Friday, February 22, 2013

Contacting me

On a lighter note, I feel like some of you may want to contact me.  I will still have my personal e-mail going for friends and family (for those of you who need it, feel free to call/text/contact me through Facebook), and when I can, I will try to make time for Skype, but for anyone interested in getting in touch with me about my Peace Corps experiences, I will also be reachable by mail.  It may be slower, so plan accordingly (according to the Peace Corps, mail can take up to a month to reach me).  My mailing address during training will be as follows:

For mail/packages sent through USPS-

(My name)
c/o Peace Corps Namibia
P.O. Box 6862
Windhoek
Namibia 9000
Namibia

For packages sent through DHL (express shipping)-
(My name)
c/o Peace Corps Namibia
19 Nachtigal Street
Ausspannplatz
Windhoek
Namibia


I will warn you that they may search through my mail, so sending me valuables may be difficult, but I'd love to receive mail, and if anyone wants to receive post cards from me, just send me your mailing address.  I'm getting a list going.  I make no promises during training, but once I settle in I will try and mail post cards to those on my list ever couple months (could be more or less frequent, depending on how much it costs).

Another thing Peace Corps recommends, since mail can sometimes get lost, is numbering your letters to me, so I know if I missed one.

Are you scared?

  Okay, so, one of the most common questions friends and strangers have asked me when talking about these last few weeks leading up to my departure is "are you nervous/scared/frightened?"  The short answer is yes.  In fact, I'm terrified.  I'm scared out of my mind.  In my experience, starting a new job is always a bit scary.  Add in the fact that I'll be living in a completely different country, where English may officially be the language but isn't as widely spoken as it is here, with different cultures, different diets, less technology, etc.  Basically, I'm leaving behind my entire life.  Everything I own, everything I'm used to, my comfort zone, I'm leaving it all behind.  Just like I did when I went to Israel, though this is to an even larger degree.  And unlike Israel, I'm leaving family and friends behind.  On Year Course, I knew a couple people going in.  I had a cousin in Israel.  I don't know anyone in Namibia, and other than a few Facebook exchanges, I don't really know anyone I'm doing this with.  I'm hoping to bring a couple DC/Tulane relics to provide me a little comfort zone in my home over there for when I get homesick.
  That being said, it's not the changes that terrifies me the most.  I'm going abroad for 2 years.  I'm going to have limited communication with my friends back here.  For 2 years, they're all going to have more-or-less lives that are completely Jay-free.  I'm terrified about how much is going to change while I'm gone.  I'm scared that by the time I get back, I'll be completely out of everybody's lives.  Of course, I know that's a bit extreme, but when I look back at all the changes over the last 2 years, and how much more will change over the next 2, with friends starting to get married, have kids, move away, etc., it's hard to try and predict where I'll fit in when I get back.  I'm terrified that as I say goodbye to people (my fair-well tour now on it's final leg), in some cases, it might be the last time I ever see them.  As my departure date approaches, reality sets in more each day.
  However, I don't want this to sound all doom-and-gloomy.  I'm really excited.  I'm really looking forward to this.  I can't wait to get there, to meet the people I will be training with, to meet the community I will be living in, and to get started with my service.  But the honest truth is, as excited as I am, of course I'm scared. And I wouldn't have it any other way.  Everyone likes to talk about the Robert Frost line about the road less traveled.  I've never been a fan.  To me, it's not about the road less traveled, so much as the road I, as an individual, have yet to travel down.  "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us".  Sometimes that decision requires leaving our comfort zone.  And those who have never been scared rarely, if ever, leave their mark or reach their full potential.  So I'm glad I'm scared, glad that this is going to be a challenge.  Because otherwise, anybody could do.  Otherwise, it would not be as fulfilling a use of the time I have been given.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Saying Goodbye

  So, a month from yesterday, I report for my staging in Philadelphia, and a month from today (as my dad pointed out), my plane with be on the runway, waiting for me to board.  I still have a few more things to get before I leave, and I obviously have to find a way to fit in in my bags.  I also have some orientation videos still to watch, but I'm at a point where I'm mostly ready to go.  So now it's time to say goodbye.  The first leg of my journey has taken me to Texas.
  On Friday morning, I flew into Houston to spend the night with my mom's friend from when she served in Honduras.  After a quick meal of gorditas (the real thing, not the Taco Bell version), we went to the Museum of Fine Arts to see their exhibit on Spanish portraits and look as some gold and pottery from Africa and pre-Colombian Latin America.  We spent the rest of the night relaxing, chatting, watching news of the storm pounding the northeast (where my brother and the younger son of my mother's friend both attend college).  For the record, the suffix "eaux" is pronounced "oh", in case you had any doubts.
  The next morning got off to a slow start.  In fact, I had forgotten how nice it feels to wake up without my alarm blasting.  After a short walk around the lake they lived on, my mother's friend's husband cooked up some steaks and seared tuna with some sticky veggies mix (sort of like a gumbo).  As good as the food was, the best part might've been the homemade hot sauces he put out.  After lunch, we packed up and headed down to Galveston to experience what they consider Mardi Gras.
  Now, if there's one thing I've realized in my short time in Galveston, it's that it's a lot like New Orleans.  Only not quite, in every way. It's hard to put into words, almost a New Orleans lite, which is not to say it's worse or better.  Oh, also, they have a beach. Which brings us back to our story.  So, after quickly stopping in at Tommy's to drop off a case of Shiner beer and say hi to his cats, we got back in the car and headed over to the Seawall for the parade.  The way Mardi Gras works in Galveston is a bit different from New Orleans.  There are 2 celebrations.  One is over the Strand, and it costs money.  Having lived in New Orleans for 4 years, there was no way in hell I was going to pay to celebrate Mardi Gras, especially after having lived through the best Mardi Gras celebration north of Rio (from what I hear).  So, we decided to enjoy the free celebration over at the Seawall.  We'd gotten there a bit early, so (after finding a bathroom without too long a line), we explored a couple stores, grabbed a couple drinks, and sat around until the parade started.  Like I said, Galveston is New Orleans lite, and the parade made this very clear.  The floats were a little smaller, they were stingier with the throws, which were also a lot less exciting that the ones in the Big Easy.  The marching bands were good, but like in New Orleans, they all played the same walk-beat, and half of them walk-beated past us.  Still it was an enjoyable night.
  After the parade, my mom's friends gave me a lift back to Tommy's, where I said goodbye to them and spent the rest of the night hanging with Tommy, his kitties, and Sarah, who had come down from Houston that night.
  The next morning I began really exploring Galveston.  After a walk around Tommy's neighborhood and a quick trip to Walgreens, I went over to the Strand.  Since there was nothing going on for the Mardi Gras celebration that day, I was able to avoid paying.  After checking out a couple stores I stopped into a bar called Brews Brothers to watch a band perform.  It was typical Bourbon Street type music, though the bar itself was pretty fun and the beer was nice.  After walking around some more (and getting a free pork taco), watching a couple other bands perform, some amazing fudge, and snapping a few photos, I made my way back to Tommy's to avoid the oncoming rain storm.  The next day I went back to the Seawall.  I figured it would be nice to see it on a day when it wasn't crowded.  A nice walk, but the highlight was meeting an off-duty cop.  I was wearing my Tulane hoodie and walking around with my camera.  So he came up and started asking me about New Orleans and the Mardi Gras down there.  After chatting a bit, we decided to wait out a rainstorm by grabbing a couple burgers and some rum at The Spot.  And then, when the rain ended, some more walking around, and made my way back to the Strand.
  Today is my last day in Galveston.  Later today, I'll be taking a bus back to Houston overnight, and then catch another to New Orleans in the morning.  I'm going to do some more exploring now, but I will leave you with a few photos.
The lake



Seawall, getting ready for the parade


Old ladies

Feeding time for the poor souls who actually beg for beads












For you, Courtney









Mixture of the old and the new 


"THE BEGINNING OF THE END" I find that a fitting sign








Winston, who never leaves that spot

And Tam