Six-Eyed Sand Spider.

As happy and excited I am to be going to Namibia in a month, there are also numerous reasons why I would rather not leave my safe little home here in PQ. I will share one of these reasons with you now:


The sand spider, resident of southern Africa. Also known as (according to the blog of a current PCV in Namibia) a "hair cutter." It crawls into your bed while you are sleeping and cuts your hair to use in its nest. As stated on the Wikipedia page, it is "very shy and unlikely to bite humans," however, there is also no known antivenom for its bite, and "toxicology studies have demonstrated that the venom is particularly potent...causing blood vessel leakage and tissue destruction. Envenomations of laboratory animals have yielded devastating results, with many of the test subjects developing multiorgan breakdowns."

I am scared. If anybody would like to get me a going-away present, I would like a two-year supply of razors (to shave my head) and a set of steel pajamas. Thank you.

NAMIBIA!

I got my invitation! I am going to Namibia!!!! I will be an English language teacher at the secondary or upper primary levels. That means students grades 5-12.

Here is my timeline:

October 29-31, 2007: Orientation in the U.S. (location tba)

November 2 - December 28, 2007: Pre-Service Training in Namibia

December 28, 2007 - December 28, 2009: Peace Corps Service

YAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A new destination.

Originally, I never wanted to go to Africa. It just seemed like a place I couldn't handle: the sun beating down, me living in a mud hut, riding a donkey to and from work. When my placement officer told me he'd have to find a new location for me, I told him "NOT AFRICA." Then I thought about it for a couple hours and realized how stupid it is for me to pigeonhole the entire continent into an ignorant, stereotypical image. (Orientalism, anyone?) Africa has so much more to offer than that! And if I do end up in a mud hut, so what? One of the reasons I'm joining the PC is to have an adventure, isn't it? So I called up my p.o. and said that if he wanted to send me to Africa, I would give it everything I have.

It looks like I'm going to Africa at the end of October. :o)

PISSED

I called my placement officer today and he said that he's been waiting for my call?! and since I didn't call him, I've missed the deadline for a September departure!

I think it is coming.

I finally spoke to my placement officer yesterday. He told me that being an Asian-American in Eastern Europe would bring me a ton of attention and possibly discrimination, but not to the point of physical danger. Most EE countries are totally homogenous and so any non-white person sticks out like a sore thumb. He told me to think about it and call him Wednesday morning if I don't want to go there after all, and if so he'd try to place me in another part of the world but I won't be able to go until December or January.



I thought about it for five minutes or so and said, screw it! I am going to Eastern Europe in September, period. If it is difficult, fine. I can handle it. That's part of the adventure. It'll be an educational experience for the people in that country.



So tomorrow is Wednesday, and since he won't be hearing from me, maybe that means my invitation will be overnighted to me tomorrow...???

Good news!

I called my screening nurse this morning and she told me that she would be reviewing my paperwork shortly today...and then this afternoon at work someone emailed me asking for my transcript!!...Which is great because that means my file was given to my placement officer, which means that my invitation is coming!!! Wahoo!

Disheartened.

I faxed in my form a few days ago and still haven't recieved medical clearance. I know they got the form because I called to confirm it...so what the heck?! I called the screening nurse just now and her voicemail says that she won't be able to return calls for the next 3-4 days. So...more waiting.

Am I not destined to join the Peace Corps?? This is getting ridiculous. I mean if they were still working on September nominees, that would be fine, but people are getting their October and November invitations now. I am starting to lose hope.