Let the Adventure Continue

I began the process of becoming Peace Corps volunteer on June 3, 2009. This was the one-year anniversary of my grandmother’s death. Her influence and presence in my life has played, and continues to play, a pivotal role in who I am and who I strive to be. I decided on June 3, 2009, that every year on the anniversary of her death, I would do something to celebrate her life. It is important that her selflessness, ceaseless giving, and peace-spreading nature be reincarnated in the hands of those who were fortunate enough to have borne witness to her unparalleled embodiment of that which she valued most.

On June 3, 2010, I notified the Peace Corps of my formal acceptance of the invitation to serve as a Community Health Advisor in Benin, West Africa, departing July 14. It is a French-speaking country, which is exciting because I’ve always wanted to be, at least, bilingual. In conversation, the usual question to follow is: “Do you speak French?” Answer: While the College Board seems to find my French sufficient, I have no doubt that I will be struggling to find the words for marketplace items and to speak in any tense but the present.

There will be 9 weeks of Pre-service Training where we will live with host families and attend classes for 8-10 hours a day. Classes will include intensive language instruction in addition to technical training in our area of specialty. Our host families serve as the source for our cultural education by providing information about Beninese culture and feedback regarding our performance within that culture. After the 9 weeks, we are given our community assignment and move to our two-year service site.

I’m excited to see the world from a new perspective and learn from all of the wonderful, interesting people I am sure to meet. While concern has been expressed in regards to safety, communication, the prevalence of snakes and my ability to resist the temptation to adopt one as a pet, I am confident in the Peace Corps ability, and my own, to ensure that I remain healthy, educated and free of snake bites.

I appreciate all the support that my friends, family, and strangers on airplanes have given me. I love you all. Peace Corps is another chapter in the big adventure that is life. So let the adventure continue.

P.S. I do not know how readily available the internet will be once I am in Benin, so these posts, and communication with me in general, are likely to be irregular and infrequent.