On September 19, 2011, I received my packet in the mail. Since I had agreed to not open it and find out via a "Flag Day" at work, my roommate opened it because I wanted to make sure a country was listed. She said there was and didn't tell me. I'm not sure how I slept that night. I was so nervous about the next day. I took the entire envelope into work and gave it to my supervisor. He and a couple other curious people opened it, but dang these diplomats - they kept a straight face, so I had no idea what to expect. He sent someone out to get a flag for me and put together a PowerPoint. About an hour later, my office (those who were there), the Dean and Associate Dean of our school, and someone from a previous class went into the A-100 classroom. By this point, my stomach is in knots.
For a few weeks leading up to this, one of my coworkers kept joking that I would be sent to Cambodia. They were all well-aware that I didn't have an interest in going to Asia, but if it had come to that, I would have accepted the position. Plus, there's not Youth Development program in Cambodia, so I knew I wasn't going there. This coworker happened to be the one to carry the flags in (they had put a whole bunch of flags on a stand so I couldn't just tell which one it was right away) and of course, there was a Cambodia flag clearly visible. When I mentioned there was no way I was going to Cambodia, everyone laughed.
Our office director ran the PowerPoint, which started with the national anthem of the country in question, while my supervisor MC'd. I had no idea what country the national anthem was from, so they moved on. After a few slides and me not getting it, they pulled up the Moroccan flag and told me that's where I was going. I was beside myself! I didn't think in a million years I would be going to Morocco and couldn't stop smiling. After the requisite pictures were taken, I got my information back and devoured it. As well as calling my mother and screaming into the phone that I was going to Morocco. Her reaction - "Great! That's somewhere I haven't been yet." :-) Mothers.
On September 21, I officially accepted my invitation and the fun started. That weekend, I went to my mother's house to celebrate her birthday and, while I was there, I wrote an updated resume and aspiration statement, which was basically just a series of questions about what I wanted out of the Peace Corps experience. Once those were sent, it was just the waiting game. I'm just trying to get my life in order while it's throwing me major curve balls.
Since I am not leaving until March, I've had plenty of time to do things, but that also means there is plenty of time for things to go wrong. Thankfully it's my personal life that has really gone wrong. Everything with the Peace Corps is going great and I can't wait to start this chapter in my life. I hope I get some wonderful things out of the experience and learn a little more about myself.
This blog will be a running journal of my time in Morocco. While I still don't know where I'll be exactly and won't find that out until closer to the end of training, I'll have some experiences to share, keep my friends and family in the loop, and have something great to look back on.
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