Buna Ziua! (Good Day!)

Learning a new language is hard!  We were given 10 simple lessons with Romanian words and phrases to learn before we arrive.  I can now count to 100 and request a beer...that's about it!  It reminds me of when I went to Denmark as a young AFS'er.  I was supposed to learn some basics prior to going and all I could say when I arrived was "This is a radio, not a hat" and "I'm not that kind of girl".  The sad part...I didn't get to use either phrase the whole time I was there!  Bah!!

So...I made out all my little flash cards, and go over them (somewhat) regularly...but it does not seem to be sticking.  It's like my brain is a sieve - everything that goes in just leaks out.  I'm sure it's because I have too much other stuff on my mind right now:  what to pack, what to box up and send later, whether or not I can sell my condo-or rent it, what papers still need to be notarized, insurance decisions, when to sell my car...the list goes ON AND ON! 

I'm sure when I am there...in Romania...studying language with the rest of the crew and focusing on that alone, I will be able to retain something... anything!  So... Romanian men, just wait...soon I will be able to tell you that "I am NOT that kind of girl!"

Home...

I'm sitting at Starbucks creating a Mid-Term exam for tomorrow night (Intro. to Homeland Security - woohoo!), listening to Billy Joel sing "You're My Home."  This song always makes me feel calm (which is nice because I have not felt calm in a while).  There's a section in the song when he talks about where home can be: "Home can be the Pennsylvania turnpike, Indiana's early morning dew, high up in the hills of California..."  It makes me think about where my home will be for the next few years, as well as making me sad about leaving my current home. (I know...the song is actually about a couple, but today it's making me think of the physical location of home...not the lovey-dovey home!)

I have always been a "nester" with a great need to create a home, wherever I may be.  For this reason, I am sure I will be able to find comfort while in Romania.  It's in my genes!  It's the other aspect of home that I will miss.  The comfort of having family and friends near you; whether to talk to on the phone, run errands with, eat meals with, head to the movies, lounge around and watch TV with, laugh with, cry with, fret with...that is what I will really miss. 

The Peace Corps cares a lot about how their volunteers will handle this issue.  It's brought up in the application, interview, medical clearances, and final interviews.  They want to know what you will do to combat the lack of friends/family...how you will handle the emotional aspect of leaving all that you know.  I have thought a lot about this and know that it will be difficult - at first.  As with many aspects being human, we can get used to pretty much anything.  I know this will be hard but, I also know that I will create a new "home" in time - in every aspect of the word.  I bet that when I am ready to leave, I'll be writing the same things here, but about leaving Romania!

So, today, a lot of thoughts of home.  46 years in Ohio - a home of amazing family and friends.  Now it's time to venture out and nest in a new home!

The Joys of Packing

Since I moved to Cincinnati in 1990 I have lived in nine (9) different houses!  I have a proven track record of being able to pack up and move...sometimes with very little notice.  It's easy enough to pack when everything is going to one place...your new home! 

Now I am faced with packing up my belongings to scatter around to at least four different places - not one of them my new home. 

• My mother has space for things like rugs, pictures, dishes and some other special belongings.
• My wonderful friends Patty and Tom have a small guest home on their property and have offered to take the majority of my furniture - what a God send!
• Ellen and Maddie have graciously offered their basement to hold a storage unit of mine that will house all my Christmas belongings and whatever other boxes I can fit on it.  They will also babysit my flat screen TV!  I am going to ask (beg) them to take some more boxes - I have too many.
• My friend Jeff may have some room for boxes, but that has yet to be determined. 
• My worry is that I will have way too many boxes and will have to find a fifth location.
• Uggggggghhhhhhh!

I thought about just renting a storage unit, but when you start adding up how much that would cost for 27 months I decided it was not worth spending the precious money!

On top of the worries of above, I can't seem to actually PACK!  I have done purging...lots of purging!  I know that's good, but I must get moving on the actual packing.  I sit around in the evening, looking around and tell myself to get moving, but just can't.  I'm immobile! 

Now, my house is on the market, so it has to be nice and clean for showings.  This makes me want to pack even less, as then it will look more cluttered. 

Maybe because I know that I still have two months before I leave for Romania, I'm just stalling around.  Maybe I need someone to buy the place and want it to 2 weeks for me to finally get off my ass and get moving!  Maybe I need to get a grip!

So, here I sit...typing, instead of packing.  I have to get moving...maybe I'll go shopping!

Romania!!!

It's official... I'm headed to Romania on April 26th!  I am so excited!!!  It is definitely one of the countries that I was hoping for.  It's the only country in Eastern Europe that has a romance language, so that will make learning it easier (I hope!!).  I will be teaching English to primary age kids and working with other educators to enhance their programs.  It sounds like I will also have lots of time to get involved in community projects - and if none exist - start them! 

After I opened the invitation and called everyone I ran to the bookstore to buy a travel book to Romania.  They had NOTHING!  I looked for language books - nothing.  Music - nothing!  So sad!  I drove home and went onto Amazon and found tons of stuff.  I contained myself and bought a Rough Guide travel book, a Romanian Cook Book and a book on Romanian fairy tales and myths.  I then went to YouTube and found some language lessons and got an idea of what I'll be learning.  It is an interesting sounding language.  A little like Spanish, but with some serious Slavic influences. 

There is a lot of PC paperwork yet to do...go figure!  I need to do soooooo much to prepare for departure.  It's mind boggling.  I am meeting with my real estate agent today and will put my condo on the market.  I am also going to continue trying to find a renter...whichever happens first I will go with.  Packing is going to be a bitch!  Even though I have purged a LOT I still have a ridiculous amount of crap.  I have to get serious about things now.  Just two months to get it together.

Of course, I can't forget normal life continues.  I am teaching two classes at Cincinnati State and must continue to give my all to them.  So, today is all about Emergency Management!  I can't wait!!  ;)

Peace Corps Qualification!

Wow... it's been a long seven months since I was nominated, but I finally got my final qualification!  The PC was right when they said things could change.  I am now headed to Eastern Europe in April!  I am a little disappointed to not be going to Africa, but since Eastern Europe was my other preference I feel lucky!  I should find out this week which country will be my new home!

I've been reading "The Geography of Bliss" and last night read about Moldova (listed as the most unhappy of all countries!).  Talk about depressing.  I assume this means I will most likely be headed there!  In the book the author actually meets with some PC volunteers and they are all cranky!  They hate it there and the only good thing anyone can say about the country is that they have fresh fruit and vegetables!  Ugh!  Well... time will tell.  There are only about 13 countries in Eastern Europe that have PC missions...maybe it won't be Moldova!

As my brother, Stephen, reminded me...this part of the world has some of THE most difficult languages to learn.  So I really do have a hard task ahead of me...having never learned a language before, this will be a challenge, regardless of where I end up.

The past seven months have been a combination of busy and painfully boring!  I worked at Barnes and Nobles for a handful of months, until I could not take the task of scanning books one more minute!  It was nice to have mindless work for a few months, but it quickly became mind numbing!  I have been continuously teaching at Cincinnati State and truly have enjoyed the classes.  It's been a lot of work, always teaching a new class every 9 weeks, but well worthwhile!  I am tutoring at South Avondale School two mornings a week.  Working with 7th and 8th graders in this struggling school should be some good practice for what lies ahead.

My biggest worry over the recent past has been my financial situation.  It's not easy to put your life completely on hold for 27 months.  Although I have loved my condo, I do regret buying it (in hindsight!).  Now I am tasked with finding a renter or selling.  I thought I had a renter lined up only to have him disappear on me.  So, now I will place the condo on the market and continue trying to rent it out.  If neither of those plans work I will have to ensure I have 27 months of mortgage and condo fees in my bank account.  Although no one in my family wants to hear me say this I will have to pull some money out of my retirement plan.

My sister, Julie, has stated that the PC is the worst financial decision I have ever made.  She may be right, but I still feel totally committed that this is what I am supposed to be doing.  I have always had a nagging suspicion that I should be doing more with my life, giving more.  So... even though the money situation is stressing me out, I forge ahead and prepare for departure in April.

Again, I thank my family and close friends for being SO supportive of this decision.  I know some people can't fully understand my reasons for going this route, but I am am taking this leap of faith knowing that life will continue moving forward!

Peace Corps Nomination!

After losing my job of 12 years with Procter & Gamble I figured I would find another job in the security industry and just continue on with my life. I soon found out that jobs were seriously not to be found. It really surprised me...I actually thought I wouldn't be unemployed for more than a few months, at the most. After 8 months I only had two interviews! I found that my "generalist" security experience wasn't selling in the security "specialist" world. Very frustrating!!!

From the moment I lost my job I was telling people, jokingly, that I was going to "run away and join the Peace Corps!" I had always thought about doing the PC, sometime, one day, maybe after retirement. The longer my unemployment carried on, the more I started thinking about it seriously. I mean, why not? I am single, no children, little debt (other than a mortgage) - maybe I should think about this a little more seriously. So I did. I started snooping around on the Internet, bought some books, attended a PC webinar and then an open house and decided that I might as well put in my application. What could it hurt?

I was called to Chicago on August 2 for my official interview. I had investigated what the interview was going to be about (Wikipedia has an awesome PC section!) so I felt completely prepared. Lots of, "tell me about a time" questions. It lasted about 1 1/2 hours and that was that. My recruiter was great and the interview went well - we talked about a lot of concerns...safety/security, language, living environment, etc. (Bonus - I also got to spend the weekend in Chicago with my wonderful cousin and her husband.)

So, after 2 weeks of waiting on pins and needles (and also being sick as a dog!) I got the call! I have been nominated for the Peace Corps!!! The nomination is for Primary Teaching/Training in Sub-Saharan Africa with a potential departure date of February 2011. I was told to take this nomination with a bit of a grain of salt, as the time can change prior to departure. The nomination is done, but now the work begins.

Now I have to make it through the Medical/Legal clearance. From what I've read and heard, the medical clearance is quite the ordeal! I have to have a comprehensive physical exam, dental exam and eye exam. A simple cavity can delay your departure, so it's pretty important to be healthy! I have appointments set up and hope to get this done quickly as I don't want to hold up anything.

My brother, Stephen, and I were talking about all the other things that need to be done prior to departure and it's mind boggling. Between legal documents, condo renting, car selling, dog sending (Zoli is headed to Stephen's in October), things I need to purchase (which will have to wait until I know where exactly I'm going) and a million other issues, I will be BUSY!!!! List have begun and my mind is swirling!

I'm excited about this opportunity and truly feel that losing my job at P&G has opened up opportunities that I never imagined. I am also a little scared about the whole ordeal. I mean...I've never even gone camping and I'm headed into the great unknown! Ugh!! I do know, however, that I can do whatever I put my mind to, so there's that at least! I do have some worries though.

I'm worried about leaving my Mom...not that she needs worrying about, but I'm so used to talking to her every few days and seeing her on a regular basis, especially since Dad died. I worry about how she will be when I'm gone. I know my sisters will step up and do everything I have always done, but when you're not the one doing it you do worry! I worry about how much I will miss everyone...I have not often been away from my family very often (other than my AFS experience when I was 16!). I'm used to seeing my sister Meg just about every week or so and Julie as much as possible (she works a lot!). We talk on the phone regularly and I will miss that. I worry about not seeing my nieces and nephews for over 2 years. I worry about missing my friends. Ellen and I have been friends for 40 years and the last 20 we've either lived together or within about 10 miles of each other...it will be very hard to leave her and her daughter, Madison. Not to mention all my other awesome friends in Cincinnati (you know who you are!!).

So... I'm getting waaaaaaay ahead of myself here - needless to say, there are concerns about leaving for 27 months. The pros of this opportunity, however, very much outweigh the cons.

I will post updates here throughout the process, to keep everyone up to speed with things. When I finally go (someplace in Africa!) I will continue to post updates on my adventures.

Thank you to all those who have shown me such support throughout my unemployment and now through this wonderful opportunity with the Peace Corps!!!