The Spin Off

Today, I was coloring in the living room with a 5-year-old in a fancy, white dress, surrounded by family chatting back and forth as Sponge Bob Square Pants was on TV. It sounds like I might have been at my niece's First Communion party. Only the mom, dad, sister, and brother are in no way related to me, the 5-year-old was only dressed up in case the fellow Peace Corps volunteer she has a crush on decided to drop by, and Sponge Bob was dubbed in Indonesian.

You know when you first started to get glimpses of Mrs. Garrett's "other life" on "Diff'rent Strokes", and then you started getting introduced to characters who would be in "The Facts of Life"? Or remember that episode of "Who's the Boss" where Leah Remini plays Alyssa Milano's street-wise cousin who, in a twist of events, gets discovered as a model? Then she spins off into a short-lived sitcom about teen models living in a house together. 

The spin-off. 

It feels out-of place, but not altogether unenjoyable - and it holds the promise of an exciting new storyline. This is mine.

Saya calon relawan Peace Corps Indonesia.

It was a sweaty reception at the Surabaya airport last night. Sweat and bags and bags and sweat. I'd be curious to know the volume of perspiration I will produce in the upcoming years here. I sat on the bus from the airport contemplating how this could be calculated. Unfortunately, I think it would require a suit similar to the one in Dune that captured all body moisture. However, instead of reusing the moisture, my suit would need to tabulate how many swimming pools my sweat could fill.

I was reading one of the other volunteer's Lonely Planet Indonesia on the plane from Hong Kong to Surabaya.  In regard to the city housing the Peace Corps Indonesia office, the authors said something like, "Surabaya is a hard place to love." Not exactly a rousing review. I can't give it a fair shake until we actually get to spend some time outside of the hotel. That probably won't happen until after training is done since there is so much scheduled. For example, here is today's itinerary:

• Approx 4:15am - get awoken by call to prayer, go back to sleep

• 6:30am - Wake up, ponder for a full minute how to turn on the bathroom light w/o turning on all of the room lights, thus waking up my lovely roommate, Allyson

• 6:31am - Opt to turn on all the lights, waking up said roommate and then shower

• 7:00am - Check on our new hotel room pet, Cicak, seen below

• 7:30am - Breakfast of fried chicken, rice, fruit and other delicious things that I forget

• 8:00am - Welcome from Country Director

• 9:00am - Fill out bank account paperwork and receive walk around allowance for use through May of 1,250,000 rupiah. We are millionaires! Only, it equals about $144 dollars, or $4 a day.

• 10:00am - Find out training village assignments. We leave Sunday for Malang to meet our host families, and we will have language and technical training with our village cluster. In my village are DJ and Andria - a married couple from Michigan, John - a West Virginia native and long-distance runner, and Jay - a masters student studying volcanology. 

• 11:00am - Health Presentation with special attention to the squatty potty. This was followed by breakout groups for men and women to address gender-specific bathroom issues. It gave me an idea. Someone should produce little biodegradable baggies made from recycled materials in which women could dispose of their feminine supplies. Currently, they buy black plastic baggies and throw each out individually. If you can give me some more insight or breakdown on how to produce and sell for cheaper than 15 cents for about 20 bags, have your people call my people. 

• 11:45am - Lunch. Man, I forget, but most likely rice, tofu, chicken, soup - all wonderful.

• 12:45pm - Safety and Security Presentation and team project to share safety concerns. Luckily, we don't have many concerns and feel pretty confident that the most we have to worry about is petty theft. Oh, and I guess the earth's seismic forces. 

• 1:45pm - Introduction to Head of Police

• 2:00pm - Immunizations and interview with doctor where we also got our goody bags complete with water filter and mosquito nets. Fridays are also malaria pill day. TGIF!

• 2:15pm - Bahasa Indonesia session where we learned how to say,"I am a candidate to be a volunteer for Peace Corps Indonesia."

• 4:15pm - All staff introduction and "Stand if" icebreaker where I learned a fellow volunteer spent some free time in Brazil volunteering at an orphanage. Yeah, this is what this crowd does for fun. Pretty awesome. 

• 4:45pm - Indonesian dance lesson where I failed miserably in following the Electric Slide-esque moves. It also awakened the dance party junkie in me, and now I long for my next Miley Cyrus or Cee Lo fix. 

• 5:00pm - Down time in the room checking email. 

• 6:00pm - Dinner. Again, I forget what we had, but it was tasty. It was topped off with a juicy fruit cup which tasted like paradise when it touched my lips. 

• 7:00pm - Walk to Surabaya Zoo and hang with staff and other volunteers inhaling some fresh motorcycle fumes. Our Security Director told us that the Surabaya Zoo used to be the largest in Southeast Asia, but it has declined since. Last year, he said, "they lost 3 komodo dragons." Hmm. Lost? I'll keep my eye on Cicak over the next couple of days. 

• 9:00pm - Skype with Ma and Pa

• 9:25pm - Bed

Today is another full schedule, and tonight we meet the current PCVs. Our Training Director, Betsy, wrote in our welcome letter that training "is a bit like trying to drink from a gushing fire hydrant when you’re very thirsty."  

No kidding.

Jogging in a sweater vest

The two months preceding this venture were, hands down, the most bizarre of my life. I tried to pack interactions with countless people into a ridiculously concentrated period of time. I ran around wrapping up work and checking off tasks needed to move my life around the world. Through all of this, I was concerned about getting carried away in the hubbub and forgetting what I was actually going to be doing. I was afraid of getting too caught up in the wedding and losing focus on the marriage. In the end, I was able to savor the time and concluded that having so many wonderful people to see and checking off items like "file for tax refund" or "purchase the favorite backpack of your life" are pretty wonderful problems to have.

Last night, we arrived in Hong Kong. A group of us ventured out to see the skyline in the short amount of time we had, and the view was pretty spectacular. This morning, I went for a run through the parks and along the water. I passed many congenial HKers exercising in the parks, including the aforementioned man jogging in the sweater vest and khakis. HK feels like an in-between world. Most people speak English, there are lots of white people walking around like they own the place, and I can get my hands on a nice chocolate milk. However, I can still completely misunderstand the sign on how to get to the Skyview, a large group of PCVs can prompt a city native to immediately steer toward a different car far from us on the Metro, and there are squat toilets in the public restrooms. It has been a nice segue.  

So far, there are 30 volunteers from all over the continental US whose travels span 5 continents (as far as I have learned so far). Today, we fly to Surabaya and stay for 3 nights. We will finally be in Indonesia.

Let the marriage begin.

"Be sure to put a bit of wool in the peephole."

This was the advice my dad's cousin gave me in her Irish brogue when my brother, sister, and I visited her in San Francisco this past weekend. I dutifully catalogued this along with the many other pieces of advice provided to me. I figure I will need it all as I have no idea what will come my way, so -  bit of wool...check!

This figurative filing cabinet lies directly beside another one filled with common questions people asked me prior to departure. I will try to construct a FAQ page in the upcoming weeks as these questions are very valid, and inquiring minds do want to know. I will answer a couple of my favorites here, though:

• "Do you carry a gun?" No. While I did enjoy my time at the Chelsea firing range and turned out to be quite a shot, I am quite happy that Peace Corps is sincerely committed to promoting peace and understanding between cultures sans any arms. This is the whole point. Besides, I have way too much respect for our armed forces to attempt to get into that game. I think it is best for us all if I stick with the teaching.
• "Does this mean you will become some sort of hippie?" Hmm. If it means I get to take in live, outdoor concerts and eat at Ben & Jerry's regularly upon my return, then my answer to this is a resounding, "Yes".

31 volunteers completed staging today in San Fran. We fly to Hong Kong tomorrow for a quick 14-hour flight and then onto Surabaya, Indonesia on Thursday. I sure am glad I packed that travel Connect 4. "Pretty sneaky, Sis."

Leave the books. Take the peanut butter cups.

We did it! We made weight.

"This is not a NYL sponsored event"

"The people you work with are people you were just thrown together with. I mean, you don't know them, it wasn't your choice. And yet you spend more time with them than you do your friends or your family. But probably all you have in common is the fact that you walk around on the same bit of carpet for eight hours a day. And so, obviously, when someone comes in who you have a connection with . . . it can mean a lot."  - Tim from the British version of "The Office"

I planned to leave my job on an ordinary day. March 16th was filled with meetings, phone calls, emails, late-breaking information, and an 8:30pm departure - a typical day in the life. Oddly, I departed through that revolving door for what could be the final time feeling...OK.

I did have my moments. I was unreasonably verklempt sending my last attendance email, which, as usual, I had to be reminded to do. I momentarily lost it in a succession meeting as I handed over the last file folder on my amazing team. It was also touching that after years of responding to her with only a computer-dazed stare and an occasional nod, the late-night cleaning lady seemed sincerely sad when I told her it was my last day. Overall, I was able to keep it together pretty well. Somehow, I am comforted by the fact that it starts all over again tomorrow...and each day from here on out, whether I am a part of it or not. The work gets done, and everything just keeps moving. It is quite liberating actually.

People walk these halls for 20, 30, sometimes 40+ years, so it helps keep in perspective what exactly 27 months means. I partly envision being back in a few years and running into Bob, the mail guy, as he greets me with a casual, "Hey, Erin," completely unaware I had ever been gone. Alas, the future, as well as the cause of the great 1B hallway winds, remains a mystery. There is something refreshingly exciting about that. As my man, Tim, from the original "The Office" closed:

"Life isn't about endings, is it? It's a series of moments...My life is not over. Come back here in ten years. See how I'm doing then. 'Cause I could be married with children, you don't know. Life just goes on."

Extra special thanks to the training team for the camera. We can only hope my camera/editing skills improve.

The Prep

The past few weeks have been spent accosting returned Peace Corps volunteers and the current Peace Corps volunteers in Indonesia with pressing questions.

• Contacts - yes or no?
• How many unmentionables should one pack?
• What fun illnesses can I expect to contract?
• Diva cup? Don't even ask.
• And good news! I have confirmed Peace Corps does provide an unlimited supply of sunblock and bug repellent. Thank you, tax payers! And my alabaster skin thanks you.

In addition to this week's scientific investigation into the most effective deoderant, I decided to get a taste of American high school English classes. It's been awhile, and I thought this would provide a good point of reference for spending the next two years teaching Indonesian teens. Our family friend, Frannie, is also a widely renowned English teacher (in Dutchess County, at least), so I thought I could pick up a few pointers. Conclusion: Except for the wardrobe and the constant visits to the teacher's jumbo bottle of hand sanitizer, the 11th grade has not changed much at all.

Also, turns out the Catholic guilt I successfully suppressed for the past six years or so seems to have purchased PX90 and muscled its way back into my life. Some of Frannie's classes had been reading Krakauer's Into the Wild. This was a particularly curious lesson for me to observe as I prepare to leave my family and friends to venture into the unknown. The triumphant return of guilt was evidenced by my gut reaction to a quote on the 11th grade review sheet: "How is it that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?" Ugh. Way to pour lemon juice on an open wound. Spolier Alert: Granted, I don't plan on rejecting my family, burning up all of my money, subsisting on poisonous berries, and kicking it on a bus in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness for absolutely no reason at all. Still, the question and loose parallel is a bit unsettling.

So I would like to declare here on national blogcast, that I think loving and appreciating your family and friends at every moment is a good way to go, even if old McCandless got that message a little too late. I hope any emotional turmoil caused is calmed by the awesomeness this relatively short experience will bring to those I am lucky enough to be related to, live near, eat lunch with, receive texts or emails from, and dress up as Christmas characters for. Think of the joy that will be received from my struggle to be accepted despite my marathon-weathered toenails and uncontrollable laughter. Think of all of the new, odd places in which I can now lose my personal belongings. Think of the children! This thing is bigger than all of us, really, and I am so thankful for all of the support - past, present, and future!

Readiness Scale from 1 to 10:
Language skills: 1.14
Cultural knowledge: 2.46
Physical Preparedness: 7
Mental Readiness: 8