In 31 days, I depart for Tanzania to serve Peace Corps

The entire Peace Corps application process took 11 months, nearly a year, from submission of application to acceptance of invitation. As I reread my first entry, I was pretty close in "hitting it on the spot" regarding where and what I'd be doing. I suppose serving Africa in the health sector is quintessential Peace Corps.

I have been invited to serve Tanzania in the capacity as a Health Extension Worker where I will be educating and promoting health and naturally also in the realm of HIV/AIDS. I am very pleased with the country and the assignment given to me. Of all African nations available, to be given Tanzania is to be given a golden ticket of country invite. It's a country where some natural wonders of the world exist such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO site where wildlife roam at the crater, and adjoining the splendid Serengeti National Park, where the Masai people reside and where safari takes place.

When I received my Peace Corps blue envelope, it was neither Ethiopia or Kenya. To my delight, it was Tanzania. I had hope among these three countries, I'd be given Tanzania because it may be more developed. This is a total positive since I need to have accessible communication with Fendi, my daughter, whom finally there was resolution of the idea I join the Peace Corps. Her final acceptance and resolution is a "blessing" to me. I may not have accepted the invitation if she was to continue having strong negative feelings of my departure. I assure her that I will be in communication with her and that I plan to return home to see her and by all means, I'd be ecstatic If she would come visit me in Africa for I would love to share with her a different world and her culture and people.

Since I have returned from my nearly 8 months of travel and in preparation for Peace Corps invitation and finally acceptance, I have been bombarded with organization, preparation and some studying. Some days are completely productive, others are quite useless with nothing getting accomplished.

31 days will past as fast as a lightning bolt. I should take this brief time I have left with family, friends, and my beloved Sweet Pea whom I have tremendous guilt in abandoning since she is an old dog of 16 years. Most likely she will pass on during my service. This is the only one thing I am leaving behind that makes me cringe with sadness and guilt.