It's getting more and more official every day.......

As I am sitting in gate H13 at O"Hare airport, staring out the window overlooking one of the worst winter storms Chicago has seen this year, I have decided that now would be a fabulous time to begin my Peace Corps blog.  I leave in less than a month, and I feel like it's getting more and more official every day.   

Here, I will attempt to summarize a year of stress, excitement, and anticipation.  Last January, as I contemplated whether or not I would apply to the Peace Corps, I finally came to the conclusion that I may one day regret the decision to go, but I KNOW I will regret the decision not to go.  

I finished my application (18 pages) in April, and interviewed in May.  My recruiter thought my background in Spanish, French, and Arabic would make me a perfect match for the Morocco program.  The only problem was it being a Health program.  With a promise on my part to gain significant health experience over the next 8 months, he nominated me to leave for Morocco in March of 08.  

Over the following 6 months, I worked on obtaining my medical and dental clearances, which proved to be more of a hassle than I ever imagined.  For example, I was asked to provide a personal statement explaining the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up needed regarding an eye infection I had 1 1/2 years ago.  I mean, come on!!!

On January 3, I received a phone call from a lovely lady in Washington DC informing me that I was medically cleared and that she would send me my official Peace Corps invitation the next day.  

This forced me to face a whirlwind of issues from leaving my apartment to quitting my job to arranging for travel plans to visit family in Palm Springs.    

So here I am, one month later, receiving information from the Peace Corps basically weekly, and I'm finally feeling like I will actually be leaving soon.

I will be in Philadelphia March 1-3 for Staging.  From there, my group of invitees will fly to Casablanca, Morocco.  We will spend 4 days in Rabat, the capital, where we will no longer be invitees, but trainees.  Training lasts until mid-May.  At that point, inshallah, (God willing) we will be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers!

Couple random facts about Morocco and my expectations in general:

-The infant mortality rate in Morocco is 38/1000.  Compare that to 6/1000 in the United States

-The literacy rate is 52.3% compared to 99% in the US

-I need to "re-learn" how to eat.  Most food is shared from a common dish, and it is inappropriate to eat with the left hand (it is considered unclean).........and of course I am left-handed

-Moroccans are famous for their hospitality, and as a guest in a Moroccan's house for dinner, it is not unusual to share a 3 hour long meal, and then take a nap together afterward.  

-Most rural towns are Berber towns.  Their first languages are Berber dialects, not Arabic, so I will probably learn a Berber dialect as well.  

-I believe I will be working directly for the Moroccan Ministry of Health, and my activities could range from promoting women's health, to training traditional birth attendants, to developing hygiene and sanitation programs, to holding immunization fairs, to educating primary school children on basic health.

Any questions, feel free to ask!