Staging

I wrote this while I was still in Philadelphia, but didn’t get the chance to get it posted until now.

So, staging…

For a day and a half of meetings, honestly, it is pretty awesome. It is truly fabulous to finally be started. I have been thinking about this and planning for it for so long, that to finally be doing it, to officially be a Peace Corps Trainee is just wonderful.

My first impressions are good. Yes, it was a bunch of meetings and information. We learned a lot about crossing the culture barriers, how to gain acceptance and integrate. We talked a lot about safety. We learned PC lingo – “post” is the country we are placed in, “site” is the community within that country where we live and work. Some of it made me a little more nervous about what I am doing, most of it, quite honestly, made me more excited. I am quite confident that this is the path I am supposed to be on now.

There are 54 people in my group. Each, their own version of super cool. We range in age from 21 to 63. Our experiences and lives up to this moment have the same broad range. It will be very interesting to get to know everyone and see, over the next 2 years how our dynamic grows and changes.

One of the many activities we did was to write our personal definition of success as a PC Volunteer. I have no idea how this definition will change as I go through training and my years of service, but I thought I would leave you with my definition of success as a volunteer…

I will know that I am a successful Volunteer when… I feel like a part of my new world. When I don’t act as a representative of the United States, but as a member and representative of my community. When the respect I give those I live and work with equals the respect they give me. When I can communicate without thinking about it. When I am someone people admire, not for what I am about to do, but for what I have done.