Nostalgia

So it begins: The Itchy Gringa.

Well, I may not currently be itchy as I lounge comfortably on my grandma's overstuffed couch. Though she is not aware, she shares this moment with me as she sits nearby in her equally cozy leather recliner. We are relaxed, full of homemade lemon meringue pie, and silent as we share each other's company.....I cherish these moments.
As my leave for the Peace Corps approaches this summer I am becoming more nostalgic as well as increasingly anxious.

I am itchy 

to become an active Peace Corps volunteer

I am anxious

to live in another nation, learn from another culture and embrace the challenges that find me

I am fidgety 

about how to prepare, though I feel it is sometimes inappropriate and presumptuous to try

I am antsy 

to make unimaginable transitions

currently I am itching to get going, anxious to see what awaits....

r                                                                                                                                                                          I anticipate that I will be physically itchy come this summer with the help of my first Latin American friends: mosquitos, black flies, ticks and bees. I suspect insects will be the first to reach out to me, as they will be elated, not flabbergasted by the white pigment in my skin, and they will also not be bothered by my mediocre Spanish, clumsy rhythm, and abnormally large pupils. As a means of avoiding loneliness, I will embrace these 6-legged irritants by announcing now, and regretting later "Welcome Friends!"

Let's hope I haven't cursed myself. 

While waiting I have been reading a lot of journal articles to become more informed about what I could study. Here are some of my googlescholar.com searches: 

Rural land transitions in the neotropics

Consequences of development in rural Latin America

Results of neotropical deforestation

Ethno-ecology

Payments for environmental services

Agroforestry

Tropical forest regeneration 

 While this is fascinating (at least to me) and reminds me of my scholastic responsibilities I wonder if it will be a waste when, against my strong assumptions, I am asked to serve in Azerbaijan.... or some other country I have never heard of, in a region I am not so familiar with and a language that would make Spanish seem as simple as peeling a banana. So to ameliorate this concern I have been feverishly reading Peace Corps blogs,  journals that describe hilarious language barriers, terrible sicknesses, blooming friendships, exotic culinary challenges, inimical encounters and seemingly impossible goodbyes. Additionally, there are also stories of people who have chosen to leave their service early due to unforeseen circumstances.  All of these blogs are candid and unique to the authors who have volunteered and discovered the threshold of their character. Most importantly, they have agreed to experience life outside of the comfort of their Grandmother's living room..... 

So here I sit nostalgic and anxious.