Katrina and I first turned in our applications to the Peace Corps when I was still in Chile, roughly mid-June 2006. We then had our interview in Denver before the Stickel Family Reunion in July. September brought the news that we had been "nominated" (not, as the Peace Corps stressed on numerous occasions, "selected") for a position in Sub-Saharan Africa. Then came the grueling six months of waiting as our medical files were cleared. Near college graduation, our health was deemed fit for service in West Africa. A few days after Independence Day, we received our orientation packet detailing our country of service (Togo) and other important details. Sometime in early August, I believe, Grandpa asked me for the 1,000th time if we were going to change our minds about leaving. September 19th we departed for Philadelphia and met our training group. We quickly settled in and felt comfortable with our new friends. We then departed for Lomè, Togo having not the slightest clue what to expect. Then came training, where we became close to our host families, our trainers, and fellow trainees. This finished two weeks ago. December 6th marked our official swearing-in as volunteers, taking a solemn oath to serve our best and uphold the great principles of our Constitution. We scampered about Lome for a few days, engaging in a host of debates about what exactly we need and do not need for the house. December 10th we departed for our village, Ogaro.
After eighteen months, we have reached our destination. There is no impending departure in the near or distant future. What a splendid feeling finally to be here! At the same time, it feels a bit queer to think of our service as just beginning. (If one correctly does the mathematics, it's almost half over!) But the beginning is precisely where we are at. If I may be frank, for a brief moment, Kat and I have done very little as far as our technical assistance is concerned. I was reading the blog of a current volunteer here who has been here seventeen months, and only has a few dwindling months before closing service. His latest blog entry was entitled, "I get it. I know what to do. I know how to do it." (See link below)
Well, as I hope you all know, we are on the other end of the spectrum. Perhaps our entry should be entitled "I get it. I know nothing, and probably won't for quite some time." This, of course, is all routine in the grand scheme of Peace Corps Service. Numerous volunteers emphasize starting out slow. Get to know people. Get settled in to your house. Don't rush into your work with reckless abandon. And, taking the advice of our elders, we did just that our first week at post. We settled in. We focused on our rudimentary needs. The bare necessities, if you will. Food. Security. Shelter. Touch-ups on the house and so on and so forth. I'm proud to state we fared quite well the first week. We ate exceptionally well, although suffice it to say we haven't spend that much time on food production in our life. No electricity isn't a problem when you don't have any electronics, (nor when there is no motive to stay up past 9 p.m.) We have a nice well within 100 meters of our house. We fetched a few buckets now and then, although I believe everyone was moved to pity at the site of me trying to carry water on my head, so we receieved a good deal of help. And that is that.
We've come a long way, but really, everything has just begun.
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