Last NYE in USA

Ok, so I know that this is not necessarily my LAST New year's in the states but there is a very very very good chance that this time next year I'll be kickin it in Europe and not here. My family keeps saying they'll find a way to get me home for the holidays during my service but, I think that I'd like to spend at least one of my winters of service in my country of service.... but anywho, I'm excited to be going to NYC tomorrow to hang with my bro and to ring in the new year with style haha. That way, just incase it is the last NYE I spend in the states for a while, it's guaranteed to be a good one. I'll probably post pictures either while I'm there or when I get back.
Either way I wish you all a safe, happy new year.

besos!!

Aspiration Statement

Yeah, so... like I said before: it felt stupid writing this because I cannot even begin to know what it will be like to be a volunteer. It really is something so foreign to me... it feels like everything that I wrote is in some way foolish or naive ya know.... like looking back in your journal to see what you wrote when you were 14. Its like, at the time you truly believed what you were writing but now you realize it was totally naive. That's what I think it will be like to look back on my aspiration statement in 3 years. I'll probably laugh at myself and think, "that girl had NO idea what she was getting herself into". but oh well, here it is nonetheless.

A: I plan to use my previous classroom experience as a professional attribute during my service. The leadership and communication skills that I was able to develop while teaching in the classroom will surely be beneficial in my new classroom experience during my service. I also plan to use the organizational skills that I used both in the classroom and as a camp counselor during my service as well; those past experiences allowed me to learn how to adapt to many situations and use my creativity to the best of my ability.

B: In order to help host country partners meet their expressed needs I would first listen to exactly what it is they want or need and then figure out how these desires would positively (and/or negatively) affect their community. After clearly defining the needs of the hosts, I would do my best to work with them and initiate a way to get their ideas off the ground; I think that because there will probably be a language divide, it will be very important to make sure that all the needs and wants of the host country partners are clearly explained and established before any big moves or decisions are made. This is vital to assuring that the end result of a project/task will actually be what they needed in the first place. With that said, it is extremely important that listen to people and try to understand their situation.

C: I think that the main strategy that I will have for adapting to a new culture will be to learn the history behind why/when certain things are/are not done in the country. Understanding why people do certain things is one of the best ways to appreciate why it is they do the things they do; and this understanding can come from learning the history behind cultural customs. With respect to my own culture, I will focus on how important and special my culture is to me and just think about how important their own culture must be to them. Another strategy I have is that I will do my best not to take any situation or opportunity for granted; when offered a food that I’ve never heard of before or invited to do something I’ve never done before I will always remind myself that what I am doing is something that many people will never have the chance to do or see. Hopefully that attitude will help me to actively participate in my new culture and community and thereby help me to adapt easily.

D: The most important skill that I believe I can learn during my pre-service training is the language! I just feel that when it comes to truly helping people and giving them what they need, it is imperative that nothing gets lost in translation. Communication is key in all relationships in life and this is no more evident than in the relationship between a volunteer and the community in which he/she works. Along with language I hope to gain knowledge about the political climate of the country as well as its societal norms and taboos. Having a well rounded understanding of my future community and project will help me to make prudent decisions, both personal and professional, during my service.

E: I think that the Peace Corps will influence the way I do business in my life; not only will it affect the way in which I do business in professional relationships but it will also affect how I do business in personal relationships. I think that the way that I look at the world will be different and that I will have much more drive and confidence to change the things that I believe are wrong or unfair. I think that after my service I will have a much better idea of what career path I want to take. As far as personal aspirations are concerned, I am sure that the way in which I spend my money, my time and my efforts will be greatly influenced by my experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer. To put it plainly, I hope that after my service, I come out a stronger, smarter, more grateful human being in all aspects of my life.

Procrastination!!

AGGHHHH!!!! i am procrastinating sooo badly!!!! I really need to get it together and finish my friggin aspiration statement...i've only been working on it for like two weeks, no big deal haha. They shoulda never told me that I didn't have to adhere to the 10 day deadline thing since i'm not leaving for like 5 months! Because now i'm just bein ridiculous!! I guess old habits die hard....but this ain't some college English class this is like, uh.... MUY IMPORTANTE

so hopefully you will see my aspiration statement up here soon. it just feels so hard to write cuz i feel stupid writing it. like, who wants to sit and type pages about how useful their skills are and how theyplan to deal with a situation which they've never before in their lives dealt with??!? uh....yeah its a bit on the difficult side.

but i gotta run to Bible study ya'll so i'll catch ya later! and the aspirations will be complete!!!!

besos!

.::Photos::.

Ok, so posting pictures on this blog is proving to be a royal pain in the ass but I finally figured out to put a link to my pictures in the sidebar on the right of my page. So, if you look to the right you'll see the link "Monica's Photo Gallery" and just click that and there ya go! My pics! haha

Well that's all I wanted to say for now. I said I'd post the reaction pics that my mom took when i got my invitation so I wanted to make sure I posted them ASAP.

have a blessed sunday!

besos!
monica

R O M A N I A ! ! !

So I just got my invitation in the mail and I'M GOING TO ROMANIA!!! ON MAY 19, 2008!! I can't even believe it, it doesnt even feel real. after all this time of waiting and wishing and hoping and now i finally know......... its just crazy...that's all i can say. but i'm so excited and im glad that i'll be able to see kevin when he gets home from kuwait before i go and i'm just happy in general that i'll have a proper amount of time to hang out and travel and just cherish my time with the ones i love. so....
yea.....hahaha after all that build up there's really nothing else to say. well, except

ROMANIA, HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!

haha my mom took pictures of me while i was opening the letter so i'll try and post those tomorrow or sunday.

besos!
monica

~ PEACE CORPS INVITATION!!! ~

So I got home from work and there was a new email with the subject "Your Application Toolkit has been updated" and so naturally I start to flip out and scream and run around and almost drop the freakin laptop. So I go to my toolkit and it says, "Congratulations! You have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer" :-)

F I N A L L Y ! ! ! ! ! ! ! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Words can't express how freakin excited i was. So it said that my invitation toolkit was mailed to me yesterday which means that probably tomorrow(or fri at the latest) I'l FINALLY KNOW WHERE EXACTLY I'M GOING AND WHEN EXACTLY I'M LEAVING!!!!!!

I can't even type about this anymore cuz I'm just too excited to try and type without typos.

besos!!!!!!!
~mon

not too much longer(i hope)

So, I was told that starting Monday, the placement office will begin to fill in positions for people who want to do what i want do do(teach english) in the region where i want to do it(northern africa). sooooo that means that before this month is over i will have received my invitation!!!!! woohooo!! lets just hope that all goes according to plan.
meanwhile i'm just hanging out and trying to cherish time with those who cherish me.

that's all for now. hopefully the next time i write in here i'll know just where i'm headed and just when i'm leaving!!!!

con mucho amor,
Moni

And it's amazing how you love me.

Wow. I never dreamed that all of the people in my life would be SO happy and proud and excited about my medical clearance. I mean, i know that they support me in all that i do but so many people have just shocked me with their excitement i mean at times its felt like they're more excited than me!!(if that's humanly possible).

But i just told told somebody very important to me about the clearance and he said "Oh my gosh! Well that's awesome! I'm so glad it finally happened, I know how bad you just wanted to move on to the next step. I'm happy for you...I mean, it SUCKS for me but its so great for you. I'm happy for you."

:-)

That made my heart smile. It made me think of the lyrics to a song from Procter: "...and its amazing how you love me. And its amazing how you care. And its amazing how you're always thinking of me all the time and everywhere..."

ok well with that, i'm off to bed.

besos!!!!

Medical Clearance!

So, the day finally came. I am officailly medically cleared (and dentally cleared too lol) to serve with the Peace Corps. The letter came in the mail today!! I'm so happy and so scared all at the same time.... I didn't know it was possible to feel this way but apparently it is.
So I think this blog is going to pretty much take the place of the two older ones(xanga and the other blogger one). I just need to get in the habit of writing in this one and whatnot. But anywho, It's really exciting to be a part of this whole process now that the poopy part is out of the way and I can finally get excited about finding out where in the world I'm going and when the heck I'll be leaving.

life is good.

besos!
Monica