I'm 22 years old and I'm from Nashville, Tennessee, though I grew up in upstate New York (birth to age 13). I love the North, but boy, do I love living in the South! It's going to be hard to leave behind country music, sweet tea, and Southern hospitality, but I know that really great things await me. I graduated from Brentwood High in 2006 and graduated from Maryville College in 2010 with degrees in Sociology and Environmental Studies as well as a minor in French. I studied abroad in La Reunion, France in the spring of 2009 (stateofreunion.blogspot.com). I currently live in Brentwood, Tennessee until my departure for Mali on January 31st, 2011. Things I love: chocolate, parades, handshakes. Things I dislike: peanuts, rudeness, Sugarland. Things I am: cheery, vegetarian, ambitious. Things I aspire to be: more patient, a member of Dumbledore's Army, successful.
I was kind of dragging my feet on starting one because I didn't feel like I had much to say, but lo and behold my adventure began and I hadn't even left Brentwood. About two months ago I was issued an invitation to serve in the Agroforestry sector of Guinea, also in West Africa, and let me tell you, I WAS SO EXCITED. I jumped up and down singing "I'm going! I'm going! I'm going!" for roughly 11 minutes before I got too winded to finish texting everyone I knew and had to sit down. I moved home to Brentwood from Maryville about three weeks later and began preparing for what was supposed to be an early December departure.
Then, about three weeks ago I received a phone call that was rather unexpected. Guinea got delayed until mid-January. I understood; there were issues related to the election that was yet to take place. So, I held my breath and checked the news religiously. There were sporadic reports of military violence and protests regarding the results of the election, but nothing big. Nevertheless the Peace Corps was concerned that things wouldn't calm down in time. Consequently, a week ago, I got the call that every Peace Corps hopeful dreads. Guinea was cancelled. I was reassured that I would be placed immediately, and I have to give the PC their due respect because I was contacted the next day with FOUR choices.
Now, everything you hear about the Peace Corps tells you that you need to learn to be flexible, patient, have a sense of humor, etc. because so many things will happen that are out of your control. I am certain that those will come in handy during my service. However, I was completely overwhelmed by the prospect of four choices: Zambia, Mali, Madagascar, and Morocco, chosen because I wanted to stay in Africa and I wanted to use my French to some degree, and they are all leaving in the next three months.
I spent this week researching and reading information on all four. Zambia was pretty quickly eliminated, as it was a math and science teaching position. I'm definitely not qualified for that. I also eliminated Morocco because while I'd love to learn Arabic (it's on my bucket list!), I didn't love the job description. It ended up being a toss up between Madagascar and Mali. I loved the job description of Mali the best and I also couldn't give up on the idea of living in West Africa.
Overall, I'm sad that Guinea never happened. I was talking with a fellow Guinea invitee, and she described the feeling as "the one that got away." I completely agree. Thankfully, Mali and Guinea share a border, so maybe I'll get to visit. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier. I am so fortunate to be able to do this, and so hopeful for a successful placement. Here we go!
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