It is a Friday night, one of my last here in Chicago before I leave to Panama to begin my Peace Corps adventure. Unfortunately I am not out and about tonight seeing everyone that I will miss dearly, but that's ok. I have 10 more nights to do that :) Tonight I am sitting in my cozy bed getting a few last things completed, like finally starting this blog. I have never been big on blogging so this will be interesting, but for those who know me well, I love to ramble about all the little things that happen to me so this should actually work out quite well for me.
Although I am not yet certain how often I will have internet access in Panama, I have a feeling that this will be the best way for me to communicate with everyone, and that really is the primary purpose of this blog. If one day this blog happens to help another volunteer prepare for his/her adventure, wonderful! But for now my audience is my group of close friends. If you are wondering if I am still alive or not, this is the place to go! Unfortunately, considering that I will probably post once a month, you will often have to wait in suspense to find out the answer. Enjoy :) If you are wondering how many new insect friends I have made and photographed, this is also the place to go! And if you are interested to hear about how many insects decided that I was not their friend but instead their meal, you will certainly hear about it here! My only fear is that the only thing that can beat my Ecuadorian tarantula bite story, is a scorpion bite story( and yes I am aware that these are not insects but instead arachnids, but you all get the point). Either way I sure hope I will at no point be writing that story.
I know a blog is not very personal, but I doubt that I will be able have enough time to email everyone separately when I do finally get to an internet cafe once or twice a month. However, that does not mean that you should not email me. On the contrary, I actually really hope that all of you email me often to update me on your lives. If not an email, than I at least expect some comments and some feedback on my posts :P I know its easy to quickly read my blog and go back to your busy lives assuming that I obviously know you all read it. However, I have a feeling that when being completely thrown in a new environment, and basically having all of my closest friends and family ripped out of my life, it will be comforting to hear once in a while how things are back here, in this crazy rushed world of ours that so many of us often thrive on (myself included). So please make the effort to stay in touch. This brings me to my last topic of this already lengthy introductory post, the title.
As I sat here thinking about a title for my blog I considered the purpose of this blog which is to keep you all informed about what I am up to while in Panama, and in the process help everyone understand a bit more of what the Peace Corps service can really be like. It is true, every volunteer has a very different experience. However, I do think that there are also many shared experiences. When I decided to apply for the Peace Corps I realized that neither I nor many of my friends really knew what service is like. We all have our ideas and maybe preconceptions. Some think its just a 2 year long vacation and an easy route out when you don't know what to do with yourself after graduation. Others think it is the most dedicated ambitious and altruistic commitment that one can participate in. I suppose both of those can be true depending on the person and what they make of the experience. All returned peace corps volunteers (RPCV's) say "It is the toughest job you will ever love." There is no doubt in my mind that some of the challenges that I will face will be different from any others that I have previously faced, and it will be difficult for me to find new strategies to overcome or cope with these foreign obstacles. Nonetheless, I do believe that it will be a rewarding experience and one that I will love, although at moments I may struggle.
Paradise is often defined as "A place of extreme beauty or pure happiness; bliss". Our society often associates this with an escape from the problems we face --> therefore with vacation ----> hence why islands and tropical places are considered "Paradise". At least that is my take on things. I do not think that Panama is a place of "pure happiness" and I do not think that I will experience pure happiness while I am there. But I do believe that the variation in my experiences while I am there will allow me to gain an appreciation for an endless amount of things, and to me that may serve as my own personal paradise. It will hopefully also allow others to get a bit of a better glimpse into this "tropical paradise".
Enjoy!
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