps in my time exchanging cultural experiences. I hope to return to the United States with a deeper understanding of another language and culture that I am able to utilize in my work as a Family Life Educator and Parent Coach.    

28 Days Folks. Don't you worry, I have been eating cheese every day, at every meal.

The countdown.

You guys. I need to tell you something. Before I moved to Harlem (NYC) 7 years ago I was SO excited and anxious and READY...until like 3 days before I left. I freaked out. Who in their right mind leaves everything they know and understand and love and buys a one way ticket somewhere they have Never been before?? Luckily I had a few people in my life who knew that this was just a momentary freak out and that I was making the 2nd best decision of my life.

Here I am. 45 days out from a one way ticket OUT OF THE COUNTRY and I feel excited and anxious and READY. Uh oh. Does this mean that all of the sadness and nervousness and freaking out is waiting to hit me moments before I leave?! Crap. Can't I just make myself feel these things now and get em over with??

Maybe if I think about all the things I am going to miss for 27 months...

45 days.
45 more days...
...of eating cheese at my leisure (and a lot of it).
...of walking into a cold house.
...of hot showers and baths
...having any food I want, any time I want it.
...watching my niece on Sundays.
...doing ridiculous things with my parents, like archery and pickleball.
...having a fridge stocked with wine  (maybe this can happen but I am preparing myself for the worst).
...of being able to spend time with family and friends.
...to binge watch hulu.
...walking 100 ft to a bar, and back home again.
...to buy a fresh brewed coffee every morning.
...of driving.
...of a predictable tomorrow.

Timeline in pursuit of my Dreams

December, 2012 - Associate in Arts Degree (Anoka Ramsey Community College)

September, 2014 - Made the mental decision to apply for the Peace Corps in hopes of departing late summer 2015

November 1st, 2014 - FINALLY submitted my Peace Corps application after writing, editing, rewriting and enlisting others to edit my 500 word essay and resume (that is all the Peace Corps was judging me off of). My first 3 choices in applying were Youth Development-Peru, Youth Development-Costa Rica and anywhere with a preference for Spanish-speaking.
*Special shout outs to Dad, Katie (sister), Katie Kampa, Sarah, Robert and Kim, Kyla and anyone else I am forgetting-I sure did need a lot of help :)!

December 2nd, 2014 - Placed under consideration for Peace Corps Peru

February 9th, 2015 - Asked to provide documentation showing 4 years of high school spanish or 2 semesters of college spanish completed, to continue being considered for Peru (I had 3 yrs in high school and 1 semester in college)

February 13th, 2015 - Informed I could no longer be considered for Peru due to it being a highly competitive program and not fitting neatly into the language prerequisites. Told I can be considered for Fiji if I would like with no guarantee that I would recieve an interview 

February 17th, 2015 - Offered an interview for Peace Corps Fiji - Community Youth Empowerment Project

February 23rd, 2015 - Interviewed via video call for Peace Corps Fiji

February 26th, 2015 - Invited to serve with Peace Corps Fiji!

May 9th, 2015 - Bachelor in Arts Degree in Family Life Education (Concordia University-St. Paul)

May 28th, 2015 - Medical and dental clearance granted (after 3 months of nearly weekly appointments to get poked and prodded)

August 31st, 2015 - Temporarily scheduled to depart for training in LA (Peace Corps calls it staging)

September, 2015 -Temporarily scheduled to leave for Fiji. Will stay with a host family and receive in country training for two months

November, 2015 - Receive specific job/village assignment for the next two years 

Dreams Deferred

During my freshman year of college (@ University of Wisconsin-River Falls) I decided I wanted to join the Peace Corps some day…

…It wasn’t a completely random thought. In March of 2008 I spent two weeks exploring the amazing country of Belize through a study abroad program. After just a few days there, I asked my professor how one might go about coming back to Belize to do an internship, or something of the sort, for a longer period of time. Professor Ed Robins walked me over to an organization called Cornerstone Foundation in the town of San Ignacio and introduced me to the staff. He said he had a former student who volunteered with them and she had only good things to say. After returning from the two week trip, it was only a matter of weeks before I made a commitment to intern with the Cornerstone Foundation (in Youth Development) for 3 months in the summer of 2008. (Highly Recommended: They have programs ranging from 1 week long to as many months as you can afford in areas from health to environmental studies to women empowerment. They are much more affordable than most study/volunteer abroad programs, provide a meal a day and dorm style living quarters equipped with a computer room ;) http://www.cornerstonefoundationbelize.org/ )

I could tell you about Belize ALL DAY LONG but if you already know me, you can go look at one of my 10 Belize photo albums and see the PURE JOY living in Belize brought me. I immersed myself into the culture, made life long friends with locals and other volunteers and made the first best decision of my life. I have now been to Belize on 5 different occasions and will be back for more. 

After that summer, I knew. I knew there was this whole other world out there. I knew, more than ever, that diversity was a passion of mine. I knew I wanted to continue to indulge in cultures aside from my own. I knew I wanted to join the Peace Corps. There was only one thing stopping me…lack of an undergraduate degree. I had heard it was very difficult to get into the Peace Corps without such a thing.