One week countdown

My blog for Brazil never really took off- I could never get myself to write about life there without it sounding like some kind of "othering" process that I was studying at Berkeley. My time in Brazil was absolutely amazing and I plan to move back to Rio someday.

For now, my next trip is to Cameroon with the Peace Corps for the next 27 months! I will do my best to write straight-forward about my experiences without feeling like I am objectfying anyone or thing.

I received my invitation to join the Peace Corps one day when I returned to my apartment in Rio- the night guard told me a package had come for me and I knew exactly what it was..... I rushed upstairs to open the envelope that read, "Congratulations- Your Assignment: Community Health Educator Country: Cameroon Start Date= Sept 15, 2011 End Date Dec 3, 2013". It was so intense and I had 10 days to decide if I should try and stay in Brazil or accept the position. It was not an easy decision but I decided to go ahead with the Peace Corps. 27 months is a hard commitment to actualize and I am not sure if it has even sunk in yet.

I leave on Wednesday, September 21st from Cleveland to Philadelphia for a one-day staging event where I will meet the other volunteers. We will spend one day there then the next day we will be taking a bus to New York City to fly to Yaounde, Cameroon. There we will stay a few days in the capital for orientations and by Monday I will be moving in with my host family for my 3-month language and technical training in a city 2 hours north of Yaounde.

I will be studying French and learning different community based techniques for health interventions for the first three months. In November I will be assessed for my placement of where I will be living for the next two years.


One week left to say all my goodbyes, pack and try to prepare mentally for what is coming my way!