Monday, August 15, 2011

Turkmenistan Closed or I Don't Have to Live in a Desert Anymore!

I hope my ominous title sends chills down your back, especially considering that I am now melting in the Arizona heat and would love to feel some chills.

August 9 I receive a call from the Peace Corps- that familiar 202 number that I so looked forward to seeing on my phone 3 months ago while waiting for my invitation. This call, however, is the opposite. Turkmenistan has closed, and I will no longer be going there.

Uhhh??????????

But I will go somewhere. Apparently in situations like this, when a country closes, the future PCVs are given a new placement, but they may have to wait up to 6 months, or even longer- you know how it is- especially considering the recent budget cuts Peace Corps has experienced. Luckily for me, though, this will not be the case...

I will be leaving for Tanzania, in Sub Saharan Africa, still as a health volunteer, only a couple weeks later than planned. Forgive the religious reference, but Hallelujah, because I don't want to wait any more! This does, however, mean that I will need to change some things, and the past three months of preparation have turned into only two months left to prepare for Africa, a place I never expected to go. My blog name will have to change, I won't need thermals anymore, the Turkmen that I haven't really studied will no longer be useful, my dreams of marrying an oil sheikh have been banished and I will have to depend on Sean and Meghan to pay for my vacations and lavish lifestyle in the future. Africa seems so much more outdoorsy than Central Asia.

I really was kind of disappointed at first. I was glad that I still got to go somewhere, and I didn't even have to wait too much longer than I had expected, but I had never wanted to go to Africa. I don't know anything about Africa. But I researched Tanzania and considered it more. Tanzania has a tropical coastal region, is surrounded my giant lakes on its inland borders, is home to giant national parks for all of its wildlife- including giraffes (my favorite), monkeys, and wildebeests- is not a desert, has an Arab influence, and I actually know a lot more about the health issues in Tanzania than I thought I did. Or maybe Tanzania just has more health issues than Turkmenistan does, so there is more for me to know. I think I can do this.

Now to start preparing....