My life as a Peace Corps Volunteer...

My life as a Peace Corps Volunteer...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

OMG! Will you see Madonna?

Q - Wow, you're going to Bali? Are you super excited?
A - Actually, I will be a volunteer in Mali. Bali is a beautiful vacation destination in Indonesia... and Mali is one of the poorest countries in Africa. It might be time to break out your world map and take a gander.

Q - Wow! I am so excited for you! Maybe you will see Madonna adopting more babies while you are there! How do you feel?
A - Funny you should mention that. Madonna adopted a child from Malawi, a small country in Southern Africa. I, however, will be in Mali, a large country in North-Western Africa that is partially in the Sahara Desert. Although we are now referring to the same continent, the two countries are not neighbors, by any means. But, I am looking forward to living in Mali!

Q - What will you be doing in the desert?
A - Well, I might not be completely in the desert, but in any case, I will be a Health Education Specialist. I have a feeling that my work will be on a day-to-day, as-needed basis, but I should be working with women on pre-natal and post-natal consultations (and seeing some natural births to feed my fascination with reproductive health and birth!), exploring the local options for contraceptives and making presentations on it, weighing babies, and trying to educate my community on ways to keep their families nourished. It seems like a very interesting project for me given my interests in global public health and women's health, and I will even get to use some of my rusty French. I'm definitely looking forward to just meeting some Malians/Malinese (?) and learning about their lifestyle and culture.

Q - Are you preparing at all for living in Mali for 27 months?
A - If by preparing, you mean drinking margaritas, eating Chinese food/pizza/take out in general, hanging out with my DC friends, grabbing lunch with co-workers, selling my possessions that I don't need, taking a two week road trip to California, seeing all of my college roommates at EmmaFest 4.0, and generally living it up, Soja-style, then, yes. I am just trying to do as much as I can before my orientation on July 1st, and that includes over-indulging in everything that I won't have on the Continent. On a more serious note, I have been reading through my welcome booklets, looking at the blogs of current volunteers, perusing the Peace Corps Wiki, and practicing my French so that I do have an idea of what to expect while I'm there. There's only so much you can do to prepare, and I'm looking forward to just diving right in!

Q - What are your fears or worries about living in Mali?
A - Well, I just found out that another Providence College graduate will be volunteering in Mali at the same time as me, so that alleviates some of my worries! We are doing different programs, but at least if I feel homesick, I know that a fellow Friar will be living "en brousse" somewhere near me! (And, what are the chances of that?!? It's crazy). Aside from that, I am a little nervous about my body adjusting to the heat (although, since I will be there for two years, it will be forced to adjust), about my reactions to the the potentially polygamous lifestyles of my soon-to-be friends and counterparts, and also about how I will react to the role of women. From what I understand, it's a very traditional, conservative, Muslim culture, and women are expected to not only do a lot of manual work, but they also typically have about 7 children... naturally... sometimes after being genitally mutilated. The blatant liberal feminist in me is going to have to calm down, examine my surroundings, and act appropriately so that I don't offend anyone. I have VERY strong opinions on women's roles and on female genital mutilation (as I'm sure everyone knows...haha), and I think my biggest challenge will be finding a way to help and make a difference while not offending cultural norms. I'm guessing that I will figure it out quickly when I get there... but, I'm still excited for the challenge!

Q - My cousin/brother/neighbor's child did the Peace Corps in Mali and met his/her husband/wife there! Do you think you will meet yours?
A - I would love to come home with an African prince just as much as the next girl, but I'm far too excited about my program and my opportunities to go hunting for love. Luckily, I have a lot of resources about the Peace Corps in Mali (SO many people that I know have a friend who lived in Mali for one reason or another!), so I feel like the universe is really on my side. I don't know what Mali has in store for me, but I am positive that I have no innate intentions of finding my future husband there. (Sorry, mom...just kidding!).

AHH!! Only 9 more weeks until this new chapter starts!!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

It's official!

Yesterday, I officially accepted my Peace Corps invitation to serve as a Health Education Specialist in Mali, West Africa! I am not exactly sure what to expect (mostly because I have not read through the huge blue folder yet...oops) but I am excited.

This is also my first attempt to enter the blogging community, so please bear with me. Once I read through all of my information from the Peace Corps (which is on my weekend to-do list), I'll post a little more about my overall process and job description.

AHHHHH! I'm going to Mali on July 2nd!!