Musings on the Eve of Departure

Like Elvis - I have left the building....the city of Nashville....and tomorrow the USA. I have been saying goodbye since March and I frankly am tired of my story and saying goodbye. How wonderful to finally say "HELLO UGANDA"!

Today I left my home, my dogs, my husband and my sons and flew to Philly for 24 hours of "staging" - a nice word for are you sure you want to do this and do you understand what's expected of you.

Here are the Core Expectations For Peace Corps Volunteers

In working toward fulfilling the Peace Corps Mission of promoting world peace
and friendship, as a trainee and Volunteer,  you are expected to:
1.  Prepare your personal and professional life to make a commitment to serve abroad for a full term of 27 months
2.  Commit to improving the quality of life of the people with whom you live and work; and, in doing so, share your skills, adapt them, and learn new skills as needed
3.  Serve where the Peace Corps asks you to go, under conditions of hardship, if necessary, and with the flexibility needed for effective
service
4.  Recognize that your successful and sustainable development work is based on the local trust and confidence you build by living in,
and respectfully integrating yourself into, your host community and culture
5.  Recognize that you are responsible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your personal conduct and professional performance
6.  Engage with host country partners in a spirit of cooperation, mutual learning, and respect
7.  Work within the rules and regulations of the Peace Corps and the local and national laws of the country where you serve
8.  Exercise judgment and personal responsibility to protect your health, safety, and well-being and that of others
9.  Recognize that you will be perceived, in your host country and community, as a representative of the people, cultures, values, and
traditions of the United States of America
10.  Represent responsibly the people, cultures, values, and traditions of your host country and community to people in the United States both during and following your service

It was overall a wonderful day. I was accompanied to Philadelphia by my eldest son who was on his way to DC. We left 2 teary eyed men at security in Nashville, and headed out for the final goodbye in the Philadelphia airport.  I cried on the plane several times and smiled to myself as I let the emotions flow through me. I know I am ready, but it is hard to peel yourself out of your life for 27 months.

What I learned Over the last several months

Some friends and family readily support you when you choose to do something that scares most people ....and some just don't get it. Some eventually come around and some most likely never will. That's OK - everyone can only go to places where they know how to get to. I love everyone who has tried to embrace my adventure solely because its important to me. My husband wins the biggest prize for understanding why I need to do this....he said "go for it" the first time I told him about it. He has made the last several weeks wonderful by understanding my stresses and my excitement and helping me navigate the myriad of parties, dinners and lunches. 2nd runner up is a tie for my sons who have found a way to make me feel cherished as a Mom....It hasn't felt this good since they were 8 & 9 and thought I was the most amazing woman ever.

I  learned I really need and adore my girl friends.....thanks for the gifts you share so generously.

I also learned I like change - I have missed it and love not knowing whats coming over the next several months.

A dear friend shared a poem with me that helps express why I am in the Peace Corps...


...I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering; what is it going to be like?And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and I look upon time as no more  than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility, and I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular, and each name a comfortable music in the mouth tending as all music does, toward silence, 

and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. 

I was a bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.When it's over, I don't want to wonder have made of my life something particular, and real. I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

~ Mary Oliver ~

Just the Facts Mam

My "class" has 46 people. There are at least 16 people over 40 - I was at a table of 8 and I was the youngest person.

There are 5 married couples - 3 mature Marriages and 2 younger ones. There are only 2 from the Southeast - including me. Chicago sent the most volunteers.I have a roommate in the hotel in Philly from Missouri - she is such a nice soul and reminds me of my niece. 

We are being bused to NYC in the am and leave JFK at 6:30 for Brussels.  We have a 3 hour layover and then fly to Kigali Rwanda and then finish in Entebbe Uganda at 9:45pm local time (1:45pm CST). We will spend 6 days in a conference center with dormitory housing to get the basics on Uganda survival and get all our shots and malaria meds. Then we go to a training facility near Wakisi where we will be sent to live with host families who do not speak English. We will live there for 9 weeks while we attend classes and assuming we pass the language classes we will be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers and will be sent to our assigned site. 

We were told that we will not have access to communication for at least the first 2 weeks - so don't expect to hear anything from me for a while.

Peace 

Karla