Peace Corps update, part II, III, IV
Peace Corps update, part V
I went on facebook a few days ago, and it prompted me to fill in my work information. While I hate when facebook tries to tell me what to do, I do love my job and was feeling pretty good about my life, so I clicked on the little box to fill it in. This happened:
I don't even know what creepy internet magic lead to this happening, but man did it break my heart to be see it. I'm not going. I KNOW. Ok, facebook? I know. Thanks for the reminder. You know, I would have left in March. I could already be two months into my service. I could already be using my education and experience in a productive, meaningful way. I could already be exchanging ideas and learning about a new place and doing my best to share what I could with people there. I could already be gaining the veteran status that would have been really, really helpful in landing the job I want. But no, facebook, I'm not doing that.
I realize that if I had left in March, I wouldn't be doing anything of the cool things I've been doing lately: exploring the southwest, working in a job I love in a place I love, doing soil surveys, seeing Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, seeing Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band (yes, I know I wrote it twice), and gearing up to move to Louisiana.
I still have this ghost of Peace Corps haunting me but I am trying to focus on these sorts of things.
So, Louisiana. This will sound totally cliche, but out of the awful experience mentioned above and previously came a lot of soul-searching and head-clearing. I ended up contemplating three futures, and everything just fell together so easily and beautifully in favor of New Orleans.
On August 19, I head to Stony Point, NY for orientation. On August 26, I drive to New Orleans. I'm planning to do the drive in two days, stopping halfway in Kentucky to stay with my awesome cousin and her beautiful family. I've already driven on all of those roads in Pennsylvania, and I love that drive through western Maryland, and this will be the first time I'm in West Virginia in daylight, and this will finally be my first time to Kentucky finally, and I've drive across Tennessee east to west so why not north to south, and Alabama will also be a new state, and...
...and I get easily distracted when I think about roadtrips. Too bad I need to hurry down there and can't really do much besides Interstate Highway travel. I admit if I had more time I would probably just drive through northern Mississippi instead and try to roughly follow the trail the fellows take in O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Focus, Colleen. (Sometimes when I'm nervous about things like moving to a new place and building a new community for myself and meeting new people, ugh, I get really excited about the things I do have control over and am familiar with instead.)
What will I be doing in New Orleans? I'll be working through University of New Orleans and Presbyterian Church of Bayou Blue with a program called CHART, which does a lot of work with natural hazards and wetlands. The original goal was to have someone in this position to help with outreach and education, which I can totally do, but my conversations with the director have been wonderfully productive, and it seems like I will have the opportunity to get more involved with fieldwork and research, connecting with my beloved NRCS and other conservation efforts.
I've never been to the Gulf Coast, so this will be a very cool chance to check out a new environment and a different culture. I'll be living in a house with seven other ladies who will be doing good work in and around New Orleans (four of us are from New Jersey, two of us are Mary Washington alumni, so that's neat). The neighborhood looks pretty sweet and since many people I've talked to about this have been to NOLA, I've received plenty of excellent advice about what to check out. I'm excited about the music scene and the opportunity to see some new trees. Also, this program includes health insurance (TAKE THAT, RSD).
I can't wait to share this adventure with you.
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