You better Belize it!

I can't believe that I am leaving tomorrow!! After a long application process, of many essays, letters of rec, several interviews, NSA background check, fingerprints, security clearance, AND wayyyy too many trips to the Dr's office, I can't believe my time is already here. It has been a wonderful few months at home after living in Israel, but I am looking forward to beginning this new phase in my life. I without a doubt have quite the mixture of emotions, but I am mostly grateful for the wonderful people in my life who have supported me to getting to this point.

Why the Peace Corps? This is a question I have gotten quite a bit, and the simple answer is that it's exactly what I am looking for at this point of time in my life. The longer answer- My desire to join the Peace Corps began when I was 19 years old. After embarking on a life-changing trip to Tanzania the summer before college, I discovered my love of travel, experiencing different cultures, and seeing how truly connected and similar we all are on this planet. As much as I love travelling, I have always been more drawn to places which are 'different, authentic, or off the beaten path'- places perhaps less touched by western culture and this globalized world which has which has inevitably altered the planet's rich diversity. The Peace Corps provides an opportunity to not only give back to humanity, but to experience the beauty and authenticity of living with locals and integrating into a unique community. 

With my upcoming 27 months in Belize, I have been doing a LOT of self-reflecting, setting personal goals, and general mind-spinning thoughts. One of my goals for the next few years is to keep a dedicated blog that chronicles my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize. However, I'm not sure how good I am at this since, the majority of my time on here has been staring at the screen thinking of what to write! Anyways, I hope this gives friends, family, and whoever some insight into my next 27 months!

For those that don't know, I am joining the Community Rural Health program in Belize. This program is a public health initiative that's focused in implementing programs and education to improve outcomes in maternal and child health and noncommunicable diseases. We are partnered with Belize's ministry of health and are assigned a community health partner throughout the duration of service. I am greatly looking forward to the maternal health aspects as I am a newly trained Doula (working with women during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum) and Lactation counselor.

I am excited to meet the other folks in my group. Of the 19 of us, we are a mixture of ages, backgrounds, and skill sets. I have actually made a friend with someone in my group- She lives in Jacksonville, Alabama. It has been wonderful to have a friend who can relate the insanity of the PC experiences. Whether it's our mutual frustration during the 1.5 year application process, anxiety about the trip, or sharing packing suggestions/challenges, it's been really nice to have someone to talk to (Thanks, Jade!!).

 Friday night my parents hosted a wonderful going away party with dear family friends. It was so wonderful to see everyone, and I am very grateful for their love and support. Aside from bittersweet goodbyes, the past few days have consisted of last minute purchases, packing like a maniac, and trying to just enjoy my last few days at home.

So a little about what the next week will bring for me-

- Leaving 6/22 (tomorrow) at 1pm
- Arrive to Miami where I will meet the other volunteers. There are about 19 in our group.
- Staging! This is the official PC orientation.
- Arrival to Belize. The first week we are in a hotel for the beginning of training
- The Next 3 months- Intensive training. We will be living with host families during this time and will have intensive training in areas of language, technical, security, and cultural.

That's about all for now! The internet situation is pretty unknown at this point, but I will try and keep this as updated as possible. Again, thank you to all my wonderful friends and families, especially to my Parents. They have been beyond supportive, in every way imaginable. I am so thankful for this opportunity, and I know it wouldn't be possible without all of your love and support.