Guinea Program Postponed

Woke up to a phone call from DC today. It looks like my Guinea program is postponed until mid-January. The situation overseas is not quite optimal for arrival right now as news reports of escalated tensions are popping up after the elections last week. I do hope that things improve within the six week window that I'll still be here since I feel very invested in Guinea and my training group at this point. Looks like my new staging flight will take place on January 12th. Gives me time to kick it with the family for the holidays and new years. Also I get to procrastinate even further on packing... Deep down I feel Guinea will still happen so I'm not going to feel worried yet. I'll spend the added time bonding with my family and friends. I've been lucky enough that work has been wanting my help so it's been a good opportunity to see some old coworkers and make dat moneys, cuz. Now, with the added time, I can peer-pressure my cousins to move my farewell party from Lake Tahoe to Vegas.

November 10, 2009

One year ago today, I lost my grandmother to a heart attack. She was in many respects a substitute mother to me. I learned a lot about what it means to truly love another human being and how it feels to be unconditionally loved from her. Her death marked the end of a generation in my family as I no longer had any remaining living grandparents. I mention this in my blog not to be a total downer, but because a lot of what I learned from my relationship with my grandmother I plan to take with me to Africa. My Peace Corps service, in my eyes and heart, is fundamentally an act of love. I hope my service makes my Grandma (and Grandpa), wherever they are, proud. It's a testament to the love that they generously gave me when there wasn't lots of it available.