It’s easy to forget, at times, that I am in Africa. The interactions during training only seemed abnormal for a week or two, and then the unexpected became the expected. Cultural norms and differences became fun stories told among both the Americans when we were together and by the Mozambican families when they were chatting. Fofoca became the favorite activity of home stay families and trainees. Fofoca is gossip, and it flies like nothing else in small towns like Namaacha. One example of how fast Fofoca can spread is illustrated in the fact that one morning I told my Moz. Mom that Peace Corps would be by today to pick up my boxes (caixas), at least that’s what I thought I was saying. Evidently I told her Peace Corps would be by to pick up my coffins (caixáos). Before lunch that day, she had spread this funny story to at least one family in a different neighborhood, by that evening, the other host mom shared it with her daughter (my colleague), who shared it with my girlfriend (Stu), who shared in a laugh about this story with me when we were hanging out that same night. I came to love Fofoca by the end of training. The home stay families had reunions (meetings), often, after which I would always ask my mom what the latest Fofoca was about my fellow trainees. She always had juicy stories for me.
It’s interesting to me, during the times that I forget where I am, when I actually take a moment to look around and remember that I’m not in the USA anymore. That I’m actually living in a place that before Peace Corps invited me here, I had never heard of, and that I’m now speaking a language I never thought I would need to know (Portuguese). As I walk to the market to buy bread, rice, beans, fruit, or whatever I’m craving for dinner or lunch that day, the “boa tardes” become normal. Seeing children running around playing only to be distracted by the foreigner, which in the mind of a child is only entertaining for a quick 10 seconds stare, is even becoming a new norm for me. I just smile, stick out my tongue or make a funny face, and they giggle and run back to whatever game or activity they were doing to pass the time. I continue my walk and it’s when I look up at the mountain range to my North, or the mud houses with straw roofs to my left and right that I realize that life has surely lead me somewhere special.
My Grandma and Grandpa bought me a Kindle book reader for a graduation gift. I loaded it with about 100 books from Amazon before leaving for staging in Philly at the end of September. Majority of the books are classics, Shakespeare, Poe, Twain, so on and so forth. I just finished reading “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” by Oscar Wilde. It’s a great book, wonderful read, and a semi-predictable, but interesting twist of an ending. From this book, I take away two quotes; “We practical men like to see things, not to read about them…” and “It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things wonderful.” These two quotes describe a part of the reason that I am here. The idea of experiencing something instead of reading about it, and the fact that there is such mystery in everything I encounter on a day to day basis here, that the odds of life becoming dull is very unlikely. Don’t confuse my optimism with me being naive. I know that there will be more than enough boredom to go around throughout the next two years, but boredom is a state of mind that can be altered through conscious thought. Well, at least I hope so; and I’ll have many opportunities to test this to be true or not.
There have been a few moments that are notable and worth mentioning, which afterwards I laughed to myself about how I doubt I would have experienced such a thing in the States, but I’ll share the most recent only. While sitting and talking about the upcoming weeks plans with Quito, my PSI counterpart in Ribaue, I noticed my neighbors had just come out for dinner. My neighbors are a bunch of chameleons that live in my roof, and top of my walls (my floor and walls are concrete, and the roof is made out of local materials…a thatched together wood). Dinner (for them, not me) was going to be a wonderful assortment of bugs that were flickering around the light in my living room. Our conversation drifted to silence as we both sat and watched one of the chameleons slowly creep down the wall and wait for a chance to strike at one of the bugs. Surely enough, the time came quickly, and he didn’t miss a beat. He swallowed the bug like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Quito and I watched this go on for about 20 minutes. The chameleon ate bug after bug, until Quito stood. The motion startled my neighbor and he ran back to safety in the roof. The next night, as I ate dinner in my house, I noticed a giant roach running across the floor. Unluckily for this roach, my neighbor was already out watching me eat. As soon as his dinner arrived, he again, did not hesitate in joining me for a nice healthy meal. I like these neighbors. I think I’ll keep them around since they clean up pretty well and give me a great deal of entertainment throughout the evenings.
I’ve held up really well emotionally, physically, and mentally since my goodbyes in September. I haven’t had super bad days, or missed family a terrible amount (yet), and I wonder if I’ll make it through the next 2 years and be able to say this at the end of service. Granted, the Peace Corps of today is not what it used to be, thanks to technology and the fact that our programs are much more developed now (courtesy of trial and error over the years). Let me elaborate on both. Technology: when we landed in South Africa, I was able to call my family from a skype program I had downloaded on my blackberry (iSkoot). It allows a person to call from their skype account, through their phones internet. So, it was about 2c a minute to call. Throughout training, I’ve had instant access to email and internet on my phone the entire time. Honestly, for majority of the time, I only sent the occasional photo or email to family checking in, and used the internet to stay up to date on current events (msnbc, cnn, bbc, etc.). I have around 150-200 movies that I copied off other volunteers hard drives, and can watch them whenever I want. I have both new movies and classics. I watched X-Men Origins (a movie that was in theatres when I left the states) on my laptop just last night. We have cell phones, ability to link these phones to our laptops and connect to the internet at a pretty nice speed; I can text USA cell phones for free through yahoo messenger, make phone calls through skype, etc. Program development: We’ve had several speakers and trainers talk about their service in the Peace Corps, and it sounds like what I expected to run into during our service. Dropped in the middle of no-where, no communication, and no idea of what they would be doing. That is far from the case for our training group. Keep in mind, I’m speaking about the Health sector (as Education will be more standard and structured, because they are serving in the school systems). With my experience, so far, I know exactly what organizations I’m working with, and what their mission is throughout the community. Who they’re funded by, who the directors are, who my supervisor is, and much more information is available. Granted, there are times, even just in the last group of volunteers, that the person was dropped off and their group was basically nonexistent (by this I mean only one person makes the “group”). It does happen, but less and less frequently.
The most difficult part of service is being away from family and friends. Holiday seasons especially make this harder than the average day. Just today I looked through my photo album (bad idea) and started to think about the babies in the family (5 nephews and 1 niece), and the crisp, fresh, bone chilling air that accompanies winter every year in Oklahoma. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the smell, the feel, what I’d be doing if I was back there right now. The feel and what I’d be doing were easy to picture. Driving my 1990 regular cab, black Chevy Pickup (350 V8 of course), on my way to buy gifts from Quail Springs, Crossroads, Penn Square, and every other shop on the Belle Isle. I’d definitely spend at least one night walking through the botanical gardens, enjoying the Christmas lights there, and then depending on the roads, would drive out to Yukon or Northern Oklahoma City in search of one of the many houses that have set up a light show with music. I’d probably meet up with Rusty or Tony (assuming they aren’t shopping with me) and have a cup of seasonal coffee from Starbucks. This would be one day only. There are so many people to visit during the holidays that every day (after work) could be spent very similar to this one. Small, intimate conversations warming up over a cup of coffee…hot chili and corn bread, decorating the Christmas tree with the young kids and trying my best to preserve their innocent belief in Santa Clause. The smell is something my imagination isn’t strong enough to duplicate. Every country I go to, and every state for that matter, I always close my eyes and take a moment to appreciate the different sensations (air on my skin, scent in the air, noises, etc). When I came back from a month in Lebanon, the first thing I remember was how happy I was to smell the Oklahoma air. My point is that it doesn’t feel too much like Christmas right now. I did listen to holiday music all day and have “This Christmas” “Elf” and “Love Actually” to remind my tough man heart that I miss family more than my mind is ready to admit. I’ve had some of the current PCV’s tell me “make sure you’re with people on Christmas. When you get that call from home, you’ll need people around you.” I doubt it will be that hard on me, but if it is, I can rest easily knowing that Stu will be there with me. There’s always a silver lining. :o)
Merry Christmas in advance everyone. Happy New Year as well. “Feliz Natal e ano novu propsero”
G
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Hello Everyone,
Sorry I fell off the grid there for a while. I had access to internet for majority of the time while in training, but I didn't have much desire to use it. I've put off sending an email updating you all on what I've been doing, because...its hard to put everything into words. I began typing email updates a few times, but was never felt that I was capturing my true experience. However, I will share a few thoughts, and photos, and hopefully you'll get a small vision of what life in Africa is like for me.
Training took place in Namaacha, in the Province of Maputo, Country of Mozambique. We spent 10 weeks cramming language, culture, learning about the health sector (and lack of basic forms of infrastructure), as well as simply adjusting to a life away from friends, family, and everything that I've known. A typical day I would wake up around 6am, shower, iron my clothes, eat breakfast, and walk to school. The walk the first few weeks would take me about 20 minutes one way, but once I learned the roads in the neighborhood, I was able to cut off 5 to 10 minutes, depending on where we were going that day for lessons, etc.
My homestay family was basically me and my mozambican mom. We have family that lived down the street from me, and once in a while they would come and visit or have dinner with us. There is a neighbor that lives right beside our house, Felix, and he helped me out a great deal from the very beginning. We spent many nights walking around, playing cards, working on my homework, and once in a while playing soccer.
So Namaacha is a pretty nice little city. Its on a small mountain range, and has a beautiful waterfall, which, of course a company bottles and sells while the city of Namaacha is going through a "drought." Gotta love capitalism, but thats another story. The town is bordered by Swazi, and there is a point where Mozambique, Swazi, and South Africa all three meet. The health people lived in Barrio 25. Its the poor end of town, with no paved roads in the neighborhood, tons of hills, the same color and texture dirt you find in Oklahoma (red dirt :-p)and when it rains an unbearable amount of mud to walk through. But its all fun if you make it so.
We celebrated Thanksgiving, and were also given our 2 year site placements that day. It was really exciting. We combined 2 of my favorite past times, with the one thing I've been looking forward to for the past year....eating & thanksgiving with the knowledge of exactly where I'd be for my Peace Corps service. My site is Ribaue city, in Nampula Province. Its in the NorthEast part of Mozambique and is absolutely beautiful. There is a chain of mountains that runs right here to my North and West. I'm also in a coastal province, so traveling to see the ocean isn't unmanageable. Granted, its 7 hours by chapa (local form of transportation...small busses or trucks that get jammed packed with people, animals, babies..etc etc.) but when you think of the fact that the closest ocean to Oklahoma is Galveston, you'll appreciate my excitement that in a short 7 hours I can be on one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever come across.
My job: I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, and I will work with two International Non-Government Organizations. One is PSI, Population Services International (funded by USAID, and works in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Mozambique) and the other is GHC, Global Health Communications (funded by the CDC). PSI is an organization that distributes and sells condoms, water purification products, mosquito nets, and does a ton of advertising and label recognition in an effort to create behavior change through social marketing. Its a really interesting concept. One that I clung to after hearing the presentation early on during training from a PSI representative. GHC works with MARP's (most at risk populations..ie transactional sex workers, drug users, etc) and from what I gather this is more behavior change, "hands on" type of work. I'll get to know a target group and over time start to identify things they feel need to be changed or worked on, place them in contact with help, which should include personal plans for success. Now, that probably sounds very very vague, but that's pretty much what I have to go on. The first three months are basically to get to know the community and re-adjust. GHC told me they probably wouldn't be in contact with me until February or March. I've already began observing and working with my PSI counterpart in Ribaue. I also met the leaders of the government here, the district hospital director, the director of education for the region, the chief of police, and today am going to meet all the neighborhood leaders.
My house is much nicer than I ever expected. I have 3 bedrooms, a living room, front porch, big yard that is fenced in by bamboo, the view from the back of my house over looks the mountain chain. Interestingly enough, the mountains run to my West and North, if its not raining, I get to watch the sun set behind the mountains. The mountains turn pitch black and there is a red glow around them. Its an amazing site.
Christmas I'll spend a few days on the Island of Mozambique with Megan Stuart (Stu), and then we're going to another Esther and Vonnies site to meet up with everyone else. We can't lave our province for the first 3 months of service. We're doing secret santa and will probably have lots of games, etc to entertain those of us stuck in Nampula for the holidays (to be honest this is where I would have wanted to come anyways..so it's definitely win win). I was the only guy from our training class sent to Nampula Province, and the ladies that were sent here are all really good cooks :-D so...christmas dinner should be great.
I do have pictures, and I was trying to load them, but its taking a long time. I think I was able to load one picture, but I'm not sure.
I hope everyone is well! Sorry about the lack of structure to this email, but I've put off an update for long enough.
Oh, before I forget, Stu told me I could share the link to her photos on snapfish. You'll have to set up an account (which is free & takes only about 2 minutes) and then you'll be able to see a good deal of what we did during training.
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=644870028/a=605359028_605359028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME
Sorry I fell off the grid there for a while. I had access to internet for majority of the time while in training, but I didn't have much desire to use it. I've put off sending an email updating you all on what I've been doing, because...its hard to put everything into words. I began typing email updates a few times, but was never felt that I was capturing my true experience. However, I will share a few thoughts, and photos, and hopefully you'll get a small vision of what life in Africa is like for me.
Training took place in Namaacha, in the Province of Maputo, Country of Mozambique. We spent 10 weeks cramming language, culture, learning about the health sector (and lack of basic forms of infrastructure), as well as simply adjusting to a life away from friends, family, and everything that I've known. A typical day I would wake up around 6am, shower, iron my clothes, eat breakfast, and walk to school. The walk the first few weeks would take me about 20 minutes one way, but once I learned the roads in the neighborhood, I was able to cut off 5 to 10 minutes, depending on where we were going that day for lessons, etc.
My homestay family was basically me and my mozambican mom. We have family that lived down the street from me, and once in a while they would come and visit or have dinner with us. There is a neighbor that lives right beside our house, Felix, and he helped me out a great deal from the very beginning. We spent many nights walking around, playing cards, working on my homework, and once in a while playing soccer.
So Namaacha is a pretty nice little city. Its on a small mountain range, and has a beautiful waterfall, which, of course a company bottles and sells while the city of Namaacha is going through a "drought." Gotta love capitalism, but thats another story. The town is bordered by Swazi, and there is a point where Mozambique, Swazi, and South Africa all three meet. The health people lived in Barrio 25. Its the poor end of town, with no paved roads in the neighborhood, tons of hills, the same color and texture dirt you find in Oklahoma (red dirt :-p)and when it rains an unbearable amount of mud to walk through. But its all fun if you make it so.
We celebrated Thanksgiving, and were also given our 2 year site placements that day. It was really exciting. We combined 2 of my favorite past times, with the one thing I've been looking forward to for the past year....eating & thanksgiving with the knowledge of exactly where I'd be for my Peace Corps service. My site is Ribaue city, in Nampula Province. Its in the NorthEast part of Mozambique and is absolutely beautiful. There is a chain of mountains that runs right here to my North and West. I'm also in a coastal province, so traveling to see the ocean isn't unmanageable. Granted, its 7 hours by chapa (local form of transportation...small busses or trucks that get jammed packed with people, animals, babies..etc etc.) but when you think of the fact that the closest ocean to Oklahoma is Galveston, you'll appreciate my excitement that in a short 7 hours I can be on one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever come across.
My job: I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, and I will work with two International Non-Government Organizations. One is PSI, Population Services International (funded by USAID, and works in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Mozambique) and the other is GHC, Global Health Communications (funded by the CDC). PSI is an organization that distributes and sells condoms, water purification products, mosquito nets, and does a ton of advertising and label recognition in an effort to create behavior change through social marketing. Its a really interesting concept. One that I clung to after hearing the presentation early on during training from a PSI representative. GHC works with MARP's (most at risk populations..ie transactional sex workers, drug users, etc) and from what I gather this is more behavior change, "hands on" type of work. I'll get to know a target group and over time start to identify things they feel need to be changed or worked on, place them in contact with help, which should include personal plans for success. Now, that probably sounds very very vague, but that's pretty much what I have to go on. The first three months are basically to get to know the community and re-adjust. GHC told me they probably wouldn't be in contact with me until February or March. I've already began observing and working with my PSI counterpart in Ribaue. I also met the leaders of the government here, the district hospital director, the director of education for the region, the chief of police, and today am going to meet all the neighborhood leaders.
My house is much nicer than I ever expected. I have 3 bedrooms, a living room, front porch, big yard that is fenced in by bamboo, the view from the back of my house over looks the mountain chain. Interestingly enough, the mountains run to my West and North, if its not raining, I get to watch the sun set behind the mountains. The mountains turn pitch black and there is a red glow around them. Its an amazing site.
Christmas I'll spend a few days on the Island of Mozambique with Megan Stuart (Stu), and then we're going to another Esther and Vonnies site to meet up with everyone else. We can't lave our province for the first 3 months of service. We're doing secret santa and will probably have lots of games, etc to entertain those of us stuck in Nampula for the holidays (to be honest this is where I would have wanted to come anyways..so it's definitely win win). I was the only guy from our training class sent to Nampula Province, and the ladies that were sent here are all really good cooks :-D so...christmas dinner should be great.
I do have pictures, and I was trying to load them, but its taking a long time. I think I was able to load one picture, but I'm not sure.
I hope everyone is well! Sorry about the lack of structure to this email, but I've put off an update for long enough.
Oh, before I forget, Stu told me I could share the link to her photos on snapfish. You'll have to set up an account (which is free & takes only about 2 minutes) and then you'll be able to see a good deal of what we did during training.
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=644870028/a=605359028_605359028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME
Monday, September 14, 2009
Almost Time
Two Weeks left now until staging on the East Coast. I'll land on the 29th in the city we do our staging in, check out of the hotel at 3am on the 30th, and then fly out to South Africa later in the day on the 30th. The time to this point has flown by faster than I ever imagined it would.
I've been traveling a lot over the past month. Road the train to Dallas for a weekend, flew from Dallas to Denver, then back to OKC after about 10 days in Denver. Spent a week working security and working as a body guard, and then flew out to San Diego to see one friend from Oklahoma, one friend from Highschool, and Donna who lives in SD. I met her at a conference in DC this year in May and kept in touch because we have so many similarities in our past/future plans. Amazingly, she and I both applied to the Peace Corps, and with a few twists of fate wound up going to Moz for the same program and the same dates of service. She and I caught up, talk a lot about Peace Corps, she showed me around SD (tourist style), and then I flew home. It makes it a great deal easier to have known for almost 6 months now, someone that I will serve alongside in Peace Corps.
I haven't packed my bags yet, and I still have a lot of clothing and other items to buy. I plan to have everything bought and packed by the end of this weekend. Whish me luck.
I've been traveling a lot over the past month. Road the train to Dallas for a weekend, flew from Dallas to Denver, then back to OKC after about 10 days in Denver. Spent a week working security and working as a body guard, and then flew out to San Diego to see one friend from Oklahoma, one friend from Highschool, and Donna who lives in SD. I met her at a conference in DC this year in May and kept in touch because we have so many similarities in our past/future plans. Amazingly, she and I both applied to the Peace Corps, and with a few twists of fate wound up going to Moz for the same program and the same dates of service. She and I caught up, talk a lot about Peace Corps, she showed me around SD (tourist style), and then I flew home. It makes it a great deal easier to have known for almost 6 months now, someone that I will serve alongside in Peace Corps.
I haven't packed my bags yet, and I still have a lot of clothing and other items to buy. I plan to have everything bought and packed by the end of this weekend. Whish me luck.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Aspirational Statement
I just finished my resume and aspirational statement. Those were pretty tough to narrow down what expereiences to include, or what exactly to say. Most of the questions read something like list "all professional and volunteer experience relevant to your proposed assignment..." I do know what, in vague description, I will do on a daily basis, but how to I verbalize my past life experiences that I believe will aid me in the Peace Corps. Once I am serving, I'll be able to list more than enough information; because I will know more in depth what my job will consist of.
In any case, here is my answer to the final section of the aspirational statement. This part asked "how (do) you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends."
My answer:
If I had not decided to join the Peace Corps, and was not accepted to serve, I would have pursued a position as a federal law enforcement officer, or a state police officer. I have worked since 2003 as a bounty hunter, pursuing criminals across state lines, and returning them to Oklahoma to face charges in the court of law. I earned a degree in Criminal Justice, and own a private investigation/armed security agency. This has been the only career path that I have had any interest in for almost 10 years now. I have always wanted to help people that are in need, and have used my positions of leadership in my communities to do so. Joining the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine since 2003, and I decided that I should follow this dream at this point in my life; before I begin a career in law enforcement. The only variable that I cannot account for in this plan is how much serving the Peace Corps will change my values, or core motivation in life. I am open to the idea that I may decide after service that volunteer or humanitarian work is exactly what I want to spend my life doing. It is also possible that I decide to pursue international politics in an effort to aid the people of the world; or I may even want to return to the United States and continue my original plans of a career in law enforcement. I expect the next 27 months in Mozambique will have a huge impact on my life, but at this point I do not know how great the impact will be. So, post-service, I will have to see where life takes me based on the changes I experience during service and decide at that time what the next chapter in my life will be.
In any case, here is my answer to the final section of the aspirational statement. This part asked "how (do) you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends."
My answer:
If I had not decided to join the Peace Corps, and was not accepted to serve, I would have pursued a position as a federal law enforcement officer, or a state police officer. I have worked since 2003 as a bounty hunter, pursuing criminals across state lines, and returning them to Oklahoma to face charges in the court of law. I earned a degree in Criminal Justice, and own a private investigation/armed security agency. This has been the only career path that I have had any interest in for almost 10 years now. I have always wanted to help people that are in need, and have used my positions of leadership in my communities to do so. Joining the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine since 2003, and I decided that I should follow this dream at this point in my life; before I begin a career in law enforcement. The only variable that I cannot account for in this plan is how much serving the Peace Corps will change my values, or core motivation in life. I am open to the idea that I may decide after service that volunteer or humanitarian work is exactly what I want to spend my life doing. It is also possible that I decide to pursue international politics in an effort to aid the people of the world; or I may even want to return to the United States and continue my original plans of a career in law enforcement. I expect the next 27 months in Mozambique will have a huge impact on my life, but at this point I do not know how great the impact will be. So, post-service, I will have to see where life takes me based on the changes I experience during service and decide at that time what the next chapter in my life will be.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Cofee and Conversation
I emailed my Grandma last night and asked her to give me a call this morning so we could just run around together. Being in college and so active on campus for so long I haven't had much down time to just follow grandma around.
So, what does my grandma do on a semi-typical day?
Phone call at 8:20 am. "Hi Greg, I'll be there to pick you up at 9." I giggled and groaned because I wanted more sleep, but my ride was coming, so it was time to get moving. Well, after a 20 minute snooze. No rush right?
Gma has had problems with her left eye, so we went to get a cat-scan on her nasal passage for the Dr. to evaluate, and hopefully find a way to eliminate the pressure builing up behind her eye. After that we went to the track on Tinker AFB. She said she walks the track 2 or 3 times a week. Just one lap around, but she was tired after that one lap. Its just enough to keep her joints and muscles working properly. While walking, she told me that today was Gpa's 74th birthday!! So I suggested we surprise him for lunch. We went to Target to get a card for him, and had about 2 hrs to burn before noon. So I asked gma if she wanted to grab coffee at Starbucks. We went there and had coffee and went over my peace corps packet together. We talked about a lot of stuff while sitting there. We made our way to see gpa, but he already had lunch, so we stood and chatted, gave him the card, and headed out for lunch at Pearls. Then, back home for a nap. I was pretty tired.
That was the first time Gma and I have spent time sipping coffee together and just chatting. It was really nice. I often have coffee and conversation with friends or to get to know a new aquaintence, but not often with my family members. I think I'll do this as much as possible from now on. It's a very simple, slow, and great way to spend your time. Try it.
I have three more USA trips planned outside of Oklahoma before Mozambique. Saturday I'm taking the train to Dallas and will spend the weekend with JP. Monday I fly out to CO for a week to see Travis, and then September 10th I'll be in San Diego with Janelle and Donna until the 13th. I'll have my plane ticket booked for staging for peace corps around the 1st week of September. I think I'll probably fly out on the 27th, because orientation is on the 28th. I'm not possitive, but that makes the most sense to me.
I'll have a going away party with friends, and then probably one last BBQ with the family right before I go. My cousin Toya is supposed to be planning something for me with her side of the family, and I also will meet up with www.aswedolife.com once more after returning from San Diego.
There is a ton of stuff that I need to make sure I have for Africa. I bought a hiking bag, and a pair of Tevas, but I still need to pick up some good hiking shoes, and a pair of athletic shoes. Other than that, I'll need to buy a few new pair of jeans, jean shorts, button up shirts, t shirts, socks, undies, and other clothing that will be durable and able to last for a good ammount of time. My clothes have to be practical and able to withstand the elements. Things will all fall into place soon as the countdown to Mozambique gets smaller.
So, what does my grandma do on a semi-typical day?
Phone call at 8:20 am. "Hi Greg, I'll be there to pick you up at 9." I giggled and groaned because I wanted more sleep, but my ride was coming, so it was time to get moving. Well, after a 20 minute snooze. No rush right?
Gma has had problems with her left eye, so we went to get a cat-scan on her nasal passage for the Dr. to evaluate, and hopefully find a way to eliminate the pressure builing up behind her eye. After that we went to the track on Tinker AFB. She said she walks the track 2 or 3 times a week. Just one lap around, but she was tired after that one lap. Its just enough to keep her joints and muscles working properly. While walking, she told me that today was Gpa's 74th birthday!! So I suggested we surprise him for lunch. We went to Target to get a card for him, and had about 2 hrs to burn before noon. So I asked gma if she wanted to grab coffee at Starbucks. We went there and had coffee and went over my peace corps packet together. We talked about a lot of stuff while sitting there. We made our way to see gpa, but he already had lunch, so we stood and chatted, gave him the card, and headed out for lunch at Pearls. Then, back home for a nap. I was pretty tired.
That was the first time Gma and I have spent time sipping coffee together and just chatting. It was really nice. I often have coffee and conversation with friends or to get to know a new aquaintence, but not often with my family members. I think I'll do this as much as possible from now on. It's a very simple, slow, and great way to spend your time. Try it.
I have three more USA trips planned outside of Oklahoma before Mozambique. Saturday I'm taking the train to Dallas and will spend the weekend with JP. Monday I fly out to CO for a week to see Travis, and then September 10th I'll be in San Diego with Janelle and Donna until the 13th. I'll have my plane ticket booked for staging for peace corps around the 1st week of September. I think I'll probably fly out on the 27th, because orientation is on the 28th. I'm not possitive, but that makes the most sense to me.
I'll have a going away party with friends, and then probably one last BBQ with the family right before I go. My cousin Toya is supposed to be planning something for me with her side of the family, and I also will meet up with www.aswedolife.com once more after returning from San Diego.
There is a ton of stuff that I need to make sure I have for Africa. I bought a hiking bag, and a pair of Tevas, but I still need to pick up some good hiking shoes, and a pair of athletic shoes. Other than that, I'll need to buy a few new pair of jeans, jean shorts, button up shirts, t shirts, socks, undies, and other clothing that will be durable and able to last for a good ammount of time. My clothes have to be practical and able to withstand the elements. Things will all fall into place soon as the countdown to Mozambique gets smaller.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Peace Corps Assignment
Posted on Facebook Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 6:30pm
It's almost completely official now. I have to call in and accept my assignment! World Cup in South Africa..party at my Peace Corps house and road trip down! Anyone want to come?
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Country:
Mozambique
Program:
Health & HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Project
Job Title:
Community Health Promoter
Dates of Service:
December 13, 2009– December 13, 2011*
Orientation Dates:
September 28-29, 2009*
Pre-Service Training
(in Mozambique): October 12, 2009 –
December 12, 2009 *
*dates subject to change
http://www.peacecorps.gov/
The Right Thing
Posted on Facebook Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 8:06pm
On my way back from Little Rock, my brother and I stopped at a gas station/McDonalds. I found a wallet in the restroom. When I came out, I couldn't find the owner of it, but I had his driver’s license and knew I could find him. I drove home with it, and as soon as I unpacked, I called him. He had $350 in his wallet and a ton of other id cards that are extremely important. The conversation was brief, but he was very excited to know that I was going to mail him the wallet and that none of his money was missing.
In the envelope, I wrote him a note that I believe one act of kindness can inspire a 2nd; and that the 2nd act can inspire a 3rd, until we have a ripple effect across human kind.
Here is the email he sent me today.
Greg,
My wife and I are so thankful for your honesty. We ourselves are believers of good deeds inspiring others. I have a story to share with you that confirms our beliefs.. We were out eating and had finished our meal. Asking for our ticket the waitress informs us that it had been paid already. She then showed us were the couple had been sitting. Neither one of us had known or even spoken to them before. We sat a minute and then felt that we should pay for the next couple that sat there, so we did. The young waitress was in total shock and the look on her face was worth it all. She couldn't wait to see if the ripple of kindness would continue after we left. I believe it did and has returned to us in this very situation.
In my line of work I have the opportunity to help alot of people and love doing it. It is my passion and is what I've wanted to do my whole life. In situations like this you can only hope that all the sowing of good you have done will produce a blessing. It definitely has this time, a great one. It is an awesome feeling knowing that there are still good people among all the corruption in society today. Again we are so grateful and pray that God bless you today and everyday.
Sincerely,
Brad A. Foster
P.S. Our three children thank you lots.:)
http://www.aswedolife.com/my-lost-wallet
Hope: Found around the world
Posted on Facebook Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 8:55am
Lebanon is much different than what anyone from the states could imagine. The people are friendly for the most part (i say for the most part because they cant drive worth a crap). The food is amazing, the atmosphere is pretty laid back. To the west is a beach, to the east is a mountain, both are within a 29 minute drive from pretty much anywehere in the country.
The one thing that I did not expect from the people is the political stances and engagement. What I mean by this is that in the USA, Hizbollah is depicted as a terrorist organization. That is not exactly the way they are viewed by the people of Lebanon. When Israel bombed Beirut, the Hizbollah went and paid for peoples rent, gave them food, rebuilt schools, and did a lot for the people that were innocently harmed. I guess it goes back to the age old saying that one mans terrorist is another mans hero. It just depends on the side fo the fence you stand I suppose.
The political engagement I have witnessed is in the youth. There is the Orange party (supported by the Hizbollah) and the Red party (Pro-american). Both sides have capitilized on the support of teenagers and young adults. They show their support by driving in convoys of cars 20 plus deep, waving their parties flag, playing music, chanting different things or honking their horns to two specific melodies. Vice-President Biden was here durign my first week in the country supporting the 14 (red party). The Hizbollah mocked him coming here. US policies in dealing with Lebanon will be shaped based on the outcome of the elections tomorrow. I'll be there with a camera. It should be interesting.
Of course we went out several times in the first couple days we were here. The clubs that we've gone to are more lounge/pub type settings. Groups of friends go out together and basically stick together the entire night. A few times we went with groups, a few times just the two of us. For the most part though, the bar and club scenes here are exactly what you'll find in the USA. Nothing really amazing. The people try to live classy, and the clubs reflect that.
Driving in this country literally makes me sick. The roads are all up and down, sharp left and sharp right, honking every 5 seconds, a relentless amount of pullution, stop and go traffic all across the streets (highways especially). Im used to driving an hour on a smooth wide open road. Here, you'll drive an hour and maybe travel 30 miles, and the entire time you're enclosed by buildings or seconds away from being in a wreck. Literally, I can recall seeing about 3 stop lights that work. This of course does not mean that the people obey them, because they don't. Street lines, maybe a dozen of the roads we've driven on have those. Again, even if they were all lined, the poeple would not obey them.
The police that I have witness stand around or sit on their motorcycles. Sometimes you'll see them at an intesection directing traffic. Maybe half of the people follow the police officers commands. The police force drives Dodge Chargers that were donated by the US government. Apparently we donated an extra 200 recently, and our government demanded that they be distributed this last week, along with a large ceremony. It's a political ploy to gain support from the Lebanese towards the Red party.
The reactions I get when talking politics are that we (the US) has a very bad reputation here because of Bush. The people here literally hate George Bush. President Obama gives them hope. They are sceptical, but realize that he is not like any other president we have had. They like him and say he seems like a good president and a nice man. "Down to earth" is actually one remark I heard. I have a renewed sense of hope for peace around this region of the world, with President Obama. He's new, fresh, different, articulate (which is very important), and he is a hell of a politition. I hope that he can find the happy medium that everyone wants. It is like he'll be walking a mile of tight rope 80 stories off the ground without a safety net. There is no room for mistake. If he offends one country, that could be it. If he takes sides with another country, it could upset a third country. Time will tell, but the report I'm getting from this part of the world is that there truly is hope.
I hope you all forgive me if this note was random ramblings. I just had a minute and thought that I should scratch my thoughts down.
Hope all is well back in the States,
Lebanon is much different than what anyone from the states could imagine. The people are friendly for the most part (i say for the most part because they cant drive worth a crap). The food is amazing, the atmosphere is pretty laid back. To the west is a beach, to the east is a mountain, both are within a 29 minute drive from pretty much anywehere in the country.
The one thing that I did not expect from the people is the political stances and engagement. What I mean by this is that in the USA, Hizbollah is depicted as a terrorist organization. That is not exactly the way they are viewed by the people of Lebanon. When Israel bombed Beirut, the Hizbollah went and paid for peoples rent, gave them food, rebuilt schools, and did a lot for the people that were innocently harmed. I guess it goes back to the age old saying that one mans terrorist is another mans hero. It just depends on the side fo the fence you stand I suppose.
The political engagement I have witnessed is in the youth. There is the Orange party (supported by the Hizbollah) and the Red party (Pro-american). Both sides have capitilized on the support of teenagers and young adults. They show their support by driving in convoys of cars 20 plus deep, waving their parties flag, playing music, chanting different things or honking their horns to two specific melodies. Vice-President Biden was here durign my first week in the country supporting the 14 (red party). The Hizbollah mocked him coming here. US policies in dealing with Lebanon will be shaped based on the outcome of the elections tomorrow. I'll be there with a camera. It should be interesting.
Of course we went out several times in the first couple days we were here. The clubs that we've gone to are more lounge/pub type settings. Groups of friends go out together and basically stick together the entire night. A few times we went with groups, a few times just the two of us. For the most part though, the bar and club scenes here are exactly what you'll find in the USA. Nothing really amazing. The people try to live classy, and the clubs reflect that.
Driving in this country literally makes me sick. The roads are all up and down, sharp left and sharp right, honking every 5 seconds, a relentless amount of pullution, stop and go traffic all across the streets (highways especially). Im used to driving an hour on a smooth wide open road. Here, you'll drive an hour and maybe travel 30 miles, and the entire time you're enclosed by buildings or seconds away from being in a wreck. Literally, I can recall seeing about 3 stop lights that work. This of course does not mean that the people obey them, because they don't. Street lines, maybe a dozen of the roads we've driven on have those. Again, even if they were all lined, the poeple would not obey them.
The police that I have witness stand around or sit on their motorcycles. Sometimes you'll see them at an intesection directing traffic. Maybe half of the people follow the police officers commands. The police force drives Dodge Chargers that were donated by the US government. Apparently we donated an extra 200 recently, and our government demanded that they be distributed this last week, along with a large ceremony. It's a political ploy to gain support from the Lebanese towards the Red party.
The reactions I get when talking politics are that we (the US) has a very bad reputation here because of Bush. The people here literally hate George Bush. President Obama gives them hope. They are sceptical, but realize that he is not like any other president we have had. They like him and say he seems like a good president and a nice man. "Down to earth" is actually one remark I heard. I have a renewed sense of hope for peace around this region of the world, with President Obama. He's new, fresh, different, articulate (which is very important), and he is a hell of a politition. I hope that he can find the happy medium that everyone wants. It is like he'll be walking a mile of tight rope 80 stories off the ground without a safety net. There is no room for mistake. If he offends one country, that could be it. If he takes sides with another country, it could upset a third country. Time will tell, but the report I'm getting from this part of the world is that there truly is hope.
I hope you all forgive me if this note was random ramblings. I just had a minute and thought that I should scratch my thoughts down.
Hope all is well back in the States,
Greetings from the Middle East / Peace Corps update
Posted on Facebook Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 5:56am
Landed in Lebanon last night. Alain and I went to the airport Tuesday morning US Central time at 10:30 am. We had to fly from OKC to Denver, Denver to Chicago, Chicago to London, London to Beruit! We finally landed here in Lebanon (Lebanese local time) Thursday morning at midnight. Well, it was about 20 minutes till midnight, but midnight sounds better.
We were received with hugs and kisses from his mom and dad. We loaded up and came straight to their house. The airport was relatively slow, so there wasn't much hustle or hassle for us t get through the airport. I got my visa to visit, went and waited for our luggage. Luckily my one suitcase came through. All of Alain's luggage came except his golf-clubs. No biggie though. When we left the airport, I looked over to the (I think East) and saw these lights as high as the sky, and as wide as the horizon. I know this makes me sound really small town, but I was lost. I asked him "Shoo Hayda?" <--probably not spelled right, but I can pronounce it right; it means what's that. It's their mountain, and the street lights and house lights all across it. Very beautiful
This morning, we woke up and went to get traditional Lebanese breakfast. It was really good. Lebanese bread with, well, one with cheese, one with this herb, and the other with tomatoes, olives, mint leaves, and some kind of cottage cheese.
More to come. Today will be a slow day, because we both need to recover, and because Alain has been gone so long that it's very necessary for him to relax and be in his home atmosphere. It's always good to come home. Even if you do nothing other than sit and stare at the walls that you grew up in, it's still and always will be a feeling unlike any other.
Side note, and last thought on Lebanon for now. It is not a terrorist muslim country like portrayed on the news. Yes, there is the Hezbollah, but in the USA, we have the KKK and many many other hate groups that can be found. Imagine if this was the image of USA to the world. There are many Christians in this country. They are not an overrun and quiet minority of people. I've heard that in some middle eastern countries Christians are few and far between, and (as I was told) found in smaller groups. This is not the case in Lebanon. More to come on this as I further discover the culture, beauty, heritage, and people.
The government just turned off the electricity over here. It will be off until 6:00pm. Right now it is 2:00pm. The Feghalis have a generator though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace Corps
So I'm trying to finish my medical clearance so that I can make the September ship program that I've been nominated for, but I'm having some problems so far.
First issue:
I was expecting to leave next year between March and May of next year (2010), so I made many travel plans, and even had to cancel others. Some of my plans I will not cancel, (IE, Lebanon, road trip with Tony, and visiting friends in CO, Cali, and possibly Canada) but others I had to eliminate all-together. I was going to see Byrd in Japan, but I can't now. So the problem is that my last month of college was extremely busy, and I did not have time to work on my medical paperwork. I didn't even fully read through it until the week after finals. I finished my physical part, and need to get 17 different tests done (lipid panel, hiv, hepatitis, etc). My main point is that I have many many tests to do, and a very short period of time to complete them all. Keep in mind that I'm out of the country until the end of June. Peace Corps paperwork takes a good amount of time to process.
Second Issue:
I set up the tests, and went to the building to take them all the Friday before I left. As I spoke to the receptionist, I asked, "how much will all these cost?" She added it all up and it totaled $1200!! I told her I can't offord this. I have no insurance, just finished college, and really don't have $1,200 that I can just toss towards some tests that I'm doing so that I can volunteer (not make any money) for the next 3 yrs. I called their customer service and explained my situation (no insurance, no money, joining peace corps), to which the lady responded, "we can put you on a payment plan." Umm..think about this please, I said I'm joining the Peace Corps, which means no job, which means no money..what good will a payment plan do me? She gave me the number to their corporate office, thinking that they might give me a reduced rate or possibly test me for free. I call corporate and the refer me to the local office that I just spoke to. That did me no good at all.
So of these two major issues, the first one I can rush and get the tests done, but what about the money that is not going to magically appear from nowhere? How in this country can healthcare cost so much? I know if something major happened my family would all pull together but what if I didn't have money? What if there was nobody for me to fall back on in serious times of need? That would be an unnerving feeling to have. No family or safety net, mixed with a government that has set our people up to fail when it comes to medical expenses. Lovely right?
I'll figure it out one way or the other. I asked my medical contact with the Peace Corps, "what will happen if i don't get all my clearance done in time for my September program?" If that happens, I will still be nominated, and placed in the next open program, which would likely be 2 months after that. Wish me luck with it all.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Call from the Recruiter
Ok, so I'm really excited and can't believe that things are in motion so quickly. A lot of you know that I applied to the Peace Corps over winter break and my recruiter told me that he was going to nominate me for a position. He expected that I wouldn't be able to leave until May of next year, however, TODAY, he was able to get me nominated and accepted into a Comm. Development program, in SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA!!! I need to get training in dealing with HIV/AIDS to help with this program as well. Now, the best and most daunting news of all...... ready folks??? I'm supposed to leave in SEPTERMBER OF THIS YEAR!!! I thought I was going to have to wait a year before going, which was fine, but now it's just right around the corner. I'm still in shock. I knew it was really going to happen, but i never thought it would be this quick. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous, but multiply that by 100 and that's how excited I am. I have so many friends from SWOSU that came here from Africa, and I may end up staying in their country. Oh man, you all can't imagine how excited I am right now. So, time to get everything in order. I'm going to Washington DC on May 2nd till May 5th, Lebanon from May 19th till June 20th, Philly motorcycle trip June 25th, Denver for the month of July, possibly Canada, and then back around beginning of August to be with the family ONLY. I have the travel bug, in case you haven't realized it, and I'm about to get anough traveling to last a lifetime!! Dang, I don't know what else to say. I'm attaching a map of the countries that I might serve in. Link to Peace Corps website about Comm. Development:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.edu_youth.comdev
Man o man....Life sure is exciting!
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.edu_youth.comdev
Man o man....Life sure is exciting!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
