The Waiting Game

Here we are. The waiting game, again. It has been more than a month since I found out where I would be going for the Peace Corps - Honduras. Since then, I have filled out the necessary paper work, written my aspiration statement and new resume, and shipped it all off to the corresponding offices. I even had a last set of HCV labs done to ensure the Medical Review Office that I am, in fact, still healthy. But, all those things didn’t take very much time, so it left me to sit and wait. I am just waiting to get the e-mail that tells me what to do next. I don’t leave until the end of February, so I won’t be getting that news for another month - it is going to be a very long month - one that needs to be filled with research and studying. I need to work on my Spanish - get as good as I can before I depart. I also need to read the books I ordered that the Peace Corps recommended; plus one I got for myself - a travel guide for Honduras - because I definitely plan on doing some traveling while I’m down there.

I’m pretty nervous about learning Spanish. This is mainly because when I get done with my 3-month training session, a language test is going to be administered. And, if they don’t think I am at the level I need to be to communicate effectively with the community, they are not going to let me continue - they will not swear me in is as an official Peace Corps volunteer! So, this means, I need to learn some damn Spanish! It is time to get my nose to the grindstone!

I’m also pretty nervous about my latest HCV lab. I know it will all be fine, but that small percentage of a percent chance that it won’t all be fine lingers in the back of my mind like the odor of halibut slime that lingers in the air for days after you sell the fish. The Medical Review Office just wanted a final set of labs to make sure that I’m fine and dandy, but the idea that they will tell me I can’t go to Honduras if for some reason the labs are not fine and dandy, scares the crap out of me. I have come so far, and the idea of this opportunity being taken away from me by something like that is almost too much for me to bare. I know it will be fine, though. There is no reason for the HCV to have come back, so I have nothing to worry about. In a month and a half I will be on my way to Honduras with a whole new set of worries. What am I going to be doing down there, will my host family like me, will I be good at my job, will I be able to hack it in the heat. These are all things that I have briefly thought about, but then quickly shoo out of my mind for a later date. Why worry myself with these things, now? I have to save something for the plane ride down to Central America!

So far, for this next adventure in my life I have acquired:
Travel quick-dry towel
Waterproofing spray
Mosquito net bed cover
Head lamp
Battery charger
Sleeping bag
Mini leatherman
Flashlight
Journal
Money belt

Things I still need to round up: (that I have thought of!!!!)
Rechargeable batteries
Sun screen
Light-weight clothing
Address book
Waterproof laptop bag
Duffel bag

If anyone has any suggestions for what to take to Honduras with me, please, let me know.