I have come to realize there are many ways to count the days. One is to do nothing and wait. Another is to remain engaged in activity. I chose the latter so that when I receive my flight itinerary and e-ticket from Sato Travel and be on my way to the staging city, I will have no regrets of things undone.
On the dining table lies the welcome packet, opened and spread out - with the piles increasing as I add the paperwork that I need to take with me. In the bedroom is my open suitcase - clothes just piled in, yet to be properly folded. My desk has been organized with neat piles of electronic gadgets and related wires, transformers, etc. which need to be inventoried for my Clement's Insurance application. My ipod is still missing......
Of higher priority is the other paperwork on this same table where all dining activity has stopped. Angeli, our third child has her admission letter, visa related paraphernalia, health forms and student handbook spread out. She is heading out to Peking University, Beijing for her Master's in International Relations on Sept 3! Rahul, Sheena and Gita are also home, so after Christmas holidays the family is together again.
The breakfast room table, large enough for the six family members, is now accommodating 5 additional visiting family members! Visiting us is my niece from India, who will begin undergraduate studies in fashion Design at Meredith College, Raleigh, N.C. on Aug 15 and my brother, who is here to help her with this transition. This weekend my nephew, a graduate student at UIUC working on developing some new material for the microchips so they are even faster, is here to join the family gathering and Jay's two nieces from UK - their first visit to the USA!
I have changed my profile picture to include that of my husband. This was taken at the July 21 John Legend concert at the outdoor Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois. Before an invitation to his concert, I must admit I had never heard John Legend before! I must also admit that as long as the children lived at home, I stayed current with the music scene. They were surprised to learn that we were going a Legend concert! With so many house guests expected, it made sense to spend an evening together and this artist was playing at Ravinia.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Welcome packet
Macedonia, here I come! After months of mental readiness and waiting, I have a departure date of September 15, 2009 and suddenly there is not enough time to tie-up loose ends, compete all the paperwork, meet all my friends and extended family and decide what to take and what to leave behind and pack before I leave! There are movies I want to see, foods that I want to savor, read the books that I have already purchased, leaf through the magazines and newspaper that come to my door and make that final visit to the beach, the library, the coffee shop and the ice cream shop in town! These are the familiar sights that I will miss, maybe even yearn for, though in themselves their hold is so tenuous that I have no qualms of leaving them behind.
Last night, we bid farewell to a Chicago Cultural Alliance Board member, at a typical American BBQ with the host providing the backyard and a grill to take care of the meats; the guests bringing the appetizers, salads, one too many sweet desserts, the wine, beer and the drinks in a formal/informal environment. This familiar culture setting and friends is what I leave behind.
Why do some people leave what we love for new unfamiliar horizons? What is it that drives some of us to stay and others to leave? It is more than the emotions of excitement of new seeking new horizons and unfamiliar environments or of casting aside the old to renew our faith in ourselves. When I have the answer I will share it in this space.
Back to the welcome packet! Lot's of reading and re-reading. There is the invitation letter, a number of bound books and a booklet which states "Your Assignment". There are a lot of words in my assignment, which can be said in a couple sentences! Though my work will be NGO development, my assignment is really an open mind and a flexible attitude towards anything that I will end up doing in Macedonia. Training will be primarily culture and language and some technical skills for working with a specific NGO.
I am instructed to be prepared to explain what my assignment is when I call within 10 days to accept the invitation. If I fail to call, another volunteer will be sent in my place! At this time however, I am overcome with emotions of loss and gain, of excitement and trepidation, joy and sorrow, so I quickly make that call. I am prepared to say more than those couple of sentences as I have not only read my assignment book a couple of times, but highlighted it extensively to help me recall what I have read. Excitement, emotions have a way of ruining my memory. During my call, I learn the name of my Country Officer, Rebeccah Gross and she is the person who has all the answers to my questions, which were limited to the medical team this past year while I was on medical hold! I have to introduce myself through the means of two documents - an aspiration statement and a resume. Both helped me reflect on all the work I was doing for the past year and also made me realize what I enjoy doing the most and what my professional attributes are! I will be sending these out today, within two weeks of receiving my welcome packet.
I called Sato Travel after accepting my invitation, as I have a Peace Corps passport from last year. Thus the fedex envelope contained only my visa application for Macedonia with 2 pictures with a sticky note to MB that I spoke with MH, who had tracked down my passport from last year and that this is all I have been instructed to send. MH also tells me that I am in trouble if I get a call from them! However, the following day, the email from peacecorps informs me, with the link to my toolkit that my application has been updated. I am all set - I filled out those forms correctly and they are pulling my papers together!
I have to concentrate on the other items in the welcome packet. I read about insurance for my belongings - that is what I am going to work on, as I am taking all my electronic gadgets, laptop, camera, cell phone which will need insurance. Macedonia is a broadband, internet country, with all it's 540+ schools on the web! So I am lucky, I might have 24 hr internet connection! That will mean more blog posts!
Last night, we bid farewell to a Chicago Cultural Alliance Board member, at a typical American BBQ with the host providing the backyard and a grill to take care of the meats; the guests bringing the appetizers, salads, one too many sweet desserts, the wine, beer and the drinks in a formal/informal environment. This familiar culture setting and friends is what I leave behind.
Why do some people leave what we love for new unfamiliar horizons? What is it that drives some of us to stay and others to leave? It is more than the emotions of excitement of new seeking new horizons and unfamiliar environments or of casting aside the old to renew our faith in ourselves. When I have the answer I will share it in this space.
Back to the welcome packet! Lot's of reading and re-reading. There is the invitation letter, a number of bound books and a booklet which states "Your Assignment". There are a lot of words in my assignment, which can be said in a couple sentences! Though my work will be NGO development, my assignment is really an open mind and a flexible attitude towards anything that I will end up doing in Macedonia. Training will be primarily culture and language and some technical skills for working with a specific NGO.
I am instructed to be prepared to explain what my assignment is when I call within 10 days to accept the invitation. If I fail to call, another volunteer will be sent in my place! At this time however, I am overcome with emotions of loss and gain, of excitement and trepidation, joy and sorrow, so I quickly make that call. I am prepared to say more than those couple of sentences as I have not only read my assignment book a couple of times, but highlighted it extensively to help me recall what I have read. Excitement, emotions have a way of ruining my memory. During my call, I learn the name of my Country Officer, Rebeccah Gross and she is the person who has all the answers to my questions, which were limited to the medical team this past year while I was on medical hold! I have to introduce myself through the means of two documents - an aspiration statement and a resume. Both helped me reflect on all the work I was doing for the past year and also made me realize what I enjoy doing the most and what my professional attributes are! I will be sending these out today, within two weeks of receiving my welcome packet.
I called Sato Travel after accepting my invitation, as I have a Peace Corps passport from last year. Thus the fedex envelope contained only my visa application for Macedonia with 2 pictures with a sticky note to MB that I spoke with MH, who had tracked down my passport from last year and that this is all I have been instructed to send. MH also tells me that I am in trouble if I get a call from them! However, the following day, the email from peacecorps informs me, with the link to my toolkit that my application has been updated. I am all set - I filled out those forms correctly and they are pulling my papers together!
I have to concentrate on the other items in the welcome packet. I read about insurance for my belongings - that is what I am going to work on, as I am taking all my electronic gadgets, laptop, camera, cell phone which will need insurance. Macedonia is a broadband, internet country, with all it's 540+ schools on the web! So I am lucky, I might have 24 hr internet connection! That will mean more blog posts!
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