So, apparently I like to write...

NOTE: The views expressed herein are solely mine and do not represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Government, Peace Corps, or the Kingdom of Morocco.

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Browsing Archive: October, 2010

Heartbreak, and making a decision EE/researcher style...

Posted by shiite on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, In : peace corps

"Hope had been his enemy, a frailty that he must at all costs master, for so long now that it was a moment before he was willing to concede that he had let it back into his heart." -'A Confederacy of Dunces'

Oh it hurts.

It's like having your newly-made friend (whom you had just begun to trust and accept) carelessly and callously push you down the jagged and wayward mountain that you had worked so hard to climb (spending over a year doing so, with many stumbles along the way)...

Or having the lo...
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Why I'm Joining the Peace Corps

Posted by shiite on Thursday, October 14, 2010, In : peace corps

NOTE: This was written maybe a week ago, before my invitation for Lesotho was cancelled 20 days before Staging (!!, to be discussed in the near future).

“Um, I don’t know (said with nice inflection), I think I’ve always been interested in joining the Peace Corps ever since being a junior or senior in high school.”

“I always thought it would be neat to travel to another part of the world and live there for two years and really be able to integrate with a community.”

“I kind of w...
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Let the packing game begin!

Posted by shiite on Thursday, October 7, 2010, In : peace corps

Oh, how the time does fly! (when you're having fun?)

It's 24 days now until I fly on over to Philly for "Staging" (Pre-Orientation) on November 1st. As mentioned here, a couple days of ago I called SATO Travel (the travel agency that PC works with) and reserved my plane tickets to get to Philly.

Here's my action-packed schedule/itinerary:

November 1, 6am: flight from Indianapolis to Washington, DC (1hr, 35min)
November 1, 8:21am: flight from DC to Philly (58min)
Arrive in Philly around 9:30am
Novem...
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Timeline of my PC application

Posted by shiite on Tuesday, October 5, 2010, In : peace corps

The application to Peace Corps for me was one of the most trying and frustrating things I've had to go through.

My specific experience may very well be (highly) unique, but I was not expecting for the process to take as long as it did (I was expecting to know my assignment within 6-8 months).

There were two slight complications while I was applying: one, I was wearing braces and was expecting to have jaw surgery over Christmas Break 2009 (Peace Corps does not allow you to leave until braces ...
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Steam-rollin' it

Posted by shiite on Friday, October 1, 2010, In : peace corps

The countdown towards Lesotho has begun! Less than five weeks 'til departure now.

It feels somewhat surreal and bizarre that it's only been ten days since I officially accepted my invitation to serve as Peace Corps volunteer (a.k.a. PCV). This, more or less, because I feel like I have been scrambling like some sort of mad man (as if I weren't one already) to figure out what I need to buy online. The anxiety of only having five weeks to pack for two years of your life is only compounded by the ...
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The Author

Ryan

Morocco

Llah y3awn, salaam 3laykum! I am serving as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Eastern High Atlas region of Morocco from March 2011 - May 2013, inshallah... Please subscribe by email below if you would like to follow along on the whirlwind of adventure, challenge and humor that awaits!