A Few Weeks, A Few Thoughts

Roughly two weeks until I leave for DC/South Africa. So, in case you were wondering, here’s a bit more about where I am at…

Firstly, following a trip down to San Diego this past weekend, I just want to extend a big thanks and lots of love to the friends that I saw there, for all of the support and well-wishes. Thanks and love to those friends, and all the San Diego kids now dispersed, that I have learned from, laughed with, and depended on so much over that last four years. Good luck in all of your adventures!

Secondly, as I say my “See you later”s, organize and obtain my supplies for packing, research and read, journal and blog, and soak up all the love and support that is so generously being streamed toward me, I am aware of the somewhat unsettling self-centeredness that is part of this phase. I fully recognize that a great deal of it is necessary to prepare myself in a number of ways for this experience, and I am not trying to attain a level of selflessness that is probably not healthy or possible. However, I am looking forward to the time when my thoughts and actions can be more connected to the larger picture of why I am doing this, and the people that I will be working with and learning from.

Which leads me to my last point, which is also a sort of disclaimer. I am still trying to figure out my vision for the content of this blog, and I am sure a lot of that will be taken care of for me once I get to South Africa and start training and my assignment. However, (and perhaps this goes without saying, but) I just want to make clear that there is going to be a lot, and I mean A LOT that I will not/will be unable to include. It is a blog about how and what I am doing, and for me a form of keeping in touch akin to mass emails to friends and family. I hope that due to the nature of the work that I will be doing, and some merit of mine, that this will naturally include a representation of the relationships, emotional weight, and larger societal structures and forces that will be involved in the country/community and work that I am in, but for this setting and admittedly, the sake of time (yours and mine), I know there will be a lot left out. I will not necessarily include, for example, longer explanations of why I decided to do Peace Corps or my opinion of the program, or perhaps many of my thoughts on world systems and inequalities, social justice, public health and related issues, or indeed even some of the more personal moments and especially complex emotions that this journey produces. I am not sure that they can be done justice in this setting, if by me at all, but for more extensive thoughts and observations, I think individual conversations may be best. I will try to be good about that, too…

… as well as about getting/keeping in touch before I leave! Talk to you soon! Hope everyone is enjoying the new year :)



For a smile, if you can get past the questionable sponsorship (thanks to the lovely Sonia for the link!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7D2g5v-Sg