From Jonathan
After weeks of waiting on edge for word from the PC about our prospective assignment, Kim and I received news four days ago that we were eligible for placement abroad. Of course we couldn’t access any of the information online. So we waited for the paperwork to arrive through the mail. To place this in the proper context you need to realize the a few weeks ago we were made aware that we had been found ineligible for service in the original program we had been anticipating (of course the PC staff wouldn’t tell us what country we were rejected from so Kim and I logically deduced that we were denied either Avalon or Agartha). Since then our placement officer went about shopping us around to the various African nations in hopes that our specific ‘skill sets’ might find a new, less discerning, home. This of course made us uneasy.
For the past nine months or so I had been living with the prospect of spending the next few years doing agriculture and environmental outreach. In my mind I imagined coming home a green-thumbed environmentalist equipped with the legitimacy of foreign service. I had nine months to imagine the direction I would take as a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer for all you unfamiliar with PC acronyms). These thoughts probably seem premature but to me they were unavoidable considering the long Northern Maine winter Kim and I have attempted to endure (pictures to come shortly, its ridiculous). Similarly, Kim had been preparing herself for work in the community health sector. Now, faced with the possibility of being placed in radically different programs, Kim and I wait. And wait.
Now that you’re up to speed on the emotional turmoil underlying our expectancy, I’ll tell you what you must have by now guessed. Kim and I will be…teachers…in Guinea.
Despite the initial shock at the drastic change in our assignment (and there was plenty), Kim and I have decided to accept our placement offer and, barring any unforeseen development, will be departing the 7th of July. Kim will be teaching Science and I’ll be teaching English. Kim obviously is more than qualified. As for me, those who know how awful I am at spelling recognize the tragic comedy of my assignment.
Now that that the waiting is over and the initial shock has passed, I expect the next few months will be spent practicing French, worrying about what to pack, and dreaming of Africa.
P.S. Will-to-Flower. I hope everyone appreciates the ‘Nietzschian’ word-play. Can you believe the concessions Kim makes.
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