When giving actually matters

Going into the Peace Corps doesn't feel like an enormous sacrifice to me. I want to do something with my life that I believe matters. For some people that means building businesses. For me it means making lives better. So I don't feel like I'm sacrificing two years. I'm just making an investment towards my future career objectives.

In order to make that investment I have had to make certain other choices. How often I will see my family, forgoing amenities while I am away, two years of income. And I've also had to make a sacrifice that is currently gnawing away at me.

For eight years I've been a vegetarian. I stopped eating meat because I don't want to be responsible for death, human or animal. But I've had to face the feasibility of that lifestyle choice, that principle, in going to Africa. If I am offered meat and I refused then I may be insulting my hosts who honor me with what is to them an impressive gift. Or I may not be able to find sufficient protein if I go without meat.

I've begun eating meat again. I don't want to give my system too much of a shock when I eat meat in Africa, so I'm preparing myself. But I've spent eight years believing that meat is a terrible thing and disassociating it from any relation to food. And now I hate the texture, the taste, and the experience of having meat in me.

I thought that returning to meat would be like any other choice. In order to go to Africa I would eat meat, lack a flush toilet, and go without winter. But for me vegetarianism has never been a choice. It's been a principle.

Which leaves me wondering which of my principles are for sale towards future goals.

Peace Corps Uganda

It's been about a week since my last entry, and I'm still in just about exactly the same position. I haven't sent out my visa or passport applications, but that's because I'm waiting for my personal passport to arrive (my parents sent it to me from Vermont for inclusion as a part of my Peace Corps package). I still have a big gap in my teeth (though it is thankfully not visible). And I'm still in South Lake Tahoe.

But I do have one thing to share. There are a couple of really great online documents about my service and about Uganda. Since everyone I know of who is reading this is somehow close to me, I thought you might like to see those documents. So here they are-

This is a PDF file about where I'm going, what I'm doing, and how I'll be living for the next couple of years: http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/ugwb617.pdf

Here is a series of pages that the Peace Corps puts out for the family and friends of volunteers-: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.faf

Enjoy the info, and I'll be putting up more as I know more and just through more hoops.

I'm Going To Uganda!

I will be leaving for Uganda in March, which is much sooner than I had thought. For two years I will be working as an adviser and trainer for government and NGO workers in various health capacities, primarily around AIDS, nutrition, and general health.

I just wanted to ensure that everyone read the most important information. It's the only lesson I remember from my Journalism class.

It's been a few months since I last posted, and even then I was ridiculously behind. And I'm still there. Way behind.

I'm not going to catch up today.

No, I'm not going to give you the heart-rending tale of my trip to Florida for my grandmother's funeral. We won't be sharing the laughs and the adventure of my trip up through California to my new home in South Lake Tahoe. Or the frustrations with my jobs as an assistant to a contractor and as a host at a ski resort. No, today is not even the day to talk about Christmas and New Years, those two wonderful weeks with my family and with my oral surgeon. No, today is a day for much bigger news.

As of now, I am an invitee to the Peace Corps. Yesterday I received my invitation, and today I was able to make the final connections, speak to the placement officers, and accept my invitation. So after months of working through the application process, I am finally really getting somewhere. No, I'm not physically in Africa, but I will be soon.

A few days ago, I received several calls from frantic placement officers who wanted to speak to me right away. It seems that there is a health program that will be accepting new Peace Corps volunteers in March, but a few of the positions were still unfilled. I naturally expressed interest, and my new friends quickly pulled my file and reviewed my history and qualifications. And then on Friday they called me.

Unfortunately, I was busy on Friday, and I didn't receive the message until the early afternoon my time. And the early afternoon my time happens to be the late afternoon for them, what with time-zone differences and everything. And given the federal holiday on Monday, I quickly became anxious- was I in or not? And if so, where?

But it's all settled now. More or less. While I do have my invitation, and while I've accepted my invitation, I do have a few steps to go through. You know, details. Like passports, visas, oral surgery. The kind of thing that really makes life worth living.

I'm In (Blogger doesn't allow exclamation points)