Peace Corps Ghana. Menji Agric Senior High. Chemistry. Friends. Cooking. Volleyball. Running. Animals.

25 February 2011

Hello

Hi Everybody,

You might have noticed that I sort of fell off the face of the earth the last couple of months. So, I want to start by telling all of you, I am sorry for that. It's not because I don't love you, it's because I tend to get bummed in the winter, hibernate, and cease communication with the people that make my life awesome. Again, if you know me, you probably already know that I turn into a slug in the winter. This winter in particular has been a lull in the action of my life; I will explain in a minute.

So why did Betsy start a blog...

I created this blog to share stories over the next two and a half years as I serve as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Last week, I finally received in the mail what I have been anxiously awaiting for the past year... My official Peace Corps assignment letter. Waiting for this letter over the past winter has been particularly trying. My departure has been delayed and delayed again. Back in the fall when submitting my medical review, I found out that I was anemic and had slightly lower hematocrit than "normal" (the proportion of blood, by volume, of red blood cells). I didn't receive medical clearance in time to make my original program departure (January). That hit me hard. I hate to be held back by something that seems trivial. But, apparently my blood got better, because I was finally cleared... And last Friday I received my assignment and invitation kit.

I'll be teaching science at a high school in Ghana!!!


I won't know exactly where in Ghana, besides somewhere "rural," until sometime during my training. That is so that they can better match volunteers to assignments. I may be biased, but I think I got the best assignment possible! 1) Ghana is beautiful. 2) Its ecological diversity is incredible. The types of ecosystems occurring within this comparatively small country (the size of Oregon) range from coastline to tropical rain forest to savanna. It's any biologist's wonderland. 3) The Ghana-Peace Corps bond is incredibly strong. Ghana was the first country to ever receive a Peace Corps volunteer back in 1961. I am joining a long, amazing history of Ghanaian-American partnership. I feel really honored to be a part of this.

Anyway, I write more on that later. Here is my time frame:

Departure: June 6, 2011
Training (in Ghana): June 8 - August 30, 2011
Assignment: August 31, 2011 - August 31, 2013

Oh, and by the way I didn't receive my assignment exactly how I envisioned it. Bear actually found it first. The UPS man left the packet in the garage, and Bear thought it for a chew toy. When I found it the invitation letter was.... tattered.

I'll write more later. Thank you friends for supporting me!

Love, Betsy