My First Marathon!!!

MY FIRST MARATHON

Yesterday morning my cluster went on a community walk to get our barring over the area. You won’t believe this, but they don’t have maps here! Maui, my language teacher, said maybe we can draw our own. The good news is that my friend and fellow cluster mate Jarron lives fairly close to me. So from now on, he walks to my house and then we walk everywhere together.

His host family has a car, and they dropped me off after Jarron showed me is room. His room is amazing. He has almost a king size bed, his own bathroom with a shower head, and a balcony with a hammock. He definitely needs the big bed because he is over 6ft tall. I love walking the streets with him because the children follow after him, saying, “Hey MAN, WHATS YOUR NAME,” and he replies, “Ako Si Jarron,” and then they start screaming “JARRROOONNNN!!!! Thank you sir!”  People don’t talk to me yet, they just stare and wave.  Jarrons Host  Dad Robbie, has taken me in, and invites me to everything Jarron gets to do; thus the spontaneous Marathon.

I barely made registration, but Robbie was able to get me in! Almost 2,000 runners at the city’s first ever Night Run; I’m not sure how long it was (it was in Kilometers), but  I think it was around five miles. I ran/jogged and occasionally walked the whole things and it took about 40 minutes. I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. I wasn’t sure if people were staring at me because of the way I look or because I was sweating soooo much. I still didn’t’ feel well, but somehow running made me feel better. I received two bracelets for completing the race, and I get to save my number. I didn’t think to bring my camera because I was wearing running clothes and had no pockets. I’m so sad I didn’t bring it, but I will share a picture of my number when I get the chance.  I can’t believe I actually ran my first official race in the Philippines!!

WHAT DO LADY GA GA and LORD OF THE RINGS HAVE IN COMMON?

I ran with Jarrons host sister Sishe, and she clung to me. And I LOVED that she did! We became fast friends. She is 15, and after the race she took me to watch the talent show. The race wasn’t in the town that I live at, it was by the main mall. The talent show was representative of the whole city. And let me tell you, I never laughed so hard in my life. The first lady who went was a 62 year old woman who chanting very strange words mixed in with sounds animals makes, including a wolf noises, rooster crowing and the Lord of Rings, “PRECIOUS.” It was strange, and only three people clapped in the crowd of a few hundred.  The crowd favorite was a man who danced to a LADY GAGA remix. I have never seen anything like it. Do you remember that dance seen in Napoleon Dynamite? It was better than that. These strange crazy dance moves. He had the whole crowd going. The best however was a BBoxing guy who made 12 sounds at once.  He did it to Black Eyed Peas, I Got a Feeling, and Justin Timberlakes, Sexy Back. I never imagined that while in the Philippines I would be hearing Lady GaGa and Black Eyed Peas, but they LOVE our pop music.

NIGHT LIFE

We headed home around 11, but before we did Robbie took us around the night life. People start going out at age 15. And all the clubs/video karaoke stays upon until 5am! Don’t worry I won’t be participating in that, it was just neat to see what people wore as “going out” clothes and what the bars looked like.  I didn’t get to bed until midnight; that was the latest I have ever stayed up since I have been here!! Maybe I am finally adjusting to the time!

Thanks for reading,

Lysette

I always wanted a pet lizard….

I always wanted a pet lizard….

This morning I awoke to the sound of a Rooster.

Dear Animated Movies, you mislead me to believe that Roosters crow only once in the morning to wake everyone up. I am here to inform you that is simply not the case. The Rooster outside my window crows at least once every hour and the crow sounds like the scene in the Wizard of Oz when the witch is melting, as though someone is choking him to death.  Also when he crows, he startles the dogs that then decide to bark for several minutes.

I am pleased to inform you however, (please knock on wood) I have yet to encounter any scary bugs! And will take one constantly crowing rooster over scary spiders any day. The House I live in has Mosquito nets around the windows, so I have only received 1-5 new bites in the last two days which is vast improvement! And any of the mosquitoes that creep their way in get eaten by the many lizards that wonder through the house, aka, the one that joined me in bed this morning. I am also happy to announce that lizards don’t scare me. In third grade we had one as a class pet, third grade was also when I decided to join peace corp. Coincidence? It seems as though third grade really prepared me for this morning!

 How the Peace Corp Works

If your saying to yourself: “YAY Lysette’s in the Peace Corp!!! But what the heck is she doing?!?!?” I hope this next part can help you out.

Right now I am at my training site. Over the next three months I will be learning the local language and working in a high school. I am placed with a host family, but after the three months are over we are given a permanent site. That is why the Peace Corps is for 2 years and 3 months, because the first 3 months you are considered a trainee and not a volunteer. I am not an official volunteer until the swearing in ceremony that takes place at the end of training.  As of now there are 18 of us training together, we will eventually be spread out through the Western Visayas. When I was writing before I was in Manilia doing another set of training where they taught us about the policies, how to handle emergencies and generally what we would be doing.  Then we were separated into regions and clusters. Each cluster is made up of six, and these six people will be in training with me, and with our Language Teacher, Maui. When placed at our permanent sites, we should also be relatively close to each other, maybe an hour to three hours apart.

The members of my cluster:

Denise, Hanna, Jarron, Sean, Amari and myself. I am sure they will all be included in my blog so now you will know why they have become important members in my life.

Arriving in Illio Illio City

The plane ride was the most miserable I had ever been. I had heard before that you shouldn’t ride on a plane when you have an ear ache. I knew I felt sick, but I didn’t know exactly how bad it was until the plane took off. My head felt like it was going to explode, and the 55 minute ride seemed like hours. But I survived. I knew I felt miserable, but I really wanted to make a good impression with my host family, so I knew I had to pull it together. When we landed we took jeepnies to the center plaza covered gym. We met our host families and shared lunch. We had egg sandwiches and cokes in tiny real glass bottles. My moms jaw must be hitting the floor because the last time I ate an egg in the form of an egg and not a cake or mixed in something was when I was three. I know there will be a lot of things I will have to eat, so with a smile on my face I took a bite. I was able to swallow. But just barely. I landed up mostly just eating the crust. But at least I tried. Small personal victory of successfully eating something I hate.

Host Family

My host dads name is Seth. We live on a compound; I live in the main house with his wife, Sol, and two daughters 25 and 29. His wife and daughters work and they did not arrive until late at night. They work from 8:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night, 7 days a week, only 2 Sundays off per month. They get paid here by day, not by hour, so sometimes their days are even longer. One works as a pharmacist, and the other as a pharmacist assistant. I only met the daughters briefly.  Seth is an amazing human being. He was a seaman and has travelled the world and speaks English well and understands everything I say. He helped me practice my new words. He told me all about his life, and about the economy in the Philippines. My senior thesis was on the economy of China and how the Olympics effected growth. Through studying Chinas economy I was very interested in Asian economies, so I was very happy to be able to have a conversation regarding the current situation so early in my arrival.  He definitely helped to instill a purpose for being here.

WONT YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR….

People are constantly dropping in the house, I was really confused as to how they are related and how it is okay for them to just go in the fridge and take whatever they want to eat. Today I found out Seth rents out 5 rooms (the people constantly dropping in). It also explains why he locks everything, even my room, the cupboards, the glasses everything. Great news, one of the rooms is rented out to a current Peace Corp Volunteer who has already lived here for two years! Her name is Sara, she was at a conference when I arrived, but later in the evening we were able to get to know each other and she escorted me to my community walk this morning. I am very grateful to her and all of her advice, and feel very blessed to have a fellow PC on the compound.

 Living on a compound isn’t what I imagined a compound would be like. In the front house there are four rooms that Seth rents, and two attached to his house. He told me that whenever he saves enough money he builds on another room. It takes 10 years to make a return, but his pension isn’t enough so he is always thinking of ways to improve his future. Despite his entrepreneur skills, he also is very giving. He explained that one family used the electricity so much and couldn’t afford it, so he didn’t even tell them and when he can he just covers it. I hope to be that generous. I think in America we rarely share our wealth, we hoard it for ourselves. It’s hard to want to give away money that you earn for the betterment of someone else; especially when they don’t even know you did it for them. My parents have always been very generous to organizations, and I have not.  So far this experience has really showed me the importance of giving to others and being hospitable to strangers. It definitely makes me want to pull out my Bible and read the stories of Jesus  time on earth.  Before I left the states I was in a bible study, and the chapters we went over are really helping me in my current situation. So if you ever need some inspiration just flip open the first few books of the New Testament and read about Jesus life, and you will want to be more generous. I really hope to adopt these lessons and to follow the examples from my parents, Jesus and Seth as I earn money in the future.

My new cousin Vincent came over, he insisted we watched TV. The only thing that was in English was an infomercial about wheat grass shots. For about thirty minutes, he sat with me and watched the infomercial. It was so sweet! And incredibly boring for both of us! It just shows how truly hospitable they are all trying to be. The house also has internet connection. So I was able to introduce Seth to my mom and dad via skpe.

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE

My room is smaller than my room in Reagan (for those of you who don’t know, it was the smallest room on Catholics campus, a janitors closet turned room that I lived in my junior year of college), but defiantly bigger than I expected. The bed is a little less than a twin, more like a cot, but a decent mattress with two pillows! There is a pink vanity mirror and plastic drawers for my things. They also placed a pink blanket on the bed, with lime green curtains. Last night they assembled a fan that I turn on every moment I am in the room.  

BEING SICK

Peace corp’s doctor called and checked on me, and had my LCF, Maui come bring me medicine. My fever eventually broke. My host family thought I was just tired, so it was hard to explain to them that yes I was tired, but also it was more than that. Seth arranged for us to go to the mall and grocery store, but instead I fell asleep for about four hours and when I awoke it was too late. Today I am feeling much better. Maybe a benefit of being so hot is that I am sweating out all of the germs that are making me sick. My other PC friends have been very kind to me, and I hope my energy returns soon.

ITS GETTING HOT IN HERE….

I took a bucket bath today, and after I “dried off” I was already wet again. That hot. So hot that I have drank at least 8 bottles of water and still haven’t had to go pee. I have never experienced weather like this, and this is the coolest time of year. I can’t imagine how summer will be!

COMFORT ROOM

In London it was called the Loo, here it is called the Comfort Room or a CR. We really need a cooler name in America. As already stated, they do not use toilet paper here, you wash yourself with a ladle. Luckily I went the store and got some, I am not ready to adapt that much at this time. Although they use toilets, they don’t flush the toilets, you have to pour water into a bucket and then pour that bucket into the toilet. When I got here I had no idea what to do!! When the host mom, Sol, got home I was able to ask and finally use the bathroom (in America I would never be able to hold it that long, but thanks to the amount of sweat I produced it wasn’t that bad)! Today when I was at my community walk Seth had a flush installed. I feel so silly! Its really easy, I just didn’t know what to do, but that is exactly how accommodating Seth and his family is to me!

This is getting way too long, so more stories to come. This is really just to help you see what I’m seeing and to let you know I’m okay! I’m even starting to feel better, although my appetite has not returned. Thank you for your prayers and for reading this,

Lysette

Maayong aga- good morning!

Today was the big day. The moment that basically decided my next two years, a moment that I have been waiting on for over a year; I KNOW WHERE IM GOING. Well that’s a lie. I had to pull out a map and figure it out, but I will be in the city of Iloilo. I will be learning in the language Hiligagon, and the day I can actually pronounce it will be a huge victory. We received our stipends through September, and I spent more on one luggage piece then the entire stipend. Over half of it goes to your host family, so I think it’s the same as living off of 10 US dollars for a month. Isn’t that unreal?! It really put into perspective for me exactly how impoverished of an area I will be going to.  I am heading to the airport now, and this will be my last post for some time, as I am not guaranteed the ability to have internet access. I am quite sick unfortunately in many ways, and would really like nothing else but to stay in bed!! But I’m going to put on a big smile in hopes I make a good impression with my host family. Can’t wait to tell you all about it.

The internet connection has been really slow…and it is hard to upload pictures. I was only able to upload six to fb, so I picked the ones that you can really see what I am talking about, I hope that it is able to better describe to you what I am experiencing. Thank you for reading this, and responding. For sharing this journey with me. Its really scary, the language is already really overwhelming. And I really hope I make it through!!! For now goodbye!!! Pray for me please!!

the best day ever…

 

Today was the best day ever:

I am still not used to the time difference. For example, I have been up since 3am here and am WIDE AWAKE! So I will make my time useful and write out the last few experiences to clear my mind. Who knew blogging was also soul soothing.  Here is a recap of what you will be reading, real life video games, survival at sea, “Glee” moments, and HOT HOT SHOWERS!!!

I felt like I was in a video game:

Today was water safety training. We took buses to a beach about an hour outside Manila. The drive was unlike anything I had ever seen before. When we came into Manila it was night time, so seeing the slums in the night is completely different then seeing exactly how bad it is during the day. I have some pictures to load that would better describe the sites, but it was really hard to drive through, especially as the locals were staring at us in the bus. As we drove they waved us along, children ran after the bus and it was the most unreal experience.

I sat in the very front row, and I’m so glad I did because it honestly felt like I was in a video game. I laughed as I saw a sign that said, “Don’t text and Drive” because there is NO WAY it would be safe to even blink while driving in the Philippines. I have never been more grateful for street laws in the US, because here there aren’t any  at all. You can drive on any side of the road, at any speed and cut off any one at any time. My eyes must have been buldging out of my head as we almost ran over little feet.   We went around trikes and motorcycles and even large vehicles coming directly toward the bus. Somehow we made it!

I SURVIVED

We got to the beach, and separated into groups to practice what would happen if the small pump boats would capsize. The water was warm, and easy to get into. It took a lot of upper body strength to get into the boat, and that was when we were still close to shore. We took the boat out in groups of 10. After we were pretty deep we all got out of the boat and practiced huddling and saving each other in case of drowning. I only got stung by one jelly fish that I could feel, and it was the micro ones so it only felt like a scratch. A person in the group before me got stung really badly by a big one and I couldn’t wait to get out of the water. I was the last one to get in the boat, I felt like a strong swimmer and I wanted to help the girl who told me she was a little afraid get in first. When I went to push myself into the boat there was a boy nearby to help me. At this point we were all wearing our life vests, but they were self inflated and loose. As I was climbing into the boat somehow the emergency string was pulled and the life vest inflated hard and fast. With the angle I was at I couldn’t breathe in, it was choking me. I could see everyone else faces. I didn’t panic. I just said, how do I deflate this? It seemed like forever before I was able to breathe again. It was exhausting. I climbed into the boat and shook it off. When we got back to land the current PCV leading the group said she couldn’t believe how calm I was and that she started to freak out as I was turning purple. The good news is that I’m okay. And that in an emergency I was calm and able to handle myself, and that I didn’t incur any additional jelly stings. Haha. Success. The bad news is the life jacket costs 70 US dollars, and we weren’t supposed to pull the emergency cord, so now I need a new jacket.

DON’T STOP BELEVING

So I never imagined that I would have a “GLEE” moment with my fellow Peace Corp volunteers, but we did. And I can’t tell you how amazing it felt. In the Philippines Video Karaoke is the thing to do. It is all over, even at the beach.  About eight of us had done our training and went over to the machine. We sang DAY-O, and suddenly more people joined. We grew to about twenty. And then we sung DON’T STOP BELEVING, and it was honestly one of the most fun times I have ever had. Pretty soon there were over 30 of us singing around a Cabana, dancing and singing and just being smitten with happiness. The machine only took coins, and most of us didn’t bring money, but we kept it going as long as possible. We sung at the top of our lungs and completely tone death several songs including: Under the Sea, Summer of 69’, I Got a feeling, Twist and Shout and finally ended with the boys on one side and the girls on the other singing SUMMER NIGHTS!!!  I think I slightly fell in love today.

A MALL

We finished water safety pretty quickly and returned back to the hotel sooner, which lead to a spontaneous trip to the mall. I was able to exchange the cash I had and buy a few things that I needed. As you may have read my luggage broke, so my carry on (one of those campy backpacks) was SOOOO heavy as it had everything that I couldn’t fit in the suitcase. I found a cheap suitcase for 1,660 pesos which is about 37 dollars. This will save my back and will be totally worth it! We were given medicine kits that were super heavy and I’m so happy to have a place to put it. We also purchased toilet paper, because guess what they don’t use toilet paper here. We used our first real Philippino toilet at the beach and let me tell you, it is something you have never experienced before. It is basically a hole in the ground.  The current volunteers said toilet paper is really hard to come by, and that we needed to by some, so everyone at the mall was at the convince store buying toilet paper and umbrellas. I  also was able to load my phone card so if you want my number let me know. (Also you should send me yours because I can text you for free from gmail, or so I heard). We ended the trip with a stop to PIZZA HUT!!!! Haha. It was delicious! Well maybe not so much, but in our heads we pretended. The sauce somehow tasted like it belonged with Chinese food. It hard to explain but we laughed for quite some time, yet were complete elated at the taste of cheese.

The transportation to and from the mall was interesting. In America you would fit 5 people, in the Philippines you fit fifteen. All that has happened is that I have bonded in ways with the other volunteers like you wouldn’t believe.

BEST FOR LAST

When we got back from the Beach we took turns taking showers as always. Sabrina, my roommate went first. After a few minutes she screamed from the bathroom, “LYSETTE!!!” I went over the bathroom opened the door and saw steam. STEAM!!!!! The amount of happiness I experience was basically unmatched by anything else. I literally jumped for joy. Sabrina jumped out and I jumped it. The water went from hot to cold and back to hot, but there was 3-5 minutes of warm water. And it was the best thing ever.

So I can finally say, I’m happy. I had a good day. I survived the waters, sung badly, went to the mall, had pizza (or something like it), and took a warm shower. I think I will remember this day for the rest of my life.

MABUHAY!

Seconds before I landed I had a feeling I have never had before, a mix between adrenaline, shock, excitement, fear of the unknown, and happiness. Immediately outside of the plane we were given Peace Corp Stickers that identified us as we went through customs. When I lived in England, I barely made it through customs because of miss communication that almost caused me to be detained.  It was only because Sheryl Crow and Christian Slater where causing problems with their work visas that I was able to make it through. Nervous that a similar experience may occur, that I would say the wrong thing, or that something would be wrong with my passport (especially because I have blonde hair in the picture) I was surprised it only took a few seconds.

Our luggage was pulled for us and we were escorted on a bus that would take us to our location for Training. The ride was about an hour, and it took us through the city. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before and hard to describe. Beside the familiar KFC, was an unfamiliar site, shacks on top of shacks that looked like they were leaning or about to fall over.  I’m sure you have seen those late night commercials from world relief with sad children in the streets, but here it was in front of my own eyes. Extreme poverty. Seeing the city made me feel sick to my stomach. Here I was tired, and uncomfortable from the 20+ hours of flying, and there were people on the streets.  It just made me realize how grateful I need to be about life. Even on our worst day, when everything seems to be going horribly wrong, we have toilet paper. And while that might not seem like anything to you or I now, I have come to realize in my short time here how valuable the little things are.

Finally we made it to our location. A line of over 50 Philippinos greeted us and welcomed us with bright smiles and cheers. They fed us a quick snack and we were given our room assignments.

It was well past one in the morning, our exhaustion and desire to sleep could not compete against our laughter. We spent the whole night giggling and laughing as though we were 10 years olds having a sleep over, comparing stories on the plane and events from Philly and Detroit.

Finally we fell asleep.  It was 3:20 in the morning and all of a sudden my right lower calf felt like it was being attacked! I woke up from my thirty minutes of deep and exhausted slumber and screamed, “SOMETHING BIT MY LEG,” and my roommate screamed, “YOU ARE MISSING YOUR LEG!?!?!” then we all started screaming. And screaming. Until we started laughing at ourselves after we realized how stupid we were.  Although after day 4 I have over 50 bites. What can I say?! I taste good! Haha!

TRAINING

Training is overwhelming. I’m soooo tired and exhausted. I am still not over the jet lag, and forcing myself not to fall asleep.   Today we learned about all the things that will kill us/put us in danger.  It is a little scary seeing as I’m here to help people and I didn’t necessarily realize all the dangers.  US Embassy Security advisor made us all laugh when he said, “In the Philippines, just be aware of your surroundings. Walk around here as if you were walking around in Jersey.” The security training was expected, and I have confidence in the Peace Corps ability to keep us safe on land.

 However I was unaware of exactly how dangerous the islands oceans are, with poisonous specimens at every turn.  Basically I am now afraid to get into the water. We learned about sea snakes (the most poisonous in the world are of course in the Philippines), extremely dangerous coral, and of course to top it all of jelly fish.

Some people are afraid of bears, snakes, or mountain lions. For me, its always been jelly fish. Tomorrow we are getting water training and they guaranteed that we are going to get stung (by the non-poisonous kind.) So…we will see how good I sleep tonight. We were given our shots, and started taking our Malaria medicine. The medicine is said to affect your dreams and cause hallucinations. So for now I say good night…and hopefully nothing too crazy happens!

things you should know…

Things you should know:

— Prepare fingers for calluses from trying to zip up overly full suitcases

 — International flights + complimentary wine = happiness + nerves at ease

— I didn’t see Santa at the North Pole, although it would have been really exciting

— You may find this boring, because I have way too much time on the airplane to write out too many details. Sorry about it. I made it into sections so you only have to read what you may/may not care about. It could be like your very own choose your own adventure blog style

SLEEP OR LACK THEREOF

Afraid to close my eyes for more than a few moments, I can only compare last night’s sleep to a visit to Disneyland. Do you remember when you were a little kid (okay me last month as an adult) afraid to shut your eyes that you may miss your alarm and seconds of activity in your favorite place on Earth. I must have looked at the clock seventy times last night. My alarm didn’t go off until 4:30, but both my roommate and I decided to get up at 3:50 as there was clearly no point in pretending we were going to sleep. Last night I “fell asleep” with the TV on. Something I do every night. I love noise. It reminds me that I’m not alone and I find comfort in falling asleep to someone’s voice. I wonder how I am going to adapt to silence. That’s probably why I am writing this instead of sleeping right now on the plane. Silence. I’m just not used to it yet.

WHEELS ON THE BUS

The morning was extremely organized, I got my official PEACE CORP PASSPORT, and I am very content with the picture. You weren’t supposed to smile, but you know me and of course I did. I think overall it was a good decision. I feel like I stayed true to myself

 The bus ride was full of chit chat. Although no one really slept, everyone just really wanted to get to know each other. I sat with a girl who was my sister’s age, and she had a younger sister my age. It is an interesting dynamic. I always really cared about birth order and personality types and wondered if the Peace Corp had more daring youngest children, responsible oldest children, or pleasing middle children as Vouleenteers?! I still don’t know, but maybe I will make it a side project to find out.  We both talked about how hard it was to be without a cell phone, and how our mothers were extremely affected by our departures, how close we were with our families and how we feel guilty leaving them behind.

I shared with her that this has literally been my dream since third grade. I have had this in my head for so long. Here was my childhood dream life:

-          School President – CHECK

-          Write for Newspaper- CHECK

-          College in DC- CHECK

-          Work in Parliament- CHECK

-          Work in Congress/pass a bill- CHECK

-          PEACE CORP- Do I get to check it? I will call it a work and progress

I’m really jealous on my third grade self and how sure I was on what exactly I wanted to do. I only have a few plans left…but really I’m ready to be inspired. Right now I’m not sure of what will come of this adventure.

TO DO LIST

-          Visit Egypt/go on an archeological dig

-          Write a book

-          Adopt or foster some kids

-          Change the world – haha its true though I really want to do that.

PEOPLE WATCHING PEOPLE

For some reason, the best route to the airport was through the city. We drove past Madison Square Garden, Macy’s and other recognizable locations that I had been to before. I remember freezing in -19 degree weather to watch the Macys Day Parade, and the first time I went shopping in NYC.  I really love New York.  As the bus drove along the busy streets, I continued my favorite activity of people watching. New York people are so focused, so ambitious, even their steps seem to mean something, every stride larger than most. It makes me wonder where I am going to live when I am done with PC? There is no doubt that I am a city girl. I love cities, the night life, the workload, the like minded people, a city that never really sleeps, a place you can never really be alone. I wonder how living in a rural community is going to change me? When I visit New York I always feel like I fit in, like I belong there, and I question how I am going to change. Will city life be too much for me?

I’M READY TO COUCH SURF

Pondering these questions we finally arrived at the airport. Check in wasn’t too bad… and somehow my suitcase gained 4 pounds. I was over the limit…but I just smiled really big and didn’t receive any extra charges and even got a window seat!

We had 5 hours to kill at the airport. A group of us took over the food court and I learned about this fantastic thing called Couch Surfing, something that without a doubt I am joining ASAP (mom if your  reading this many sources say its safe so don’t worry). It’s this amazing group of people that offer up their couch and take you around where they live. Apparently they have places all over the world…so maybe that will really cut down on expenses when I want to travel. You should really look into it!

The five hours at the airport flew by, I purchased internet for an hour was able to send out a few last emails and SKYPE with my mom and dad. (If you have skype add me lysette.davis).

I walked the airport several times in preparation for the long flight. Someone calculated it to be 48 HOURS OF TRAVEL… if you took out the time differences. Boarding the plane was a freeing experience. HOLY FREAKING COW!!! I AM A MEMBER OF THE PEACE CORP AND I AM LEAVING THE COMFORTS OF AMERICA TO POSSIBLY LIVE IN A HUT SOMEWHERE IN ASAI!!!!! AND I WANT TO DO THIS!?!??! BY CHOICE!?!? BY MY OWN FREE WILL!?!? AM I CRAZY!?! But then I look at the airplane full of people and realize how amazing this adventure is going to be.

And now here it is… my dream, all my hard work and preparation, coming together and actually happening.

ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

The plane had a VERRRRRRYYYY rocky start. So much so, I closed my eyes and prayed really hard and asked to be forgiven for all my sins just in case. We are on an airbus, the one with two stories, so it didn’t feel like we were strong enough to get up in the air. Finally we made it. I slept about 30 minutes, but my excitement is still preventing me from sleeping. Well that and the enormous amount of turbulence. Even writing this I get a little bit dizzy because the plane is shaking so much.

Despite my amazing company…. The plane ride is going very slow. I got to sit by my favorite person so far. Her name is Emily, and she is amazing. I can’t believe how quickly we bonded. Mostly because we conversed months and months before our departure due to our relationship statuses; we both had boyfriends. Neither of us intended to get into such serious relationships, sadly we both fell in love or something like it and lost our best friends in a way. But because we talked so much about it months before we even got here we have been like glue to each other, because we really understand how the other is feeling about the whole thing. And it sucks. It sucks not knowing if anyone will ever love you as much again. But I really believe in the work that I am doing, and I really want to make a difference. So sacrificing family, friends and boyfriends is really all part of the commitment to the greater good. If things are meant to happen, they will happen.

SUCCESS

During training yesterday the Peace Corp Training team asked us how we will measure success as volunteers. How do you measure success in anything? How will I decide if what I’m doing is actually making a difference? For me I will have to break it down into steps. And today was my first success…. I boarded the plane, I made it.

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and so it begins….

Last night I couldn’t fall asleep if my life depended on it.  In just a few hours my whole life would change.

At 5am when the alarm went off, I had just found my comfort spot and didn’t want to get up. Maybe two hours of sleep. After a few, ‘five more minutes,’ I was finally able to drag myself out of bed and into the shower. Everything was ready to go and on time when suddenly I go to zip my brand new light purple beautiful luggage and the zipper breaks. YES MY LUGGAGE BROKE!!

My poor mom searched the house and found the largest suitcase, and together we re-packed. Sadly not everything was able to fit. But we didn’t have a choice. We threw things in and ran out the door. Finally we were on our way.

The drive was tough, I passed the street I live on, the mall I first worked at, and all these memories came back from the wonderful people I have come to know. Jack Johnsons, Angel came on…and the song played,

“But you’re so busy changing the world
Just one smile can change all of mine”

And it made me think… here I am trying to change the world…and how powerful a smile can be. And so I smiled. And smiled. Until I cried. I cried because I was leaving behind my family, and I just can’t believe what experiences I am going to miss with them. So if your reading this…and you have my mom’s number…call her. Hang out with my sister, and send my dad a text. I cried because I am going to miss my friends. They may get married, have babies, or just spend time dancing the night away, but know when you are dancing till last call I will there with you, missing you.

Okay. Back to the morning. My mom blessed me, and then I jumped out the car, barely made check in, made it through security, grabbed some breakfast, jumped on the plane and then realized, ‘Uh….where is my phone?!?!??!’ Sadly, I will never know. Luckily I sat next to a girl who I had conversed with quite a bit before departure who was also headed the Philippines, and became fast friends. We had a lovely flight, and even indulged in some last minute wine to celebrate our new adventure. (picture to come).

Finally we arrived in Philly!! And I met up with 7 others! We grabbed a shuttle and headed to the hotel. The hotel had a reception for us, and then we headed to dinner. By the end there were over twenty of us. We shared stories, our fears, our lives.

Have you ever wondered why you share certain things with people when you meet them? What version of yourself you send off…is it different to different people? I wonder what version I send off to my new friends…and what version I will be when I get back. I’m ready for this adventure. Despite all the obstacles, fears and doubts, I am here. And I am ready to become the best version of me.

Hello world!

Hello World!

This picture really captures my inner spirit! haha photo credit: artistic imagery

My name is Lysette Davis, and on my 23rd birthday I am dedicating myself to sharing my journey in the Peace Corps. I leave in 6 days to spend two years and three months in the Philippines!

I believe that all have ability. The difference is how we use it. In everything you do and say you are influencing change, effecting the future. I call this blog, A Pebble in a Pond, because in everything I do, I want to make positive ripples in life. Have you ever skipped a pebble across a pond? It may never make it all the way across, it may only skip once, or it may even fall straight to the bottom; but wherever it lands it changes its atmosphere.

During my Peace Corps interviews and essays they asked me several times what are my expectations.

I don’t imagine that it will be pretty, in fact I am prepared to share pictures of spiders larger than my head, and foods that I have to plug my nose to taste. But like a pebble, I’m not sure where I will land. I’m not sure if I will skid across once or twice, all I know is that I want to make a positive ripple. And hope that the ripples I make cause additional ripples, and one person at a time the world becomes a better place.

I hope when you read this I make you laugh. I hope when you read this it will make your day better, and that it will remind you that you don’t have to be a Peace Corp Volunteer to make a difference, but that you can each make your ripples at home. Remember to treat those around you with kindness, remember to smile at a person who looks like they are having a bad day,  and mostly remember me. And that I’m really not that far away.

Thank you for your prayers and support as I make my best effort to change the world.