Tuesday, October 13, 2009

And I'm off! (again)

Wow, I haven't posted since July. I think so much happened between then and now that it just became too overwhelming to try and explain it all. I'm going to attempt to summarize the last two months:
--July 24: I receive a call from Peace Corps while I'm in Kaedi telling me that I need to be in Nouakchott in three days for an "evacuation drill." (I'm already heading that way anyway since I have a flight home on August 6.)
--July 27: All volunteers currently in country leave Nouakchott really early in the morning on a bus to Senegal while a safety and security team from Peace Corps Washington assesses the security situation.
--July 27 - August 6: We all chill in Senegal at Peace Corps Senegal's training center while the team tours around the country to look at security stuff. (I have no idea how this works.)
--August 6: I fly home to AMERICA! Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa pick me up at the airport.
--August 10: I get a call from Peace Corps Washington that the Peace Corps Mauritania program has been suspended (no going back) and that they've closed my service (no direct transfer option).
--August 10 - September 25: I call Peace Corps Washington every day in an effort to get back overseas to finish my service ASAP.
--September 25: I'm assigned to Burkina Faso!
--September 30 - present: My flight has been changed three times from October 8 to October 11 to October 12 to October 14? Is Peace Corps trying to make this difficult?

So I think that just about sums it up. I can't really say that I'm that nervous/excited to leave yet because it hasn't really hit me. I've had so many false alarms that I think I've learned to keep calm until the very last moment. I know that I'll still be working in girls education and that someone from Peace Corps should be at the airport to pick me up. In typical Peace Corps fashion, they haven't told me anything else: what part of the country I'll serve in, what size town/village, will I have a site mate, what local language will I learn? I'm expecting to find out all of that information as soon as I arrive, so I'll let you all know when I get there! Hopefully, that will be soon...

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