Spring Break X

Chris and I just got back from an awesome spring break in California! We spent a lot of time going to lots of touristy places like the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco area and driving down to southern california.



Here is a photo of Chris and I getting ready to sail around Alcatraz and the bay. Theres some sea lions on the docks behind us!



We also went to Chinatown, where Chris got some cool souvenirs like a toy ninja sword for his brother and a traditional Chinese hat for his dad. And of course we also went to the Chinese Consulate (twice) so that I could get my visa for the summer.




Then we went to the California Academy of Sciences and saw a very large scale example of a living roof. Too bad my bio living wall project is still in the prototype stage, or they maybe could have used our design to recycle graywater!



We also drove all the way down the coast and stopped at the Santa Monica pier. The boardwalk at Santa Monica is apparently the one from some show on Nickelodeon.



We stopped in Hollywood, where we walked around all the stars and by the famous Chinese theater.





And then we went to the San Diego Zoo and Mission Beach, where I got to see my friend Lizette, we met when she came to the Afox swim camp when we were like 13 and been friends ever since :)

The Last of the Shots

Well, hopefully. I got 3 more shots today - tetanus, polio, and H1N1, from a lady in the health center who was super frazzled and hated that I needed all these things from her. Actually, all that I needed was a photocopy of my immunization records, but she refused to do that and instead decided to hand-write out all of my previous shots on a "yellow card". Apparently the yellow card is an official document that you're supposed to keep with you when you travel since some countries will ask you for records of your immunizations at customs. Its used to turn people away from the country if they visit places that have high epidemic rates of contagious and deadly things like yellow fever, H1N1, etc.

I also went to get a pair of glasses today, basically just so the optometrist could fill out my frame measurements on the Peace Corps eyeglasses prescription form. So that pretty much wraps up all of my Peace Corps medical paperwork... now I just need to make copies of everything and send the originals off to the Office of Medical Screening!

Happy Pi Day!

Yes, I am a nerd and I think that Pi Day is hilarious. Which means that I fit right in here at Tech, where we have a 3.14 mile running trail around our campus (more affectionately known as the Pi Mile).

I have my last doctor's appointment at the Health Center tomorrow, to get some more immunizations and to complete all of my medical clearance forms. Then I can finally send them back to the PC Office of Medical Screening and get cleared soon.

Spring break is right around the corner! I'm really excited to be going home to San Francisco with my boyfriend Chris--he's never been to California before so we're going to go to all the touristy places like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, etc. And I get to see my family for the first time since Christmas!

Change is Normal

The email response that I got back from the placement officer was not very useful, except a more exact departure date: September 17-24.

I spoke with a lady in the placement office this morning over the phone and she said that the Peace Corps issues official Invitations no earlier than 6-8 weeks in advance. And that my situation of being abroad while going through the application process was not uncommon, and that they can either mail an official paperwork to me in China or to you at home. The only thing that would need to be completed immediately would be the PC passport paperwork (so they can start getting visas) so I would need access to my original birth certificate.

My friend Amanda Korell (the one who used to swim here at GT) who is currently serving in Micronesia offered the following advice:

"It could be that you're better fitted for the Eastern Europe program. Now, knowing you and your work ethic, I'd say you're probably a better fit for that program. The Pacific Islander culture (from Palau to Tonga to Vanuatu) is extremely laid back... there's a lot of talk to do/improve things, but not much actually gets done. It can be extremely frustrating sometimes, and it's one of the reasons volunteers end their service early. I struggle with feeling like my community gives a damn from time to time, and then I have to step back and remind myself that it's just the way they are. If you want to do something or get something done, it'll be entirely up to you. Not sustainable change whatsoever, which sucks, but that's the reality. Another thing to consider is that you may not
even get Eastern Europe or Pacific Islands when your invitation finally comes in the mail! Peace Corps is just kinda crazy sometimes. It's hard to know what to expect."

Location change?

Yikes... I got an email today from the Placement Office saying that they are going to transfer me to a similar English teaching program in Eastern Europe that is leaving in September 2010, instead of Pacific Islands in October 2010. I'm going to call my recruiter later today/this week and see if I can talk to him a little bit... Even though I do understand that I have to be flexible with my placement because the nomination is only a recommendation, does this happen frequently? It kind of worries me because its a totally different reigon of the world haha. And because I'm afraid of the political/social unrest in Eastern Europe.... so we'll see