Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Ironic Twist of Fate!

Tonight is the last night before orientation for the Peace Corps on Friday.  By a stroke of luck, orientation is in Philadelphia, so the first leg of the journey will only be about a half hour for me.  For some other volunteers, arriving in Philly means taking a cross country flight.  This being my last night, I wondered how I was going to feel now.  I thought I would be anxious or scared, but in reality, I'm just stressed.  There is so much to do.  My last day of work was Tuesday and I thought I would just have to pack a couple suitcases and that would be it.  But, it has been non-stop this entire week.  Doing laundry, getting my oil changed in my car, double checking my paperwork.  I've barely had time to surf the internet three hours a day. 

This being the last day before I head out, I thought I would take the time to answer some questions I've been asked about:

How long is the stint?
27 months.  3 months training in Macedonia, then 2 years of actual service

What are housing arrangements like?
During the three months of training, I'll be living with a host family.  Afterwards, I am not sure.  Either I can get an apartment on my own, or the Peace Corps will set me up with another (most likely different) host family

What can I take?
Two suitcases and a carry-on.  Whatever will fit, I can take.

What's the weather like?
Weather is similar to that of Pennsylvania or any other state in the Mid-Atlantic region.  4 defined seasons, including a snowy winter.  Macedonian seasons match ours, so just like us, they are approaching fall and winter.

What do they speak?
Macedonian.  From what I've heard, it's most similar to Bulgarian, but I don't have any experience with either.  Macedonian uses the Cyrillic (Russian) alphabet.

What will I be doing?
I really don't know.  My title is Community Development Volunteer, but that is so open ended.  It could be anything.

What's the travel plan?
Orientation is Friday.  The flight itself is Saturday and leaves from JFK in New York.  The flight is approx. 11 hrs and touches down in Skopje (the capital and largest city in Macedonia) on Sunday, at like 1pm. 

Can I leave whenever I want, if I really don't like it?
If I want to leave before my stint is up, I can leave.  But, I would have to pay for my own ticket.  As it stands, if I make it the entire stint, the Peace Corps will pay for my trip home.  That is not the case if I leave early.

Can I travel around?  Can I come back home?
Yes.  As a Peace Corps volunteer, I accrue vacation days which I can use to go wherever I feel (or sit in my underwear and play video games - whatever the situation may warrant).  I can travel back home, but would have to pay for transportation.

Do I get paid?
I get a stipend, which is like walking around money.  I also get room and board covered.  However, nobody gets rich volunteering for the Peace Corps.  Without performing the formal cost of living calculations, I am sure what I get 'paid' is a fraction of what similar work would go for in America.

What about health care?
Each country runs the country's health care for volunteers.  So, in my case, providing health care is the responsibility of Macedonia, not America.  So, I would go to a Macedonian hospital if I get hurt or sick.  However, the Peace Corps ensures that all volunteers are placed in situations where most basic health care needs are met and if I need serious attention, I'll be sent somewhere.

Will I have internet?
I really don't know.  If where I live does not have internet access, there are always internet cafes.  Because I may not have instant internet access, I may not be able to post or respond to any questions/comments in a timely manner.  But, I will try my best to respond back as soon as reasonably possible.

I feel bad because I totally forgot to leave my contact information to my work friends, but my email address is dp8039@gmail.com.  Like I said above, I may not be able to respond immediately, but I will respond.  Also, before I leave, I would like to thank everyone, my friends and family.  I will miss all of you and wish you all the best of luck.

As I said above, Macedonian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.  In that spirit, I outfitted my computer keyboard with Cyrillic decals.

My fool-proof way to keep people from stealing my stuff at the airport.