Gotta love it when people run over fiber optic cables that supply Internet access to West Africa. It’s been hit-or-miss since the last message, but it appears to be ok now.
I’m in Accra. I’ve been here since last Sunday. I have completed my mid-service medical exam. For those of you who are wondering, I weigh 185 pounds, have a blood pressure of 110/70, picture perfect cholesterol, and absolutely no parasites or other tropical diseases. In other words, I’m pretty much the picture of health.
After my mid-service medical was finished, I put on my PCVRF hat (that’s Peace Corps Volunteer Resource Facilitator) and moved to the suburbs of Accra to help shepherd 67 brand-new, fresh-smelling Peace Corps Trainees through the fledgling stages of their pre-service training. It’s been a lot of tiredness, a lot of acronyms, but on the whole, a lot of fun.
It makes me think back to one year ago tomorrow, when I was first getting off the plane at Kotoka International Airport. I remember being excited, nervous, and scared, and being so impressed by the brightly dressed, smiling, excited PCVRFs who greeted us first thing out of the airport. It made me feel like a rock star, and it helped me to understand that what I had done was take the first step towards something incredibly challenging, but incredibly rewarding.
On Tuesday, I head to site with one of these new PCTs in tow so that he can get an idea of what it’s like to live the rustic, dirty, tree-hugging, dirt-worshipping hippie lifestyle. I hope to have a fresh update for you next week, now that everything’s back in order with the Internets.
Until then, keep on keepin’ on.
