Staging Info!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind between graduating, packing up my apartment and trying to stuff all of my belongings into my bedroom at my parents house, saying my goodbyes to everyone, and getting all of the last minute things I need for Burkina. I'll be heading out to Maine tomorrow to have one last hurrah with the wonderful boyfriend and his family for a few days and then back home to hang with my family and finish packing!

On June 9th, I will be flying out to Philly in the morning to meet with the rest of my stage, aka the group of people who I will go through my 3 months of training with. I'm super excited to meet everyone in my group- they seem like really awesome people and they're from all over. It looks like we will have a day filled with paperwork followed by our last night in the good ol' US of A. I should mention that philly cheesesteak arrangements have already been made via our Facebook group.

Friday June 10th we will visit the clinic to get some last minute shots before we head to the airport. Then we fly into New York on Friday evening and through Brussels to arrive in Ouagadougou on Saturday afternoon.

I'll update when I'm in Philly!

Peace,
Marlow

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Sailing away from the safe harbor...

Lately, the idea of leaving for 2 years hits me at the strangest times. Whenever I see someone, I wonder if this will be the last time I see them for 2 years.

My mundane activites are no exception to this feeling. I was excited the other day when I noticed that the new season of Louie starts in June. Suddenly, it hit me. Everything, even a television show, is an investment that I am unable to commit to. It's a sign that my life as of now is temporary. (As an aside, will someone keep me updated on Louie while I'm away?) I should mention that, more importantly, I'd like to know about any weddings, babies, grad school acceptances, college football news (unless its bad news... go canes!), world news (anything after June 6th will be relevant, I promise), etc. 

As part of the leaving process, I've realized how integral the idea of permanence is to the human condition. Our established routines, modes des vies, customs, daily activities, relationships, and environments come to define us. In many ways, this stability brings us some of life's greatest joys. However, like any concrete definition, it also limits us in many ways. Only when we break this cycle of permanence and routine are we able to redefine ourselves, reconnect with others, appreciate, learn, experience, and truly live. Moreover, it is only by abandoning this permanence that we learn to rely on our own inner permanence which is unaffected by external factors; an inner peace which serves to instill calm even in the most tense situations.

I've been inspired by this Mark Twain quote that was in a 21st birthday card from my aunt:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

I think this quote was actually written for me since I'm from the safest harbor there is, the Safety Harbor.  

Luckily, I've been too busy this last semester to let that the fact that I'm leaving for 2 years in a little over a month really sink in. I've been putting in time at the Rat which will be destroyed this summer (devastating), finalizing my law school plans, and finishing up classes (go figure).

I've made a few big purchases (my favorite being a Bug Hut which will allow me to sleep outside under the stars!), but my overall packing philosophy has been to take it easy. I'm feeling really comfortable with my French as of late (thank you Dr. Allen!) and have started studying some Moore, one of the local languages I'm likely to need. I forgot how much I love learning new languages! One of the best words I've learned in Moore is how to say "swagger". Now I just need to learn the verb for "to invent" and I'll have some great Burkinabe UM t-shirts for everyone ;)

In closing, leaving is both serious and lighthearted at the same time. While there is something fresh and liberating about leaving everything behind and boarding a plane with only a duffel bag and a backpack to start a new life, there is also something very final and absolute about it. Either way, whether I'm ready or not, in 1 month I will be boarding a plane to Africa. Leaving. I like the way that sounds...

Life is calling. How far will you go?

Apparently, pretty far. Burkina Faso, West Africa, to be exact. It's official: I have been invited to serve in the Peace Corps for a girls' education and empowerment project leaving on June 6th! (That's a little over 3 months away for those at home counting).

My invitation materials, including a letter on White House letterhead with a Barack Obama stock signature. Nice.

On June 6th, not even a month after graduating college, I will be leaving my home in Americaland for 27 months. I will fly to Philadelphia for "staging" where I will meet the rest of my training group and then we will travel together to Burkina Faso to begin 3 months of language, cultural, and technical training. After we complete training, we will be officially sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers and begin our 2 years of service. I'm eager to get started on this adventure!

There's been a lot leading up to this point and, more often than not, the journey is the best part, so I'll start at the beginning. Serving in the Peace Corps has always been appealing to me but I didn't seriously consider applying until after I spent a summer doing human rights work in Ghana, West Africa (find all of the mushy details here). After an amazing summer living with a host family and working on issues as varied as female genital mutilation and mining pollution, I decided that the Peace Corps provided the perfect post-graduation opportunity for me. The Peace Corps experience offers me the chance to perfect my French and learn at least one other local language, immerse myself in another culture for two years, make a small but positive difference in a community, and thrive in a challenging environment. Let's be honest, not many people get a job this exciting right after graduation.

So I began my application in May of last year. The details of my application process can be found at the timeline page at the top of this blog. In the midst of applying to the Peace Corps, I was also studying for and taking the LSAT and applying to law schools. I know that joining the Peace Corps and going to law school seem like polar opposite career paths and in many ways they are. As excited as I am about law school and starting my career, I'm not ready to settle down with law school just yet. I've been in this relationship with school my whole life- it's all I've ever known. My senior year specifically has witnessed a drop in my academic motivations as I feel more and more of a disconnect between the theorizing that takes place in the air-conditioned ivory towers of academia and the reality to which I so desperately seek to apply the theories. (As an aside, I seriously wonder sometimes if my philosophy classes are held in the highest floor of Ashe to make the discipline as physically ungrounded as it is metaphorically). I'm not ready to settle down with my childhood/high school/college sweetheart yet. I need my fling with the Peace Corps first. I also realized that serving in the Peace Corps and going to law school are not mutually exclusive goals. Most law schools allow 2 year deferrals for Peace Corps volunteers. After being admitted to several schools in the top 14, I've narrowed it down to a few schools that I'll be visiting this semester and, hopefully, I'll settle on a school that fits me best. I'll keep you posted!

My assignment is in the youth and community development sector in the girls' education and empowerment program (see the "My Assignment" tab above for more details!). In giving my recruiter my preferences for my assignment, I looked back on the volunteer experiences which have been most meaningful to me. Mentoring homeless youth ages 14-17 with an organization in Miami has been extremely rewarding, as was my volunteer experience at the Volunteers of America Children's Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I'm eager to use my experiences and education to really excel in this assignment and to help teach my community about the benefits of educating and empowering girls and women.

I'm hoping that my Peace Corps experience will help solidify my reasons for wanting to attend law school in the first place. After all, school for school's sake seems to be meaningless and a waste of money. I know what you're thinking- "But Marlow, you majored in philosophy?"- but that's another story for a different post. Law school isn't just the "next step" after college and it's important to know why you're going. I hope that the Peace Corps experience will give me that answer.

And then there's the non-tangible reasons. I'm young and I want to have fun and make a difference while I still can. There are so many moments now when I miss my Ghanaian home and how simple life was. I know there is so much more than the superficial things we try to fill our lives with here in the states and I found that when those things were missing from my life, I felt truly free and happy.

I want my generation to know that the pursuit of monetary success is not your only option. We are quickly becoming a generation of sell-outs. We stand to learn from previous generations, namely from those baby boomers in the 1960's who sought to positively impact their worlds, not just their own wallets. We have it better than 95% of people on this planet and I think we owe at least a little something back.

Lastly, it's the 50 year anniversary of the Peace Corps in March, 2011! So really there's no better time to do it. And John F. Kennedy wants me to:

So what's next? Well, I will be spending the rest of my remaining time in the states researching my new second home, packing (where to begin?), sending an aspiration statement to the Burkina Faso government, applying for my U.S. government passport, and spending some quality time with loved ones. Luckily, Peace Corps volunteers get some great discounts on travel gear (50% off North Face, sweet) and the Peace Corps has provided me with a reading list and lots of information on Burkina Faso. Right now, my overwhelming excitement is overriding any nervousness that I feel. I can't wait to embark on this new adventure!

To all of you who provided me with support throughout the application process- I mean it when I say that I cannot thank you enough. As hard it was to exercise patience and flexibility during the application process, I know that it was good practice since the emotional rollercoaster ride of my 2 years of service will demand those skills from me even more. I'd also like to thank Sharlee Crews, Karla Fuentes, Viveckenand Chunoo for writing me wonderful letters of recommendation.

For those currently going through the application process, I have provided an "Application Timeline" page at the top of my blog that may be helpful. My only advice is to be patient, as hard as it may seem sometimes, and remember why you are joining the Peace Corps in the first place.

That's all for now. I'll keep you posted!

Peace,

Marlow