Saying Goodbye...

It’s the final countdown to my Peace Corps departure and as expected, this comes with mixed emotions. I’ve had a really amazing summer and have been fortunate to spend time with lots of family and friends. In the past week, I’ve had a goodbye party where I was able to see most of my closest friends in Boston, I spent a few days at the beach in Rockport, and now I’m sitting in NH looking outside at the beautiful White Mountains that are beginning to show the signs of fall foliage. It’s easy in these last few days to think of all the things I’m sad to leave behind, from friends and family to crisp fall days and the first snow and skiing. Unfortunately, starting a new adventure comes with the unavoidable task of saying goodbye, which is something I think no one enjoys doing. However, what comforts me is the knowledge that these goodbyes aren’t permanent. While daunting now, in the grand scheme of things, 2 years really isn’t that long and there will be plenty of future moments to spend with the people I care about and in the places where I feel most comfortable.

While it’s easy now to be looking behind at what I’m leaving, I’ve been trying to focus on what’s ahead of me. I applied to the Peace Corps about a year ago, so I’ve been thinking and talking about becoming a volunteer for a long time. Surprisingly, I don’t feel that nervous. I’m more anxious, excited, and curious to finally see what it will be like. I’ve also received a lot more detailed information from Peace Corps in the past week, so I have a more clear image of what my next few months will be like. After I arrive in Lome on September 18^th, I will be spending four days in the capital with all the other trainees. We’ll be in a hotel and will go through an orientation to Peace Corps Togo. Then, I move with the other NRM (Natural Resource Management) volunteers to the village of Gbatope where I will live with a homestay family and go through 9 weeks of training. Gbatope is not on google maps, but you can google the town of Tsevie and Gbatope is apparently 6km northeast of Tsevie. While in Gbatope, I will go through language, cultural, technical, and health training. Also, this one is my favorite, I will be trained in bike care and maintenance, since I will be given a bike for transportation in Togo. Anyone who knows me is aware that I lack any ability to fix or maintain things, so the bike maintenance lessons should be interesting. I’ll be in training until late November and by the end of October I’ll know where my site is and will spend a week there. In a little over a month, I’ll finally be able to answer the question: where will you be living in Togo?!!

Overall, I’m really excited to get going. I’m almost done packing and I think I’ve managed to fit everything in under the weight limit. I also have a lot of cool new gadgets like a solar charger and hand-cranked shortwave radio and flashlight. Although I know there are a lot of things I will miss, and I’m sure there will be many moments when I will wish I were back in the U.S., I’m also completely confident joining the Peace Corps is the right thing for me to be doing right now. I’ve envisioned different scenarios of graduate school, jobs in the US, or other opportunities abroad, and Peace Corps continually is the most exciting and appealing. I get to live in Africa again, part of my job will be cultural exchange, I get to work on community-based development projects, I will be working within a support network and structure, and, from what I’ve heard from other volunteers, there will be a lot of fun!! So, come visit if you want and otherwise, we’ll keep in touch and I’ll see you when I’m stateside once again

Emily