Wow. Life is starting to get very real. It’s amazing how such a monumental life event can sit on the back burner of your mind for months on end until one day, BOOM—it hits you in the face. It’s now been about four months since I found out I’ll be leaving for Vanuatu in January and about ten months since I was nominated to the Peace Corps. One would think that given this much time I would have done countless hours of research, outreach and other means of preparing myself for 27 months away from home but no, not really.
While I have always been a planner it has been difficult for me to feel as though this is all actually going to happen. Perhaps one reason being that I am still shocked that I’m about to go live in what seems to be one of the most beautiful and happy places on the planet.
By the way, I had no part in this placement whatsoever. People keep asking me, “How did you get placed in paradise?” and I’m like, “you think I have any idea?” Throughout my entire application process I just played the “yes-man” game and told my recruiter I was ready for just about anything. For example…
Recruiter: “Can you swim?”
Me: “Yes.”
Recruiter: “Do you mind long periods of isolation?”
Me: “No.”
Recruiter: “Do you mind living in a community where women are treated as property and face many day to day challenges specifically because they were born a female?”
Me: “No.”
Recruiter: “Can you live without regular access to electricity, internet, running water and modern plumbing?”
Me: “Yes.”
and finally, my favorite question…
Recruiter: “Are you comfortable traveling by small boat or plane on a regular basis?”
Me: “Absolutely.” (*Shout out to growing up on an island, the Steamship Authority and Classic Aviators LTD)
So, yeah, the reality of my grand adventure to teach English on an island that is part of a subtropical archipelago nation that lies between Fiji and Australia has been difficult. So, I figured maybe it would help if I told it to this page on this blog site…I am leaving for Vanuatu in two months. I am leaving the United States for 27 months. I am completely unsure of what is about to happen. I am nervous but more so excited. I am leaving behind so many people that I love so much but really hope they can forgive me and even more so hope they will be here when I return.
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