PC Training info, last-minute freak out, and so on

A lot of people have asked me about training and all that, so here's a little of what I've been told training will be like:

"Trainees live in small villages with five or six other trainees from their project area. Language classes occur daily, and afternoons are usually devoted to self-directed activities and homework assignments...As part of your pre-service training, you will live with a Moldovan host family. This experience is designed to ease your transition to life at your site...Cross-cultural and community development training will help you improve your communication skills and understand your role as a facilitator of development. You will be exposed to topics such as community mobilization, conflict resolution, gender and development, nonformal and adult education strategies, and political structures. You will also have opportunities to take field trips to historic sites and to learn traditional songs and dances."

Basically, we will work on language (a lot, obviously) as well as training specific to our jobs, self-care skills to stay healthy, and so on. They have assessments throughout training to make sure you're catching on to everything, and won't leave you behind to serve in the country if you don't have a certain level of language proficiency. I really don't know what to expect from training right now, and my concept of what job I'll be doing is best described as fuzzy, but I think I'll totally rock the language aspect of things. (Alright, listen to that confidence!)

I'll be in training from mid-September to the end of November, and then I'll be sworn in and officially become a PC volunteer. I'm going to be living with a host family for my first 6 months in country (till about May, I think) and then after that I might stay on with them or get my own place. It sounds like it has a lot to do with where you're posted - villages don't exactly have apartment complexes, and I'm sure that in a poor country it is wasteful if not strange for a single person to have their own place. That's just a guess, though. [Oh, and a little sidenote as I'm writing all this stuff: I won't ever be giving specific info about my location on this blog, per PC recommendations.]

I'm so overwhelmed right now. Some how each day that passes is filled with things to do, little errands and purchases and visits with people, and now I'm down to only 5 days before leaving. A month ago I'd thought I'd be sitting around the house, bored and twiddling my thumbs, in the last weeks before my departure. That sounds so ridiculous right now, I have no idea what I was thinking. But then, I'm sure those of you who know me know this is not terribly unusual. I'm known for scheduling myself as if there are, say, 32 hours in a day, being prone to thinking that tasks take only a third of the time they really do, and that you can travel 30 miles in 15 minutes. (Okay, I realize the last one is technically possible, but not in my car.)

It's weird. Knowing I'm going away for a long time, everything takes on a strange significance. I think I've been looking at Portland differently, paying more attention to details. I'm also getting super mushy -- show me a commercial with a puppy in it, and I'm ready to start crying. I suppose it makes sense that I'm feeling a little anxious and emotionally on-edge, but it's still weird. I've been determined to hold it together because I have so much to get done, I really can't afford to get sentimental right now. Like the other night, driving home in my car and thinking about how lovely my friends and family are...sniff....FIGHT IT!...sniff....okay. I figure I can cry on the plane, after I get all my responsibilities taken care of.

So speaking of mushiness, I'd just like to say to friends and family who may read this: I love you all so much, and I'm really going to miss you. This summer has been one of my best ever, and I have gotten to see so many of the people I care about and do everything I love before leaving -- just what I'd hoped for. I also want you all to know how much I appreciate you supporting me and being excited for me as I get ready to do this craziness. Also, even though your lives here will continue as normal in the next two years and it can be easy to put off, try to keep in touch! Even if that means a postcard that says "hi" on the back. I'm serious.

Okay. Bags are packed. Ready to go. Yep.