Burkina Faso

I found a great description of my new home written by Lonely Planet.

Between Sahelian empires and coastal kingdoms, between Muslim and animist Africa, between Saharan desertscapes and southern waterfalls, Burkina Faso weaves many of Africa's diverging strands into a fascinating and thoroughly seductive fabric. In the markets, turbaned traders on camels mix with farmers on donkey-drawn carts in a colourful swirl of diverse ethnic groups. The Burkinabe are descended from a long line of regal emperors who have suffered the plebeian indignities of colonialism and blackbirding, but this has only served to strengthen and preserve their cultural identity.

This was from The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World. I absolutely love this book and would recommend it to anyone that is fascinated with travel and culture. Its a big coffee table book with several pictures and descriptions for every country and even some places that aren't independent nations.

And the winner is....

It has been an insane week full of crazy emotions! Last Monday I thought I was never getting an invite and five days later I finally have a plan for my life. Yesterday morning I was up early to take a friend to work. I checked my e-mail and was excited to get the 4 am e-mail regarding a Toolkit update; my invite was sent! I figured I'd get it at the end of next week. Later that morning I got a personal e-mail from my PO to let me know it was sent via Fed Ex. I was excited since this meant I'd probably get it around Monday. I ran some errands and stopped by the libary to pick up a Learn French CD. I wasn't back at my apartment two minutes when there was a knock at my door--Fed Ex had a very special package for me!

I was so shocked that all this had happened in one day. I frantically opened it having no idea where I could go. I'm headed to Burkina Faso on October 12 as a Community Health Development Worker. I'm got lots of things to do in the next 10 days including: accepting my invite, getting passport photos taken, submitting passport and visa application, writing and submitting an updated resume and aspiration statement. Also need to meet with my advisor and Tulane's MI Coordiantor.

I'm trying to take it all in but just want to say that I'm so happy!!

Where in the World?

Of course I can't sit around waiting so I've been trying to figure out where I could go. Plus I took my last exam today so I am officially done with grad school classes. Well other than that independent study I still have to do...

Where could I go? Here's all the French-speaking West African countries that currently have Peace Corps volunteers:

Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Guinea
Mauritania
Mali
Niger
Senegal
Togo

My friend Rithvik from Global Connections is in Senegal doing health work but he left last March and they have a group leaving in September so I doubt they have a health group in October. Togo and Cameroon also have groups leaving in September so these are out. I've narrowed it down to 6 possible choices but who knows where I'll end up. I know next to nothing about any of these countries that are possibilities so I guess this is going to be a great learning opportunity for me!

Moving Forward

Last Friday I was so frustrated that I called Melissa, my former advisor at the Union and friend who is a RPCV from Guatemala. During the year we worked together, she always talked about how wonderful her experience was and could always counter any of my complaints about Peace Corps. I knew that she would help me remember why I really wanted to serve and she definetly did. It was great to talk after a long time and I was excited to learn she had just sold her house in Madison that day and is moving to Colorado next week! She called me back about an hour after we hung up and gave me a name and number of an official at headquarters at D.C. Turns out he's friends with an acquaintence of hers who recommended I call him. It was the end of the day so I wasn't able to reach him until Monday morning. He was very friendly and concerned about my difficulties in applying. He promised to look into my case and call me back soon. An hour later he called and said that my PO was out until the next day but that he'd talked to her boss and I should be hearing from her soon.

Tuesday I took my final in Environmental Health and was excited to be done with one class as I anxiously waited for a phone call. As I walked home from my class, my PO called and we talked for about an hour. She had tons of questions for me and I felt like I was being interrogated and repeating myself for the fifth time. She had googled my name and was asking me about everything she could find including what she read in this blog and comments I had posted on the Peace Corps Yahoo Group. I am suppose to remember that the internet is the world wide web and anyone can read and interpet anything I write however they want. With this in mind, I want to remind everyone that anything written here unless referenced is only my personal opinion and experiences from my point of view. I have found reading volunteer blogs to be a great resource and also want to share my personal experience.

The next part of our conversation regarded French. In my interview back in April 2007 I said I didn't want to learn French since I already speak English, Spanish, and Swahili and would rather put energy into learning an indigenous language than a language of the colonizers. In Kenya I found that even though educated individuals spoke English, they treated me very differently and respected me more for speaking in Swahili. Well anyways it sounded like I had no choice so I've agreed to start studying French on my own in order to be placed in a West African nation this fall.

She said she was clearing me for placement and I received the toolkit e-mail this morning about this. I should receive my invite soon so I can take care of everything before I leave NOLA.

On another Peace Corps note, my friend Aiesha from Tulane, left yesterday for Swaziland to start her training. I am so excited for her and hope we can meet up sometime in the next 27 months!

More Bad News

After a long day of classes yesterday I came home and checked my e-mail only to find further disappointment. I received a note from Placement Officer #2. I don't feel like paraphrasing so see below:

Dear Kirstin, I hope that you are well. I am writing to follow-up with you regarding our conversation late last week. At that time, I had informed you that there would be a delay in the processing of your application as we determined if the October program that [Placement Officer #1] spoke to you about was going to be a possibility. Due to staffing delays at Post, this program has been pushed back for departure in early December, meaning that you would be completing your service in February, 2011. Please let me know if you would be available for this program. Best Regards.

The thing is last week on the phone she said I might be leaving earlier than October, not later. I was concerned about trying to re-think my plans and now I don't know if it even matters. I really don't want to leave in Dec. That would mean at least 3 months of nothing to do, nowhere to live, no money to survive on. I suppose I could try to get a job but I don't really want to. It means interrupting my grad program and putting off graduation for another semester. I had planned to graduate Dec 2010 but if I do this, I wouldn't' be able to graduate until May 2011. I'm so frustrated with all these changes and it really makes me question why I want to even do Peace Corps. I'm also concerned that if I agree to leave later something else will happen. Who knows if this group will even leave in Dec if they're already being postponed. And through my obsessive online searching, I know that there are at least seven programs leaving for Africa in September, two of which Tulane MI students are going on so I know they have health volunteers. Whats wrong with me going on one of these? I just can't figure out why I need to wait so long!

I tried to call her back to discuss this only to find out from her voicemail that shes out until next Tuesday. More waiting and another weekend of anxiously thinking through all the uncertainties in my life.

In other news, Ashu found out that he did not receive a visa so can only legally work in the U.S. for another month and then has 60 days before he has to leave the country. This has come as a surprise since this is the first year that there was a lottery for his category of work visa for individuals with masters degrees. In the past, everyone that applied & was qualified received it. Its a scary realization that he has to leave but luckily he has an interview this week for a job with his company's Singapore office. Lets hope everything goes well!!

I also am thinking about employment though on a very different scale. I spoke with my friend Aaron a few weeks ago and he agreed to hire me to work during the Wisconsin State Fair. He coordinates the youth programs which 4-H falls under so I'll be helping with the sound board at the youth stage. This is where 4-H clubs perform and the clothing revue is. I'm excited to have a job for 2 weeks and to spend time at the fair and see many people from my 4-H past. I also was in contact with several people at the Washington Country Fair and I will be selling tickets there. Should be a good time! I figure it may be my last chance to attend both fairs for a long time or maybe ever so I want to enjoy them now!

Tonight and tomorrow I'm taking a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) class offered here at Tulane Health Sciences Center. Its a female self-defense and empowerment class. I had signed up to participate last fall but it was cancelled when a hurricane was headed this way. Of course it never came anywhere close but I was disappointed to miss out on this opportunity. We'll see how it goes! Maybe I'll be able to release some of my current frustration and anger!

One Year and Moving Backwards

I'm feeling extremely discouraged again this week for several reasons. As I posted earlier, I was promised that my invitation to leave Oct 5 was going to be sent the last week of May. It never came so I called my placement officer last week and left a message asking what was going on. I never got a response from her but did get an e-mail from another placement officer two days ago. She said she's taking over my file and will begin to look at it in several weeks. If she has any questions, she'll call me then. In other words, I shouldn't call.

Well, I also realized this week that I only have about a month left in New Orleans and there are several things I need to get done before I leave and all of them are dependent on receiving my invite. I have one credit left and my advisor agreed several months ago to let me do an independent study where I will analyze data from my PC country using SPSS (a statistical software). I also need to talk to him about my practicum which I will do in Peace Corps. Its important for us both to be on the same page about when and what I am going to try to do in order for me to be able to graduate. Finally I need to meet with the Master's International Coordinators at Tulane to fill out paperwork and go through program requirements.

I decided to call this new placement officer anyways to explain my concern about getting these things done. She called me back today and seemed somewhat understanding about my need to know before I leave but also said that it would probably be two weeks before she sends it and knowing New Orleans postal system, probably two weeks until I receive it. She said that she had briefly looked at my file and needs to review it more but that she will have several things to discuss with me. She started out saying she'd call tomorrow or early next week to discuss this but at the end of the conversation said it would be end of next week at the latest. The other discouraging news is that I'm only being considered for the Oct 5 program and that might not be the "best fit" and I might get an invite for a different program instead that leaves earlier. She said I'm not suppose to make any plans past my availability date (Aug 18) until we talk again. Almost two months ago I was told that I could make plans for Aug & Sept since I was definetly leaving in Oct. I feel like I can't believe anything I'm told anymore! I guess all I can do is wait now though and continue to be patient.

One other thing is really bugging me: today is exactly one year since I've been nominated. Thats one hell of a long time if you ask me!! When I had my interview last April I was told I should know where I was going by early fall. This was then pushed until after Thankgsiving followed by January, February, March, April, and May. Everytime I'm told a date that I will know by, I'm able to calm down and wait the extra few weeks or months but once it comes and goes, I'm even more frustrated to find out that I'm still waiting. I never would have believed last summer if someone told me that I wouldn't know a year later. I've always heard applying to the Peace Corps is a long process but I wish they would be more clear from the beginning instead of continually raising my hopes about getting an answer soon!

Back in School

....and still no news from Peace Corps. I can't believe its June already and I still don't know where I'm going. A year ago I would never have believed that I would still be waiting for an invitation at this point. My PO said it would be sent the last week of May so I'm crossing my fingers that its in the mail even though I haven't gotten that glorious e-mail stating this.

I start classes tomorrow so I guess I need to concentrate on school again. I am taking 6 credits over the next four weeks and am in class all day Monday through Thursday. Both classes are core requirements and I'm not too excited about either other than that they're the last two I need. I'm taking Environmental Health in the morning and Biological Basis of Disease in the afternoon. I still need one more credit which I'll be completing an independent study for. My advisor agreed to let me do an SPSS data analysis using DHS data from wherever I'm going for Peace Corps. I had planned originally to complete it in May. That obviously didn't happen and without an invite I don't know when I'll be able to start it. I'd like to be done before I leave New Orleans in mid July but as everything else goes, we'll see.

I feel like this is my signature phrase lately. All I can answer to everyone's questions is 'We'll See!' In my epi methods II class last semester, my professor always said 'it depends' to every question we could ask and I feel like 'we'll see' is my own version. We'll see what the rest of the summer holds for me. We'll see when I'll be done with coursework. We'll see where I'll be going for Peace Corps. At least I can answer Oct 5 to the question when I'm leaving even if I don't know anything more.

My break was spent in Wisconsin and went well. I ended up having an enhancement surgery on my eyes two weeks ago and everything went well. They were able to eliminate the astigmatism in my right eye and make it much smaller in the left eye. The dryness is also much less severe this time and all looks good! I helped my parents' with their new house by doing some painting and am amazed how much they have gotten done. It will be interesting to see when I return in about 6 or 7 weeks! Hopefully they'll also have a new puppy by that time.

After spending 3+ weeks relaxing, reading for fun, and just hanging out, I realize that its going to get busy tomorrow but thankfully its only for a short time. Hopefully I'll receive my invite this week and the next four weeks will go quickly!