No News is Good News

It is now 1:30am.  I am sitting in my hotel room in Philly after staging, and we're up and awake getting ready to board our bus that leaves at 2:30am for JFK airport (appropriate I think).  I got about 4 hours of sleep before coming to staging and about 30 minutes today, so here's to hoping I sleep well on the bus and plane.

Just to let everyone know, I will most likely not be able to update this or even get on the internet until after training.  So remember, if you don't hear from me until late August, "No News is Good News."

“We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” ~John F. Kennedy

Why did I decide to join the Peace Corps?  That is a very common questions, and one I don’t even know how to answer, but here’s my best attempt.

The first time I applied to the Peace Corps, I wanted to see the world, make a difference, and spend some more time of my life living abroad.  See, that time it was easy to answer, but I was also 21, naïve, had no job prospects, a sad excuse of a GPA, and the thought of entering the horribly recession hit job market with a degree that was appropriately named a B.S. scared the crap out of me.  Basically, I applied that time because I wanted to spend a couple years doing something fun and exciting while putting off the inevitable.  I happened to be at the study abroad fair seeing what was new in the world of international studies, and I was told Peace Corps was a real thing that people like I actually do.  See, why couldn’t people ask me “why did you decide to join the Peace Corps that time you didn’t actually go?”  The key part of that is: I didn’t actually go.  I got a great offer into a Master’s program with what to date is the best job I’ve ever had, I had an exciting relationship, and it was easier to not go than tell my Dad I was going.

So that brings us to October 2010.  But to get to October 2010, we must first rewind to August.  That exciting relationship that I just knew was the one, and we were going to be together forever …ya…that didn’t end so well.  Boo hoo, tears cried (well, I’m assuming I would have cried tears if I had normal human emotions, but I had the equivalent emotional movement in my own terms), and of course no regrets (I’d do it all again if I had the choice, minus folding on certain arguments). 

So a few weeks after the break-up, I was over it.  Yup, I mourn quickly.  I’m in my ‘thinking room’ where a surprising number of my major life decisions have been made, and where I tend to go when I need to think…the shower (see, there is no way I’ll be able to ET cause I’d need a shower to come to such a decision).  The little cartoon light-bulb popped on over my head (thank you scuba for all my flashlights being waterproof).  I think, “Hey, that Peace Corps thing sounded cool in undergrad, and I’m single now, I should find Amy one of these days (Amy being both my PC recruiter and one of the most amazing awesome people ever).  Well, in the way of the busy graduate student that spends all his waking time in class, working, or in the lab, I didn’t exactly drop everything and find Amy.  Actually, I didn’t even email her.  BUT, someone on the other-side thought I was onto something, so a few weeks later, I’m in the lab and think “Hey, I like food, I should go get some.” (Yes, most of my thoughts start with the word “hey.”)  Well lucky for me, this particular moment of hunger just so happened to coincide with the Study Abroad fair, and once again I see the booth set up in some prime real estate with that cool looking logo.  I walk up and Amy goes “Hey Nick, come around here and give me a hug!”  How she remembered my name, let alone cared about my existence enough to give me a hug is another one of the great mysteries of the universe and another way Amy is awesome.  (Wow, I am getting way off topic here.)  Anyways, I talk to her about reapplying, and then the process began.

So, bringing it back to the original topic, why I decided to join the Peace Corps.  I decided to join the Peace Corps because that’s what my brain said I should do while standing in the shower.  Professionally, I could get an awesome resume builder and live in Latin America where I could perfect my Spanish (ya…plans change and you just gotta roll with it).  Personally, I’d get to see the world and spend more time living abroad.  However, if you want to know the deeper and ultimate reason, it was because I realized that even if only once in my life, I knew I could do something truly amazing and make a significant impact in other people’s lives.  No matter what I do in the future, I can always know that for one brief moment, I did the right thing, even when it wasn’t the normal or easy thing to do.

Dear Malawi Trainee: Please give this letter to your family & friends, and ask them to hold on to it for as long as you are in Malawi.

Dear Families & Friends,

Greetings from the Malawi Desk in Washington, D.C.! It is with great pleasure that I welcome your family member to the Peace Corps/Malawi training program.  During the past year I have received many questions from Volunteers and family members regarding communication, mail, and travel plans.  As I am unable to involve myself in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, I would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how I suggest you handle them.  Peace Corps service certainly impacts more than just the trainee and I hope that this information will help ease some of the uncertainty which affects the families of Volunteers.

The Peace Corps experience can be an exciting, intimidating, and amazing experience for both the Volunteer and family.  The Volunteers will learn a lot about Malawi during their preparation for service and throughout their service of two years.   This is also a great time for you to learn more about Malawi, which may alleviate some of your concerns. 

Below are a few links to get you started in your discovery:

The World Factbook – Malawi: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mi.html

The Lonely Planet: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/malawi/

Friends of Malawi:  www.friendsofmalawi.org

1.  Irregular Communication.   (Please see #3 for the mailing address to Peace Corps' office in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi)  The mail service in Malawi is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service; thus, it is important to be patient and understanding.  It can take three to four weeks for mail coming from Lilongwe to arrive in the United States via the Malawi postal system.  From a Volunteer's site, mail might take 1-2 months to reach the United States.  Sometimes mail is hand carried to the United States by a traveler and mailed through the U.S. postal system (Volunteers should bring some US stamps).  This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S.  There is a truism that you may wish to embrace as uncomfortable as it is, “No news, is good news!”

On average, it takes approximately four weeks for letters mailed from the United States to reach Lilongwe, and may take an additional six weeks to reach the Volunteer’s site.  I suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other.  Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if they have missed one.  Postcards should be sent in envelopes – otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office!  By the end of the Volunteer’s Pre-Service Training they will be able to send you their specific site address. 

For the first 8 weeks in country, your family member will be living in a village near the training site (about one hour drive south of Lilongwe) and participating in an intensive, immersion style training program where they will begin to learn language, cultural and technical skills necessary to be a safe and productive Peace Corps Volunteer.  During this time, they will NOT have much access to email/Internet but can certainly receive and send letters.  Receiving mail during this intense period is most welcome and appreciated.  Once they are sworn-in as Volunteers, they will have access to the Peace Corps computers in the office and can reestablish email communication.  However, you must remember that NO Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi has daily or even weekly access to email so you should have limited expectations as to immediate replies to any emails you will be sending.

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home.  Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc.  While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front.  Further, given the lag time in communication by the time you receive certain news, weeks if not months have passed and the Volunteer has moved past a particularly sad moment when they miss you, or that specific illness, and don’t understand why it is that you are so concerned anymore!  There are two extremely competent Peace Corps medical doctors at the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe.  In the event of a serious illness, the Volunteer is sent to Lilongwe and cared for by our medical staff.  If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Malawi s/he will be medically evacuated to Pretoria, South Africa or the United States.  Fortunately, these are rare circumstances. 

If for some reason your normal communication pattern is broken and you do not hear from your family member for an abnormal amount of time, you may want to contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington at 1-800-692-1470.  The Office of Special Services will then contact the Peace Corps Director in Lilongwe and ask him to check up on the Volunteer. Also, in the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, critical illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that I can inform the Volunteer. Tell the operator your name, telephone number, and the nature of the emergency and the Duty Officer will call you back.

2.       Telephone Calls.  The telephone system in Malawi is relatively good and service in and out of Lilongwe to the United States is fairly reliable.  In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, there are fewer phones and service is more sporadic.  Your Volunteer family member, however, will undoubtedly buy or bring a GSM cell phone for use while they are here in Malawi.  Cell service is quite good, reliable, and available in most parts of the country.  Some Volunteers may have to climb a small hill or walk a distance from their home, but it is a far cry from having to travel several hours or days to get to a working phone as it once did.  Volunteers will mostly use text messaging in country, and you may be able to send and receive messages with them. 

Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Lilongwe and Washington are not able to assist in arranging calls. Your family member will be able to inform you of the actual telephone numbers once they arrive in-country and to their site.  The Malawi Desk is in regular communication with the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe. However, this communication is reserved for business only and I cannot relay personal messages.  All communication between family members and the Volunteer should be done via international mail, e-mail, or phone calls.

3.  Sending packages.  Family members and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail.  Please be advised that packages can often take 1-2 months, but sometimes as long as 4-6 months.  Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes.  You may want to try sending inexpensive items through the mail, though there is no guarantee that these items will arrive.  I do not recommend sending costly items through the mail.  It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more heavily.  Even though many Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:

                                                               

“John Doe”, PCV

                                                                PEACE CORPS/MALAWI

BOX 208

LILONGWE

MALAWI

For lightweight, but important, or time sensitive items (e.g. airline tickets), I recommend using an express mail service.  DHL is one possibility and other courier services may operate in Lilongwe.  For more information about DHL, please call their toll free number, 1-800-CALL-DHL, or visit their web site at www.dhl.com. I advise you to shop around to find the best prices and service options.

If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to:

 

“John Doe”, PCV

c/o U. S. Peace Corps Malawi

AREA 4 PLOT 70

LILONGWE

MALAWI

(You’ll also need to include the Peace Corps/Malawi phone number: 265-1-757-157).

Trying to send cash or checks is very risky and is discouraged.  If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it.

I hope this information is helpful to you during the time your family member is serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi. I understand how frustrating it can be to communicate with your family member overseas and I appreciate your using this information as a guideline.  

Sincerely,

Patrick Koster

Malawi Desk Officer

Emotions of an Invitee

So I guess I should start actually using this blog and get used to it.  I thought a good short post would be about the emotions I've been feeling since I found out I was going to Malawi.

First, on Leep Day, I got the famous 5am automated email from Peace Corps saying there was an update to my application status.  I maintain that was the happiest I've ever been before 9am or coffee.  I found out when I logged into my email at work (around 8am) and was going nuts.  Even though I had already been told by my placement officer (after a lengthy limbo period due to Latin America being in turmoil and me being switched), it was somehow just more real when the website said I had a blue envelope in the mail.  So I guess the emotion for that day would be jubilation.

Next, a LONG two days later, I get back to my house after enjoying after-work-happy-hour with some friends to have my roommate say "oh, Peace Corps sent you something."  At this time, I had been stalking Peace Corps Wiki to try and figure out where I was going and when, and I figured chances were it was Tanzania based on the info I had.  Well, I met my recruiter in the Home Depot parking lot and let her actually open the envelope since I was too nervous and she helped me out so much during the process.  Anyways, turns out I'm going to Malawi (not on wiki at the time).  I felt every emotion and no emotions for the next few weeks.  It was just too overwhelming to process.

Fast forward to St Patty's Day.  I'm in an Irish bar, enjoying live music, and all of the sudden I get a strong feeling of sadness.  This is my last St. Patty's Day in the states for a while, and I love St. Patty's Day.  I kept getting sad about stuff like even now.  At the end of March, I was at a Jimmy Buffett concert and almost started crying when he took the stage (for some perspective, I've cried twice in the past 5 years).

Several days after St. Patty's Day, I went for this awesome hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, and as I was standing on the side of a mountain looking at other mountains, I got super excited thinking my life was going to be one giant adventure like this hike (crazy difficult, but totally against my personality to quit, and rewarding in the end).

Out of nowhere, around March 27th I started getting scared to death that I would not be able to learn the language and would fail out during training.  This persisted for a few days but thank God has passed.

Now, I just feel what can only be described as panic.  I haven't been able to sleep right for a past two weeks, been tired all day, and have started to wonder how I'm going to make it to June 18th.  Then I keep thinking "if something happens and I'm not able to go, I don't know if I'd be able to handle it."  Seriously, my mind is like "if you don't go, your life has no meaning."  Now I obviously know that isn't true, but it doesn't keep the thought from cropping up on occasion.

So yes, right now, I'm in panic mode, and who knows what my next emotion will be.  Hopefully whatever it is, it's an emotion that actually lets me get to sleep at night.  I'm glad I seem to be processing these serious emotions one at a time, cause if I was ecstatic-depressed-excited-paniced, I would definitely break my no-cry streak (we're at a year and a half).

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