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Mon, 30 Aug 1999 07:59:29 PDT This is it. This last week is just a bunch of formalities. We mail our stuff. Swear In. Talk about the final arrangements. Get the big money....About 8000 Dirhams for me, in order to buy furniture, rent a place, settle in. That translates into about 800 dollars American, so it ain't much, but since I've been living off of 240 Dirhams every 2 weeks... It seems like a fortune. I take my language exam today...It's like a TOEFL....only it's in Arabic, so wish me luck. We took photos today with all of us together....then in our sectors...then individually for our PC IDs. I'm feeling alot better. It's funny to think that I'm being set free from stage and I've got to take care of myself in a completely foriegn country and that makes me calm down more than being taken care of here in Rabat. I guess it has alot to do with the fact that during practice school and training, they demanded every minute of out time. I have always been more of a self care person and having the Peace Corps watch over my every move has really gotten to me in the last few weeks. I understand they want to be sure we are safe but my conspiratorial mind and my fear of BIG BROTHER makes me skittish.... Unfortunately, my health has not been the greatest lately. Nothing to worry too much over, but in the last two weeks, I was just recovering from my back injury and I stubbed my toe and have now lost the nail...very ugly. I got intestinal problems again from something and it was coming out both ends for a couple days. Just as that ended, I somehow sprained both ankles and they're still swelled up pretty good. It's hard to deal with those... cause I walk quite a bit every day...;Pretty much unavoidable. Then I got the flu that was going around and that put me in a bed for 24 hours. All the other trainees/soon to be volunteers, have returned to Rabat and there are 81 of us plus about 30 staff staying in the same place....It's Hamuk (crazy) I think they're trying to make us want to get to our sites. I hope that I don't deter any of you from joining the Peace Corps by what I'm going to say here, please realize that I've only been here a short time, and according to sources this country is much different than others AND I have been at Stage, which is a small microcosm of what this experience is about. I came, I thought, to make some kind of contribution, to assist in any way I could to a developing country. The prospects were scary, a third world country, all alone, not much available, difficult conditions.... I figured with all that against me, I would need to... and be able to count on the Peace Corps for support... Financial, emotional, whatever capacity they could. In the recent weeks, when things got really difficult for me, I didn't feel that staff (specifically administration) were trying to help. They were pushing paper and pushing me. There is a certain amount of indifference and treating us like numbers rather than people. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that we aren't sworn in yet, or that they're trying to weed the weak out....or they just don't care... But it certainly hasn't helped me any. I see alot of game playing and people who really don't have the Peace Corps' mission statement as they're number one priority. They really focus on the benign and petty issues. There is a tremendous amount of gossip and rumors and cliques....like 7th grade amongst the trainees and it isn't helped by staff. This is probably a product of the fact that there are alot of people here straight out of college...looking to extend their fun before going into the real world. I wonder why they're here. Again, understand that we have a brand new set of administrators in this country and I mean newer than us trainees... They got here after us. Also, Stage is a tough place to be locked up with a bunch of other people....the same people.... day after day after day.... I'm almost positive things will change and I'll get to do what I came here for in Agadir...... Bah Salaama Peace and Love I will write again soon... 'N Sha'ala, |
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