Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a good and relaxing Thanksgiving! While mine was not so relaxing, was wonderful because I got to go to my oldest friend’s wedding. Known her since pre-school, and she was a beautiful bride! I was crying half the night haha but I am incredibly happy for her.  Then on the weekend I got to hang out with my wonderful friends from home. Almost all of us were home!

Let's see if I can figure out how to put in a picture....

                                              The Bride and me! Congrats Kaitlyn :)

                    A bit shambly at the end of the night. But loved being out with great friends!

Now it’s back to work, studying, and packing for Panama. And let me say, thinking about packing is kind of overwhelming! But what’s making it a little easier are the connections I’ve been making, namely with the other members of my group! It has made me super excited to meet them all and start our adventure! Facebook has been a wonderful resource, connecting all of us heading down in January as well as with the Volunteers that are already there who can give us the real scoop on what we should bring.

As of now, my debates are whether or not I should get a hiking backpack (I think yes, my parents are still on the fence), chacos (vs. the tevas I already have), whether or not I should get a new laptop (mine is about to die), what e-reader to get (kindle vs. nook) and what kinds of clothing I should bring (cotton vs. synthetic). I think I’m gradually gathering answers to these questions… slowly but surely. The trick is just finding the time to shop for it all… between studying for the GMAT and GRE, Christmas shopping and working… Just under 3 weeks till GMAT is off of my plate! Yikes!

Back to the books for me tonight…

Kindle vs. Nook: Opinions?

Random Updates

So it's been a while since I've posted, but I feel much more like a real person these days! I'm working at the fundraising arm of a hospital, which as been great non-profit experience. I'm really enjoying it and the people I work with are great, and a wonderful learning opportunity (for the non-profit sector, fundraising as well as the healthcare industry) but it's certainly tiring. Plus, I've started studying more intensely for the GRE and GMAT, both of which I'm going to take in December before I leave in January - I'm planning on going back to graduate school after my PC service, and I'd like to have options. But it certainly makes for a busy schedule with a full-time job, studying on my own for the GRE, taking a course for the GMAT, thinking about preparing for PC in Panama, and trying to hang out with friends and family.

But I did have a great weekend at Vandy's homecoming a few weeks ago (got to see a lot of friends, enjoy tailgating and the game, went to church, as well as spent 14 hours in the car), and I've had some fun weekends in Charlotte. Hopefully this weekend will be a little more relaxing and productive than the past couple have been. Though dad and friends are all home.... so we'll see how that goes. In other news - my fall league frisbee team got 2nd in the league!! Go Kenan & Kel! Yes - that was our team name lol.

In PC news, I finally got my last required immunization (Yellow Fever) before staging. I immediately faxed my info to PC, but then later that night I realized I didn't put all of the information on the cover sheet that I needed to... My one actually stupid mistake in this whole process - which, in considering the amount of paperwork I've done, is saying something I think. Either that or I'm just lucky (a much more likely possibility). Also, I'm starting to make contacts with other people going in my group to Panama! And it's making me so excited!!!! I started squealing when I got an email a couple of days ago from a fellow PC Panama Invitee. Which also made me realize that I really need to start actively packing/preparing. Of course I'm behind - what else is new? I'll get it done somehow/someway.

My to-do list for the weekend:
- Do GMAT homework/review
- Study GRE quantitative section
- start actively thinking about packing for Panama
- get some sleep and get my lymph nodes un-swollen

We'll see how much this actually gets done...

Links for the week:
I've been taking the papers from work to recycle them at the end of the week, and in the process reading them, and I found a couple of interesting articles today.
One was about how a patient's faith really influenced a doctor and how it's significant in his life today. Click here.
The other was gave a short biography about a woman who was sterilized by the state of North Carolina because they argued that she wouldn't be fit to raise a child because her IQ is so low. Sad article, unbelievable that this actually happened, but also wonderful about her faithful and supportive life-long friend. Article here.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Other PC Panama Volunteers?

Along with visiting family and getting a job for the fall (yay!), throughout this past week, I have also been making progress on PC paperwork and information. I've finally read pretty much all of the info they sent me with my invitation, found blogs of many current PCV's in Panama, thinking about leaving/packing and thinking about options after PC service. It's been busy!

In addition to all of this, I've been thinking about connecting to the other invitees in the January/Panama group. I'd love to meet some of them/you before we go - I'm sure I could use some counsel on packing! So, if you're leaving for PC/Panama in January! Let me know!

My fun tidbit for the day:
List of companies/stores that give discounts to PCVs!

Also, since I missed my fun tidbit last time:
Inspiration

Have a good week everyone!

Panama Connections

So yesterday, I got REALLY excited about going to Panama.... I met a teacher who lives near Panama City!!

I was working at International House where I've been helping teach some adult English classes, and stayed afterwards to listen to a group of English teachers from Central and South America (all different countries) ask questions to International House staff, teachers, and some of our students. It was really interesting, and one of the women even said she was from Panama! So I decided to talk to her after the group discussion. I ended up speaking for a minute about my role as an assistant teacher, and my co-teacher mentioned I was going to the Peace Corps and after a little more explanation, I found out that the Panamanian teacher is actually working with a current PCV and has requested 2 to come in March, which is when my group will probably be sent to our sites. Crazy! I could be working with her! But certainly someone from my group will be... Such a small world!

But it was wonderful to talk to her and have a connection in Panama! She was so nice and made me feel like I was going to be welcomed and offered me some help and to visit if I wanted once I get to Panama. It was so nice to know I have a connection down there, and to be able to put a face with a community partner that I could be working with.

My friend Christine, had a great insight: This is God's way of saying that this is the right decision. I hope so! Because it made me so excited :)

Official Acceptance and.... Paperwork

So, after much thought, self-debate, and considerations, I officially accepted my invitation on Wednesday night! I was dwelling on the things that are going to be difficult about my PC service before I accepted, which was making it kind of difficult, but since then I've gotten a lot more excited. I'm sure there will be many difficulties, but there are going to be the other parts of service that will make them worth it. Meeting amazing people, having once-in-a-lifetime experiences, offering my (limited) knowledge and resources to people who otherwise might not have access to them, hopefully impacting at least a few people for the better, and learning things that I never would have discovered otherwise. It'll be an adventure, to be sure. But it's official! I'm leaving in January for 2+ years. Still seems kind of crazy, but there it is. Until then I'm going to be finishing the governmental paperwork, learning as much as I can about the life I'm about to jump into, and trying to make the most of my last few months in the States!

One of the ways I'm trying to learn about things is reading blogs from PCV's (term I will use frequently: Peace Corps Volunteers). The one I just finished was certainly enlightening. One of the posts that I think will be the most helpful are ones like what he wrote about coping on the rough days. Here's his approach. I'm sure I'll be sharing other blog links or fun tidbits about Panama as I come across them.

What I've learned so far is that Panama has a rich and interesting culture, history, and peoples. It's a beautiful country and has a lot of potential, but a lot of disparities as well. As a PCV, I hope to be able to help (in some minute way) those communities that haven't been able to pull themselves out of poverty that consumes too much of the population. I hope to use some of my anthropological interests during these two years as well to discover interesting things/differences about the people around me.

For now I'm working on my new passport application, and some other paperwork that the PC needs from me. In between all of that, I'm spending the weekend with my friend, Kelsey, at the beach, and trying to figure out a job for the next few months, both for a little bit of money and to keep gaining experience with teaching. Hopefully things will pan out soon!