X-mas Cheer and The First Goodbyes

As the engines rev up, the air hits my face and the cabin lights dim. I stare out past Chelsea looking at a working museum. The most striking exhibit being old airplane hangers, decades upon decades old, swathed in blue tin, once a symbol of an opulent future, that now only advertise to the taxiing planes on the LAX tarmac. I stare and I think back to this week visiting Oxnard, California, my hometown. 

The week began with a 3-hour drive from San Diego to The Nard. My cousin Joey, Chelsea, and I squeezed like sardines into his Mitsubishi Eclipse with two weeks worth of baggage for us, 8-months worth of luggage from Joey (recently returned from Afghanistan), and our cat, Zenith, in her crate. It was a fairly tight squeeze to say the least.

After settling Zenith in at Dad's, in her home for the next two years, we arrived at our home base at my brother Phil’s. We said our first goodbye when we left Zenith in the patient, loving care of Michael. Then we were all over town visiting friends, family, shopping, and of course celebrating the season.

A few highlights:

Monday was blast! We went to a dive bar and watched my brother’s great band, Cheetahsaurus (now available on I-Tunes and Amiestreet.com for download), play a few songs. It was a fun night and we closed the bar down (Mom even swung by to catch the show and stayed till closing time too!).

Tuesday we ate some really good Mexican food. And after enjoying both, we decided Taco De beats out Taco Inn in price and tastiness.

Wednesday we went to Home Depot and built Dad his present.

Thursday was a magical day. My brother-in-law works for the national park system and he took us out on a patrol to Channel Islands National Park, one of the only U.S. National Parks that is mostly underwater. Since it was the morning of Christmas Eve there weren’t many other boats out and he took us to “the Island”, Santa Cruz Island. The beauty overwhelmed me.

The boat we were on was a 22-foot Zodiac Hurricane—not a large vessel as you can see. We hung on for dear life (since there are no seats on this vessel) as we powered through whirly waves where east met northwest winds in a chaotic swirl of shifting currents.

As Santa Cruz Island loomed ever closer, Danny slowed the boat down, he’d seen something.  We saw it too. DOLPHINS! A pod dolphins played in the distance as we boated closer they played in our wake. They circled us and we chased them and they circled us in an age-old oceanic game.

We continued our journey and soon found ourselves inside Painted Cave, one of the largest marine caves in the U.S. which sits on the north end of the Island facing towards shore. We took some photos, then revved the Zodiac up as we made the “batman” exit. We ate some snacks onboard and started our journey home.


The return trek was even more precarious. We jumped over wave troughs as the wind ripped through our ears and the water sprayed our safety coats. The constant cadence of the fiberglass slamming into the waves sounded like gunfire. But each time we’d get air it felt as though all went quiet and calm. There was a pause amidst the chaos. Peace.

Christmas morning came and our favorite (and only) little niece woke us up bright and early. We opened gifts and said our second set of good byes. Our brother-in-law and cousin won’t be in town when we visit the Nard next time so we said more “farewell for now”s. They were some of our first and will not be the last.

This is only the beginning of a process, a transition to a different chapter in our lives. And as the plane lands in San Jose and my other brother-in-law, Stephan, drives us into Chelsea's hometown a new paragraph begins. The second leg of our holiday journey will be filled with more of the same: friends, family, goodbyes and celebrations.

Confidence is Building...

We finally sent in the last bits of Peace Corps paperwork for now! Yippee. Our special passport application arrived in Washington and we e-mailed in our updated resumes and aspiration statements yesterday. Surprisingly, the resumes and aspiration statements took a lot of thought and effort. Since these two documents will be the only impression that our Guyanese hosts will get of us before we arrive we wanted to be impressive, humble and honest but simultaneously sell ourselves. Needless to say we're happy that we're done with those! The submission of our paperwork left us with the logistics of leaving the country for two years to plan and, as much as I like to plan, we were beginning to feel the mounting stress.

However, this evening Tim and I made a trip to one of our favorite places: REI! We had to start chipping away at the list of things we need pre-departure. We got work appropriate shoes, durable sandals and rain jackets. We spent all the money on the cards we had gotten as wedding gifts. YAY! Now that I look over my packing list and see more things in the "Things to Bring" category than in the "Still Need" one, I am feeling much more comfortable about our eminent departure. It is amazing what a little shopping spree can do to lift your spirits!

Speaking of spirits, this week is Spirit week at school and today was Kooky Character day.  Tim and I dressed up as Popeye and Olive Oyl. Not many people got it, in fact I was mistaken for a frumpy Mrs. Clause for most of the day, but I thought our concept was cute. Tomorrow is Mismatch Day and that ought to be easy. Tim is going to wear his new, bright green, Chaco sandals with slacks and plaid. More pictures for your amusement to follow.

PC Wish List

After officially accepting our invitation to Guyana we have begun the final stage: preparation to actually leave the U.S. for two years. One of the questions we have been asked a lot recently is, "What do you need and can I get if for you before you go?" One of our amazingly resourceful and generous coworkers suggested that we post a wish list in the off chance that any of our friends and family have the items we want and need laying around their houses or want to get them for us as Christmas gifties. For example, our coworker had an extra sun hat that she never uses and she brought in to work for me. It is white, floppy and easy to travel with. I love it! So here it goes, our wish list:
 
Things We Need
Flash drives w/ covers (2)
Bandanas or balaclavas (2)
Money belt (2)
Water-proof /moisture proof laptop sleeve
Voltage stabilizer
Mattress cover (to keep the bed bugs out)
Photos- laminated
Key chain bottle openers (2)
Map of the world/U.S wall poster
Medical Reference book: i.e “Where there is No Doctor”
Teaching reference books: on methodology, literacy etc.
Case of Zip Fiz (powdered energy drink from Costco)
Luggage locks (2)

Guyana, here we come!

Finally, after a year of anticipation, we received our invitation to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) in Guyana. When we saw the package with the Peace Corps logo on our doorstep we leapt with joy. Our excitement turned to fierce curiosity when we read that we are to spend the next two years living and working in Guyana. Where is Guyana? What is it like there? Thanks to the internet and the hundreds of pages of reading the Peace Corps sent us, we were able to find out quite a lot about this enigmatic country. Here is what we found:


Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America. It borders Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname and the Atlantic Ocean. Although it is located in South America, Guyana is predominantly tied to the Caribbean economically, politically and culturally. As a former colony of the French, Dutch and finally British, the people of Guyana are mostly of East Indian and African descent. The food and music reflect this interesting mix of ethnicities and cultures. The country is mostly undeveloped jungle, with most of the population living in a small strip of coastal land. You can find more information on the CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia or the Peace Corps website.

Basically, what we anticipate is a tropical, Caribbean jungle full of humidity and heat with only two seasons a year: rainy and dry. There will be bugs (lots of bugs), monkeys, tropical birds, anacondas and other species of animals ranging from weird to wonderful. We will likely be living in a town or village with 200-2,000 people in it, in a house or apartment made of concrete or wood. We imagine that we will spend our leisure time lounging in hammocks, dozing under mosquito nets, dancing to reggae music, playing cricket (the sport of choice in Guyana) and exploring the rivers and jungles of our new home.


Our jobs, as they have been outlined for us, will be to promote literacy and new teaching methodologies (Tim) and health such as sanitation, nutrition and sex education (Chelsea) as Community Educators. We have been told we will be working with the Ministries of Health and Education, NGOs and local communities to pass on our knowledge to a community that lacks the skilled workforce (due mostly to emigration) and leave a sustainable infrastructure for the Guyanese community where we will be stationed. But really, we won't know what our jobs will actually entail until we get to our assignment and assess the needs of the community. Sounds fun, right?


Between now and February we have a million and a half things to do to prepare. There is paperwork to be done, legalities to work out, items to collect, purchase and pack, loose ends to be tied up, etc. Right now we are going through a rollercoaster ride of emotions. We are, first and foremost, excited, thrilled and happy. We are nervous when we think of what is to come, sad when we think about what we will be leaving behind, anxious about what we will have to do to prepare for this trip. But we still have 8 weeks left in the good ol' U.S.A. and we are determined to live in the present and take this process one step at a time with as much patience and grace as we are able.


And so our adventure, and the "hardest job we will ever love" begins...