Leaving 1 month from today! The preparations continue...

On the advice of various people I decided to cave and buy a new macbook for my time in El Salvador. My computer was on its last legs and it seemed to make more sense to buy the more expensive macbook (rather than a netbook or some other smaller, cheaper computer) because of its durability and lasting power. Now just cross my fingers it doesn't get stolen!

Something that I have not mentioned before - a couple weeks ago (just days after accepting my invitation to serve as a volunteer) I received notice from the Peace Corps headquarters in El Salvador that they are instituting a new policy for volunteers in the country - we have to live with host families for the full 2.5 years. I'm having very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I am excited to be fully immersed in the culture, it will be much safer, and hopefully help stave off the loneliness. On the other hand, I am an adult, used to having my own space and privacy, and I have no idea what it means to be "living" with a family (having a bedroom in their house versus my own apartment attached to theirs?). I am hopeful that it will all work out, and I assume it will, since Peace Corps clearly knows what they're doing.

Preparations

I leave for El Sal in 34 days. There is a lot to be done before I go! This includes - buying appropriate clothing (skirts below the knees, lightweight shirts, sandals that are not flipflops), deciding if I need property or life insurance, alerting all credit companies and banks that I will be leaving, and most difficult of all: deciding whether or not to buy a laptop. Lots of volunteers already in El Sal who blog have laptops or recommend laptops. However, my macbook, which I have had since freshman year of college, is on its last legs and I am having a hard time justifying buying a new one for the Peace Corps (aren't I supposed to be roughing it?). I'm leaning towards just doing it, since that way I will have a computer I know and trust and will last reasonably well, and I will be able to hopefully get in communication fairly regularly...but we will see.

One luxury I did cave to is the kindle. I've had a hard time sleeping my entire life, and the kindle seems like it will make my bug infested (and whatever else) night-times in El Sal a little easier. Also, all books published before 1922 are free!!! Looks like I'll be brushing up on some classics.

Background

My name is Elsa. I am 21 years old and in about 6 weeks I leave to start my service as a Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador.

I am what I would like to call a "second generation" volunteer. My involvement in the Peace Corps started long before I decided to apply for a position this past September. My parents met while serving as PC volunteers in the 80s (my mom did maternal health in Central African Republic and my dad taught English in Zaire/the Congo). I come from a "Peace Corps" house - we have African, odd statues, and random Sango words in our vocabularies. When I was 4 my brother and I traveled back to CAR with my mom who was going to fill in as a nurse for the Peace Corps there and we got to spend a month living with the Country Director.

Regardless of this background, I resisted the Peace Corps path for a long time. I am neither crunchy nor a bleeding heart, so it didn't seem like it would be my "thing". However, over the years my knee-jerk reaction of "no way" started to fade. I realized that dedicating myself to a couple of years of service in a third world country actually is my "thing", and that it is exactly the type of thing I want to be doing after college. I also realized that, while I am not the type who would stop shaving her armpits or go without a shower by choice in the US, these are not things that I can't handle, and that the "living in hardship" barrier had fallen away. Therefore, last fall I decided to send in an application. I was granted an interview and 1 day later a nomination to serve as a Special Needs Development volunteer somewhere in Central or South America leaving in early June 2011 (they are very vague on details this early in the game). I was ecstatic - this had all been so easy! Then came the dreadful medical process.

The medical process is difficult for everyone, and it is excessively time consuming. For me, it dragged from December until May, with Peace Corps Headquarters and I volleying letters back and forth. But finally (!) I was granted medical clearance, only too late for my original nomination, which meant my fate was back up in the air.

Not only did this stink (no one likes to say they're moving back home after graduation), but it also coincided with the great budget cut of '11, which meant that Peace Corps was cutting back on the number of volunteers they were going to send. I was told I would be considered for assignment in January of 2012 and that I should sit tight until then. I was not pleased. But then, the fates stepped in. On my second day home post-graduation I received a call from my placement officer - someone was considering dropping out of their assignment and would I take it? yes yes yes yes! A week later I had my paperwork - leaving July 19 to do Youth Development in El Salvador!!