Off to Site!!

Training has finally drawn to a close. Now that it’s over I’m actually kind of sad. I mean it was really intense and got to be pretty frustrating at times but I’m really going to miss everyone. I’ve spent the last ten weeks constantly surrounded by this group of amazing trainees, trainers and host families and it is going to be really weird to go from all of that to being completely alone. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely looking forward to having control over my life again and have been for awhile. Having zero say in what you eat, when you sleep, what you do and where you go is one of the most aggravating situations to find yourself in. However, once I get to site I’ll be immediately confronted with the fact that I still can’t really communicate in Malagasy and still don’t really know all that much about the environment. I think I could end up sitting in my house twiddling my thumbs a lot in these next three months wondering what I’m doing here and how I’m ever going to teach lifelong farmers how to farm. I’m lugging a copy of War and Peace along with me to site to help pass the time because if there is ever going to be a period in my life when I’ll have time to sit and read one of the most absurdly long classics in existence I’m pretty sure this will be it.

It also recently occurred to me that moving to site will be major life change number two in less than three months. I’m going to have to meet all new people, learn my way around an entirely new village and adjust to a new daily routine all over again. Except this time there won’t be any Americans around for me to vent to…or speak English to at all for that matter. That is a lot of life change in a little bit of time. I just hope I can handle it because I see a lot of potential for going crazy here.

Our swearing in ceremony yesterday went really well. We had it at the zoo in Antananarivo and lemurs were screaming in the background the entire time, which I personally found hilarious. Right afterwards we got to have lunch at the ambassador's house so we all felt really important and slightly out of place given that he lives in an enormous mansion. It was definitely nice to get to relax and eat good food all together before all the chaos of moving to site began (not to mention all the goodbyes).

All in all though, I am really excited about getting to site and getting started with my actual work. Between the year-long application process, the waiting period between receiving my invitation for PC Madagascar and departing, and the ten weeks of training, my Peace Corps service has really been built up and I’m tired of sitting around waiting and preparing. I just want to get this thing started and feel like I’m actually doing something for a change.