September 12th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | No Comments »
Boarding the plane at JFK airport was an emotional experience as I was fully realizing that I was really truly leaving my homeland for 27 months. Life was calling, and I was ready to take on the most challenging experience of a lifetime.
Leaving from NYC was also powerful experience. NYC is city that symbolizes America. When I think of America, I see a populatiion of people coming from different ethnic groups, nationalities and religions. I also see opportunities and culture. NYC offers all those things. When people see images of skyscrapers and Statue of Liberty, they immediately recognize the landscape as America. When the bus was entering the airport and I was looking at the signs, I became overwhelmed by the number of airlines that I have never heard of before. NYC is a city that connects people to different parts of the world.
Traveling to Cameroon was a very long journey but like any other long flight experiences, it was worth it. About 50 of us trainees first flew to Brussels where we had a 7 hours layover. I would call the layover experience a “preview of what to expect in Cameroon.” The terminal where we waited had only one shop, a cafe and vending machines. I brought 30 euros worth of coins thinking that I could use them to buy some useful stuff and good food but I ended up only buying a croissant. The layover experience was beginning to teach me how to use my time away from many entertainments. Many current Peace Corps volunteers gave me heads up that I will be in situations many time where I will be only surrounded by nature and people and have limited access to entertainment during my free times. Therefore, I used my time during the layover to talk to other Peace Corps Trainees and get to know them. We have been very quickly bonding with each other since we met on Tuesday at staging. I did have a couple hours of free not-so-stable internet access. I was truly getting a preview of what my limited internet access could look like for the next two years. The wifi cut off from time to time and the connection was sometimes slow. But I was still happy to see what my family and friends were up to via social media networks.
Then when I finally boarded the plane for Cameroon from Brussels, even though I was incredibly dead tired, I was bursting with excitements. As the plane was flying, I kept the TV on with the satellite. Seeing the plane flying over Africa was too surreal. I have traveled to South America, Asia, Australia, Europe and of course North America. I have never stepped on Africa or even fly over the continent. I just couldn’t believe that after ten years of traveling overseas, I was finally heading to Africa for the first time in my life, and I will be living there longer than I have in other parts of the world except for my home continent.
I will post details about my landing experience very shortly.
September 10th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | No Comments »
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir
I just boarded the airplane and I’m now taking off to Cameroon from New York City! You’ll hear from me as soon as I get internet connection.
September 10th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: American Culture, Peace Corps | 1 Comment »
Dear America,
You have been a wonderful country, and I will always be proud to be a United States citizen. You do make a huge impact on the world. Your people create incredible products with recognizable brand names that are used by millions of people around the world. That includes Apple’s products, Coca Cola, Google, Facebook and Twitter. You have many incredibly talented people. People in other countries watch movies with subtitles made in Hollywood. Your fast food are loved by millions of people. I always run into McDonald’s and KFC everywhere I go outside of the US. Your people are hard workers who devote many hours to their jobs. You developed one of the greatest invention that has made staying in touch with friends and families, accessing education and news and creating businesses easier than ever – Internet.
I’m so grateful for the freedoms you offer to me. I was raised in an environment where as a female, I could go to school without worrying if someone would attack me for wanting to learn or my family couldn’t afford education. Even as a person with disability, I was still given the opportunity to learn in a mainstream setting and receive accommodations such as assistive listening devices. Many people with disabilities could set higher bars and achieve many of the same dreams that people without disability have thanks to numerous laws that ensure that people with disabilities are treated equally. You’re a nation of dreamers after all.
You’re one of the most diverse countries I know. You have often open doors to people from other parts of the world. I had friends and classmates who were from Mexico, South Korea, India, France, Brazil, China and many more countries that I can name. You’ve allowed immigrants learn about the American Culture and create opportunities in the US. Google wouldn’t have been here today if Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and his family wasn’t welcomed to the US.
However, you still have so much room to improve. For starters, more Americans should learn a foreign language. Unlike Canada and most countries in Europe, there is no requirement to learn a second language. Our world is becoming smaller and smaller as people from various countries can connect with each other instantly thanks to your invention, internet, and solve global issues together. Your people need to become more curious about the world outside of their home. Only about 42% of people in the US hold a passport.
The primary goal of my blog is not to only keep my family and friends in the loop about what I am doing in Cameroon and let them know that I am doing well. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I hope I can also educate you about a part of the world that you will very rarely see in travel publications and even in the news. I also hope that you can learn about the importance of cooperating with people from different countries to solve various social issues and how not to be fearful of different cultures and landscapes. Because we all, humans, live on the same planet, we have a responsibility to learn about our differences and work together.
I will certainly miss you, America. But I will think of you often when I teach people in Cameroon about you while I learn about their culture.
Sincerely,
Rachel
September 10th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | 1 Comment »
As soon as I arrived in Philadelphia yesterday and met with other Peace Corps invitees, I immediately felt like I was at home. I was surrounded by people who share similar goals and aspirations. Everyone has desires to face challenges, learn about different cultures and make a difference. Every volunteer came from all parts of the US including one from Alaska and all walks of life. While the majority are young adults who are in their 20’s we do have a couple older volunteers including one who is in his 60’s.
We’re not called Peace Corps Volunteers until we’re inducted into the Peace Corps at the end of training in 10 weeks. Prior to registering today, we were called Peace Corps Invitees. Once we registered, we became Peace Corps Trainees.
The staging which is known as orientation or information session, went very well. We did a lot of hands on activities that led us to discuss a lot about both anxieties and aspirations. When it came to taking about anxieties, everyone shared very similar thoughts which included getting sick, security, and successfully completing the assignments. The staff who are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers did a very good job explaining how security is their number one priority and what we can do to ensure we are safe and get help if necessary. They gave us tips for how we can complete our assignments successfully. They emphasized greatly that we need to focus on three important keys: integration, mitigation and response. This means that we need to integrate ourselves into the community by getting to know the locals and allowing the locals to get to know us. Then we need to take steps on daily basis to ensure we stay safe and healthy such as using water filter at all times and not walking around in the public with a smartphone. Then we need to know how to respond if we encounter an uncomfortable or frustrating situation. They also explained that we will have a great healthcare as we have our own doctors. During training in the next ten weeks, we’ll definitely get more education on safety and health.
I got a wonderful surprise at the staging. Thanks to National Peace Corps Association, a non-profit organization that provides support to current and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, they applied for a grant from Google. As a result, they received 1000 Android tablets to give out to new Peace Corps volunteers. I was certainly very excited to receive one!
I am now on my way to JFK airport in NYC from Philadelphia via bus with about 48 Peace Corps Trainees who are heading to Cameroon together. About half are working in Health like me and the other half are doing agribusiness.
September 9th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | No Comments »
“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your Mountain is waiting,
So…get on your way!”– Dr. Seuss
That was hard but the send off couldn’t be anymore beautiful. Last night, as my dad and I were driving, we saw a stunning sunset last night. Clouds just spread across the sky and illuminated beautiful pinks, oranges and purples.
I am so fortunate to have a very loving family. We took lots of selfies last night to capture our last moments together for at least two years. My aunt, uncle and paternal grandparents called last night to wish me luck and tell me to stay safe. My aunt said, “Make sure you call your mother as often as you.” I said goodbye to my brother last night. This morning I said goodbye to my maternal grandfather and dad before taking off to the airport. My dad hugged me so hard as if he didn’t want to let me go. On the way to the airport with my mom and maternal grandmother, I saw a stunning huge harvest moon. It illuminated the sky so brightly. What a beautiful way for Mother Nature to give me a send me off message. Then once I had to get in the line for security, my mother and I hugged for as long as we could. As she said, “Stay safe,” she started to sob. My grandmother and I then hugged and she got very teary too. I sure did get teary too. It was hard to see them be so sad to see their daughter move across the ocean. However, I do know that they are happy for me.
I was also truly overwhelmed by the love and support I received from my friends around the world through Facebook and text message, and I truly want to thank everyone.
