Sunday, May 22, 2011

T minus 2 weeks until departure!

I leave in two weeks. It's surreal for me. It feels like a dream come true, but at the same time it's scary, sad and overwhelming. I think I've been in denial about having to say my goodbyes, see ya laters, hasta luego...in short, it just sucks about having to say farewell to the ones I love most. But at the same time I'm stoked to meet and make some new friends that will share this bonding experience with me.

With that said, I want to write a list of the things I'm concerned/nervous/anxious about so that when I get back in 27 months I can look at them and laugh.

1. Can I handle leaving my friends/family for so long?
2. Will I be able to learn Swahili?
3. Will I get along with and have stuff in common with my fellow volunteers?
4. What will it be like without forms of communication I'm so use to?
5. Can I get over being afraid of the dark? Bugs? haha
6. What will I be missing out on at home? (I'm trying not to live my life like this, but it's somehow always in the back of my head).
7. Will people back home think of me and support me?
8. Will I be able to stay in touch with my friends from back home? Who will I stay in touch with? (Note: I'm usually the kind of person who is great at staying in touch, but I wonder how this experience and the fact that I might not have stable communication outlets affect that).
9. Will I eventually feel like Kenya is my home and stop feeling like an outsider?
10. Will I make it the 27 months?!

I'm excited to find out the answers to these questions throughout my 27 months in Kenya. It is going to be such a life changing experience for me. I'm totally the type of person that likes to have introspective moments and I look forward to getting to know myself all over again.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Staging Information


So I received my Staging/Pre-service training information last week, and sufficient to say, I'm more than overwhelmed. There's so much information to absorb and I can tell from departure onward, it will be a steep learning curve....but I say BRING IT ON! So I thought I'd share with you all some of the information I learned:

The town of Loitokitok is located in the Rift Valley Province at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This is where I will spend the larger part of the 8 weeks of my Pre-Service Training (PST). During PST I will be spending most of my time in the communities around Loitokitok, which is about a 4 ½ hour drive from Nairobi. I will live with a Kenyan family from the third day of your arrival in-country to the day I swear-in as a Volunteer, three months later.

Logistics – First Three Days
Arrival: Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) look for one of our staff who will be holding a Peace Corps sign. You will then travel by bus to AFRALTI, which is approximately a 30- to 60-minute drive from JKIA depending on traffic. There, you will have a light meal and a good night’s sleep. You will have two days in Nairobi.

Day One and Day Two: Thursday June 9th, 2011 and Friday, June 10th, 2011
Given the late night arrival into Nairobi, on Thursday, breakfast will be served 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. with the first session of the day beginning at 9:30 a.m (DO THEY THINK THIS IS LATE OR SOMETHING?!?!) On Friday morning, breakfast will be served from 6:00 – 8:00 a.m. with the first session starting promptly at 8:30 a.m. You will receive a Safety and Security briefing by Nuru Zuhudi, Safety and Security Coordinator. You will meet with Amy Byerwalter, Director of Management and Operations and Isabella Maisiba, Volunteer Records Clerk. They will assist with completing various administrative forms. At this time, they will also collect your Peace Corps passports and 12 passport photos. During the morning, you will also meet the following Peace Corps Kenya senior staff as part of your orientation: Steven Wisecarver, Country Director; John Vreyens, Director of Programming and Training; Louis Othieno, Associate Peace Corps Director for Small Business Development; Timothy Kibet, Associate Peace Corps Director for Public Health; Joseph Maruti, Training Manager and other staff and a few Volunteers. The Medical Team (referred to as the PCMOs) will share with you a detailed immunization program. You can expect to get your first shots. PCMOs will also hand out malaria prophylaxis, give vaccinations and give the first medical training session. Also, you will learn more about your host families and meet the Host Family Coordinator. Expect to begin your crash-course in Kiswahili in the course of these two days.

Day Three: Saturday, June 11th, 2011
Breakfast will be served 6:00 – 8:00 a.m. Please have all your luggage packed and ready for loading after breakfast. We will give you instructions where to bring your luggage for loading. You will depart for Loitokitok by bus at 8:30 a.m. The trip to Loitokitok will take approximately 4½ hours (270 kilometers). We will provide a box snack and a drink for the trip. Petrol stations/ rest stops are not frequently found on this route. The bus will stop as needed; however, please be prepared that a pit latrine/toilet may not be available where you stop so you may need to walk off-road to relieve yourself. Once in Loitokitok, you will be taken to the Outward Bound Trust of Kenya—our training hub—where you will spend the night. You will have a lunch and take some time to settle in before dinner. You will share a dorm style room with 9 other trainees.

Day Four: Sunday, June 12th, 2011
Breakfast will be served 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. and the first session starts at 8:30 a.m. The day will focus on preparing you for entry into your host family communities. You will get to know the training staff in several one-on-one meetings and be introduced to your Language and Cross-Cultural Facilitators. Lunch will be served from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. During the afternoon, you will be introduced to your host families then depart with your host family to begin your home stay.

Local Conditions
The weather in Loitokitok, a small town with a population of approximately 35,000 people, ranges from cool to hot and dry to wet. The temperature during the day ranges from 75 – 85 degrees and is cool to cold at night (40 – 65 degrees). During the rainy season (which is early October through December), the town can be very muddy. In the dry season, Loitokitok has a lot of dust in the air, as the roads are not paved. Loitokitok, like most villages and towns in Kenya gets very dark at night. There are no streetlights, so we recommend that you bring with you a good, durable flashlight that can last for 2 years.

Overview of Training
Training is composed of five basic areas:
Language Training This component involves learning basic KiSwahili until you attain the required minimum proficiency in Kiswahili.
Cross-cultural and Inter-cultural Learning This component includes adapting to life in Kenya, learning who the people of Kenya are, our history, our values, and our traditions. Living with a host family hastens this process. Cultural training also integrates safety and security focusing on personal safety and strategies you can use to remain safe while living with your host family and at your site as a Volunteer.
Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) Training This component teaches a process to learn skills for community entry such as community mapping, resource identification, seasonal calendars, gender and development and organizational structures.
Technical Training This component gives you knowledge and skills for your future job and how to adapt your skills to the needs of the job as well as develop skills required for your job.
Health Training This component involves training you to take care of yourself using a Preventive approach, with a belief that a healthy Volunteer is a happy, effective Volunteer.
Safety and Security Training This final component focuses on how Volunteers can develop strategies during Training that they can use to stay safe during their two year service.

I also found out that they will be assessing me during these three months for a variety of factors to see if I'm actually fit to be a volunteer. They will be looking for: motivation, emotional maturity, social sensitivity, cultural awareness, ability to adjust, communicative ability in language, productive technical competence and safety compliance. Should I not pass in these areas, they have the right to suggest early termination for my service!!!!

Swearing-In Date
Having met all the requirements for service, I will be sworn-in on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011. I will proceed to my site on Thursday, August 4, 2011.

19 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

My side of the story: Sexual assult in the PC

As I've said in previous posts, when I tell people that I'm joining the ranks of the Peace Corps, there are a number of responses that I usually get. Most are elated for me and think it's awesome, but some are genuinely concerned. So I would like to attempt to address this the best way I know how without seeming too insensitive.

In the last years, there have been quite a number of Peace Corps volunteers speaking out about the sexual assault that they experienced while serving in the Peace Corps and the agency's response to such unfortunate events. Just yesterday, the New York Times published this: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11corps.html?_r=1&hp

While incidents like this are a real tragedy, I have to say that in no way does it deter me from following my dream into the Peace Corps. My intension of bringing awareness to this issue on my blog is not to scare my family and friends, but instead to make them aware that these things do happen. And they happen anywhere, not just within third world countries.

Sexual assault and violence is happening on a daily level worldwide! Let's take my home city for example, San Francisco. Many statistics show that San Francisco is far beyond the national average in crime. A 2003 FBI Report of Offenses Known to Law Enforcement shows 215 cases of forcible rape, 2,376 cases of aggravated assault and over 25,388 cases of theft and larceny.

But do these statistics deter me from living in what I consider the coolest city on the west coast? Heck NO! The key is to be as smart as you can be and be educated about your surroundings. I carry pepper spray everywhere I go!

And while it pains me to read these stories of the women who have had to deal with sexual assault within the Peace Corps, it also does not deter me in following through with my service in Kenya. Fear cannot be the guide in your life because that is how they win. Rape is just a tool to instill fear. Instead, I want to be an example of a woman that is strong enough and brave enough to look discrimination in the face and say "hey how bout a hug"! haha! But seriously, I'm going to work in Kenya to hopefully be an example to women there and show them that I'm not limited by my sex.

Now, these women who are speaking out also talk about the Peace Corps response in handling the attacks and violence that they experienced. It's unfortunate that these cases might have been supposedly overlooked, but I choose to believe that the Peace Corps is working on this. I think the best thing that they can do is to support the new legislation requiring, among other things, that the Peace Corps develop “sexual assault response teams” to collect forensic evidence and provide emergency health care and advocacy for victims after attacks. And I have a strong feeling they will for the safety of their female volunteers.

But also, I choose to look at this experience somewhat separate and apart from the Peace Corps. Yes, I will be a representative of PC, yes they will be paying for my living, and yes I will wear their emblem proudly, but in the end, as I've said before, this journey is solely mine and it will be MY own actions, no one else’s, that will determine my success.

I hope that these women receive justice for the atrocious acts that have happened to them and continue to speak out. And I will do my part in showing that future Peace Corps women refuse to be victims and deterred in doing good in their communities.


If you would like to read more about First Response Action and the women speaking out, you can follow their blog at firstresponseaction.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

25 Days and Counting

Everything is coming together and it feels good. I've had a few set backs, but nothing major. For one, my job called me back in to help out because someone quit. This is bittersweet because I need the extra money, but at the same time I'm not looking forward to having to say goodbye for a second time :( My other set back is that only half of my gear has arrived. I called backcountry.com to ask about where the rest of the stuff was and they said it was delivered last Friday, but I haven't seen anything so I think someone might have stolen it. Anyway, they said they're going to resend the order so it could have been worse.

Other then that, things are going great. I spent this last weekend in Mt. Shasta saying goodbye to my cousins. We went hiking in Castle Craggs State Park and had a great time! I have some other fun activities set for the rest of the month such as camping with my boyfriend, Sean. We are going to test out my equipment so I'll know how to use everything once I'm in Kenya. I have a going away BBQ planned for June 4th and a few friends are flying out for it.

But my biggest news is that my flight is scheduled! I'll be flying to Philadelphia June 5th at 9:05a.m.! I'll be doing some initial training and getting my shots there. Then we all fly out June 7th around 6p.m. for Nirobi, Kenya. I've been talking to a lot of the people in my training group on facebook and getting to know them. Everyone seems super cool and I'm so excited to meet them in person.

I can't believe how time is flying. To think it took me two years to finally be saying I'm actually departing...

Monday, May 2, 2011

My Packing List

It's been hard considering what to pack when I only get two 40lb bags to check, but I've finally compiled a list! Now it's just up to actually packing!

Here's what I'll be keeping most of my gear in!

I'm also bringing this day pack, which I will be checking as well. Then I'll take two carry-ons that will be considerably smaller.

At night I'll be sleeping in this sleeping bag and on this amazing sleeping pad (which are both very light for traveling)


And I got this little guy to make things extra comfy! I couldn't help myself, I deserve a little comfort...haha 100% silk sleeping bag liner:

I'm so excited! And while I'm there I plan to do some hiking and camping, especially when I do Mt. Kenya. Therefore I bought this to stay warm and cozy in. Plus in some hostels, it's cheaper to stay in a tent next to the hostel instead of a bed. Who wants to stay in those gross beds anyway when you can get the privacy of your own tent?!

Got these little babies to walk in!

and finally I got this cute headlamp! I seriously almost went for the pink one, but had to hold myself back as to not be too flashy haha get it, "flashy"!

Other than that, this is what I plan to pack:

Bug repellent
socks
journal + a spare
ipod
iphone
computer
external
digital camera with charger
larger camera with rechargeable batteries and charger
solar charger plus cradles
kindle
flashlight
headlamp
sharp knife for cooking
swiss army knife
solar water bottle (courtesy of Sean White!)
sun glasses with case
cotton sheets (required by Peace Corps)
light blanket (required by Peace Corps)
12 passport photos (required by Peace Corps)
nail clippers
small gift for host family
warm jacket
rain jacket
sandals
deodorant
face wash (my kind that warms up because they won't have it there)
tooth paste and tooth brush
sun screen
playing cards
bath towels (required by peace corps)
duct tape
watch
pictures from home
extra AAA and AA batteries
razor and extra blades
whistle
hand sanitizer/face wipes
2 colors nail polish for fun
underwear
hot hands
gloves
bathing suit
shampoo/conditioner
aspirin, band-aids, NyQuil
sweatshirt
jeans
light shirts
long sleeve shirts
long skirt
carabiners
leggings
work out pants
hat
a few essential make-up items
a cute dress to go out in
a pair of comfortable wedges/heels

I'm still working on the list and still have to ACTUALLY pack, but I'm getting super excited and looking forward to when that part of my journey is behind me. It's amazing how little you really can live on which is something I have to continue to remind myself when thinking about how bad I'd like to bring my tempurpedic! haha! But I think I'm off to a good start and I'm so thankful that I can always call up my family to send me essentials if need be :)

33 DAYS!