Then and now

It’s amazing to think about how much my life has changed since I arrived in Madagascar. When I do a mental comparison of what my life was like a year ago versus today, it can be almost comical to compare the difference. I saw another volunteer post a similar entry on her blog, so I thought it would be fun to replicate it myself.

THEN:
Ah, the convenience of a washing machine. Just press a button and wait for it to be done.

NOW:
I hand-wash everything (including sheets) in plastic basins. It takes me about 2-3 hours, and I do this once a week. I also sometimes pay a woman to help when I have too many dirty clothes to deal with.

THEN:
Pre-work Starbucks visits.

∫NOW:
My local coffee and mofo stand, with endrini' Arnaud, its proprietor. 10 cents for a small cup of coffee.

THEN:

Barre workout classes at the Physique 57 studios all over NYC.

NOW:
Physique 57 DVDs in my house, using sand-filled water bottles as weights.

THEN:
Commuting to work on the NYC subway.

NOW:
Commuting to work on my trusty bike, via rutted, muddy roads.

THEN:
Monthly air-travel.

NOW:
Monthly taxi-brousse travel.

THEN:
iPhone.

NOW:

Crappy circa 2007 phone.

THEN:
Drinks at cocktail bars (especially my favorite, scotch on the rocks.)

NOW:
Cheap rum that has been steeped with vanilla beans (known here as rhum arrangée) to make it taste better.

THEN:
Running water in my kitchen and bathroom, with NYC tap water-- the world's best!

NOW:
Water from a hand-pump about 50 meters away from my house. I fetch about 3 buckets' worth per day. My "running water" setup is a jerry can that I've fitted with a tap so that I have a good place for handwashing.

An isle of joy

(Lyric from “Manhattan” by Ella Fitzgerald, where she sings “we’ll turn Manhattan into an isle of joy.” If any song whisks me away to New York, it’s this one.)

Homesickness hits me in strange and unexpected ways. This afternoon I was standing on my front steps sorting rice in my sahafa, listening to music, and suddenly I found myself with tears in my eyes, drops falling into the grains of rice as I bent my head to hide my sadness from the neighbors. It was because of the song that had just come on: Ella Fitzgerald’s “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”. Sentimental I did get, because ever since I fell for Ella’s voice as a teenager, I’ve always associated her songs with New York—even before I had the great fortune to live there—and so the music instantly swirled up a cloud of memories in my head. It was a pastiche of classic New York-iana: cocktails at Café Carlyle and the Oak Room; movies at the Paris Theatre; a crosstown walk through Central Park; a screechy subway ride over the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset; a moment of calm amidst the midtown crush in the reading room at the New York Public Library. I stepped back inside my house, closed the door, and allowed myself a few private minutes to shed tears over the city that I once called home.

I’ve only experienced a handful of bouts of truly impactful homesickness, because in general, I am happy and content with the choice I’ve made to live in Madagascar for 2 years. But each time I’ve found myself felled by homesickness, it’s been over New York-- not Vermont, the place where I grew up, and would be more considered my “home”. But New York is the city where I truly felt like I grew into myself, and made the most progress towards being the person I want to be. If anything has been made clear in my 6 months in Madagascar, it’s just how much I love the city, and how much of an indelible mark it has left on me.

I’m in a somewhat different position of the majority of other volunteers in that, as a friend put it, I “had a life” before joining the Peace Corps. (And oh, what a life it was.) So the difference between me and other volunteers is that coming here meant making a swift and decisive identity change. I’m no longer a city gal walking to the office every morning and switching into high heels from an under-desk collection, getting morning coffee at Balthazar, ordering groceries from FreshDirect from my iPhone and having them delivered to my door, going out for burgers and bloody Marys at Minetta Tavern, and then sweating it all off at Equinox and Physique 57. Certainly my time in the Peace Corps has reinforced for me just how privileged my existence was. Of course, this is an existence that I worked very hard to achieve, but here, hard work has been redefined. And of course, before coming here I certainly knew how things would be different, but there are times when I feel such a painful burst of love and longing for the city, and I wonder how I am ever going to make it until 2014. (And I was not helping matters last month by rewatching my old high school favorite show Felicity—all the scenes set in Dean & Deluca made me really crave a good latte!) I know that the city will be there waiting for me when I return, and with good fortune I’ll get into Columbia Business School and will be able to move back in fall of 2014. But that doesn’t stop me missing it now, especially since August has turned into September, and I reminisce on the ephemeral beauty of New York in autumn, air as crisp as its namesake apple, yet buzzing with life and promise as the city revs itself up again after the end of the lazy summer.

If you’ve ever been a New Yorker, you know the one constant that applies nearly all over the world: as soon as you say “I live(d) in New York”, people instantly classify you as a certain type of citified, cultured, probably-over-caffeinated urbanfolk. Being able to say that you’ve lived in New York is a unique type of social currency, but it’s one that doesn’t really have reach where I’m currently living. When people ask where I lived in America, and I give them my answer, there usually isn’t much spark of recognition. However, I am fortunate to have a Malagasy friend in my town who not only lived in Paris, but also in New York (talk about an extraordinary life). I recently ran into him after we both returned to Vangaindrano after traveling for many weeks. After talking about being in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, we both agreed that we much preferred the beautiful landscape of the Sud Est to the dirty, smoggy city of Tana. And I said to him, “you know what? We both lived in the greatest city in the world. How could any other city compare?”

Top Ten NYC Memories

As I've been preparing to enter a new phase in my life, I've spent a lot of time looking back on this phase as it comes to a close. During my month at home in Vermont, I've been working on a long-delayed project to scrapbook all the fun mementos from my New York life: concert tickets, restaurant business cards, etc. (And when I say "scrapbooking" I don't mean the crazy-crafting-lady type... I am basically just pasting things in a book and writing notes about them.) Doing this has reminded me how many wonderful opportunities I have had and how blessed I have been, both career-wise as well as in my personal life. So, I thought I would write a blog post to honor these incredible experiences, as well as give credit to some of the wonderful people who have made my life what it is.

My Top NYC Memories:

10. I started out my adulthood with only very basic cooking skills, and I cringe when I think of some of the things I used to cook when I was 22 and first living with Claire and Jess in our apartment in Hoboken. But along the way, I started to love cooking-- I became inspired by it and really enjoyed experimenting and trying new things, and I grew to love hosting people for dinner in my Brooklyn apartment that fortunately had a dining room. I have recipes in my binder that I remember tearing out of the NYT Dining section or Gourmet, and being so daunted by them, but thinking "someday I'll make this". Those recipes that seemed so difficult are now things that I can confidently make, such as 24 hour brisket, challah, princess cake, lattice pie crusts, and many more. It's something I'm eminently proud of, because aside from some inspiration and basic instruction from my mom (and inherited baking skills from Grandma Lillian), I'm entirely self-taught.

Latticed and braided pie crust.

 9. When I was in high school and college I was interested in connecting with my Jewish heritage, but didn't really know where to start. I attended a Shabbat dinner at a friend's house in high school, and explored Passover during college, but it wasn't until I was 24 and someone told me about Birthright Israel that I really got involved. Until that point I thought it was only for college students, and I'm so glad that someone told me otherwise. I went on a trip when I was 25, gained an amazing friend and future roommate (Bridget), and was really inspired by everything I'd learned. I wasn't "brainwashed", as some people accused-- mostly I was energized by getting this crash course in Judaism and Israel, especially when I learned about the ideals of tikkun olam and chesed. Ultimately, learning about these ideals helped me become the person I wanted to be: I had wanted to do more volunteer work and get involved in my community, and soon enough, I did. (I also credit these ideals with pushing me to finally pursue the Peace Corps.) In 2009 I went back to Israel on the Israel Diplomatic Fellowship, a short-lived program of the Israeli Consulate and Birthright Israel NEXT. I wasn't originally planning to apply for this, but I am so thankful that I did, because I made such incredible friendships that last to this day, and the knowledge I gained during the classes and subsequent trip helped give me a much greater worldview.

With my IDF trip gals, at Jesse's "funky hat" birthday party.

8. As mentioned above, in my mid-twenties I found myself really wanting to do more volunteer work, which I was heavily involved with in high school. Gaining inspiration from the Jewish ideals of chesed and tikkun olam, I started volunteering with City Harvest and later joined their junior board, "Generation Harvest". I also joined the junior board for Gilda's Club (now Cancer Support Community), started volunteering with the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen (I baked desserts nearly every week for their Wednesday night dinners), and became a volunteer leader with Met Council, where I ran a lunch program for low-income seniors and helped with job training workshops. New York is a city that is rich with opportunity for helping others, and my volunteer experiences were so rewarding. It was one of the hardest things to say goodbye to.

With 3 desserts that I helped create for the soup kitchen.

 7. When I lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, I was fortunate enough to have a great group of friends who lived in a house with a backyard just a couple blocks away. The boys and girls at 166 Newel- Devin, Wells, Ben, Peter, Amerah- threw some incredible parties that formed the backbone of my social life from 2006-2010. They were usually themed, always had one of them DJing in the front room, and made great use of the backyard. When they moved out, it was like the end of an era.

With Wells and Jess at a 166 holiday party.

6. Although New York is a place for meeting new people, I also loved that I could stay in touch with old friends, too: fortunately my grade-school buddies Laura and Zena both moved to New York a few years after I did, and my college gals Jess and Claire both moved there with me in 2004. I have so many great memories of movie and cocktail date nights with Claire and Jess, dinner parties with Zena and Laura, running in Central Park with Zena, seeing shows with Claire, and just generally loving having my old friends around in the big, sometimes scary city.

Zena helping to celebrate my birthday last year.

5. My first job out of college was working for a record label, Astralwerks, and that afforded me some truly epic musical experiences: attending CMJ every year (standout memory: closing down Southpaw with Tobi and Gilad as we danced to Diplo's DJ set), seeing Kraftwerk and OMD, taking bands to radio sessions (Royksopp to XM, Phoenix to WFUV, Candi Staton to the Wendy Williams show, where she sang me a new song she'd written, Dust On My Pillow), going to SXSW and having a keyboard stand fall on my foot, then being bandaged up by a member of Hot Chip and going dancing all night anyway.... there are too many great moments to list.

Backstage bandaging.

4. My next career after the music world was working for Food Network, where more amazing experiences came my way: appearing live on the Pix 11 Morning News to promote FoodNetworkStore.com (thanks Alexis for being my PR trainer!), being in an episode of Food Network Star,  getting to partake in the New York City Wine & Food Festival, and just generally having the best coworkers you could ask for: Deb and Angela keeping me sane with grammar and spelling, trading goofy pics with Alex, my cubicle quad girls Danielle/Dria/Clay, and working on Good Food Gardens with Carrie and Sarah. I also worked for some really great people (Bob and Lia), and I can't believe I was lucky enough to call this place home for 4 years. 

I said "uh huh" way too much, but in general I think I did ok on live TV!

3. As my culinary acumen expanded, I began to partake in as many of New York's gastronomic offerings as I could afford. I was fortunate to have had some truly epic dining experiences: buying myself a birthday lunch at Jean-Georges, going to brunch at the Waldorf-Astoria with Phil, joining Chelsea for Sasha's gajillion-course birthday dinner at Maialino, having dinner at Momofuku Ko with my former coworker Tom (I walked over to his desk and asked: "what are you doing Tuesday night?" Tom: "oh, I have some show to go to, kind of have plans...". Me: "I finally got a reservation at Momofuku Ko. Wanna go w--" Tom, cutting me off: "YES. I AM THERE."), and right up until the end, my transcendent experiences at Minetta Tavern. Sure, I'd have about 50% less credit card debt if I ate in every night, but some of those tastes and memories are just priceless.

Meeting Marcus Samuelsson at a different one of Sasha's birthday dinners.

2. I will never forget the feeling of being 22, newly transplanted in New York and on my own for the first time, and finally getting my very first adult paycheck. I felt like the world was my oyster (even though looking back, I can't believe how small that paycheck was), and it was a feeling of finally being on my way in life. Then, several years later, I will never forget the memory of moving into my very own Manhattan apartment, something I had worked so hard to achieve. It was tiny, but I loved it, because it was my own. During the year I lived there I worked harder than I ever had in my life, and on days like the one where I got into work at 5AM to launch a website, and didn't get home until 6PM, there was nothing like being able to close my own door to the world for a little while.

My cute little living area. I miss this apartment.

1. My #1 New York memory, and perhaps my #1 memory in life, is unquestionably my experience training for and running the NYC marathon. I started preparing for it nearly two years prior, when I spent 2008 running nine NYRR races to get myself a guaranteed spot for 2009's marathon. I then devoted my summer to training, which became a second job, but the training runs were almost as rewarding as the race itself. I have so many wonderful memories, like doing a 10 mile run with Tori from Harlem to Battery Park, and seeing the tourists turn in shock as we high fived and said "yeah, 10 miles!" I loved doing 14 mile long runs with Laura, going from Greenpoint to Manhattan over the Queensboro bridge, then running down the west side and back into Brooklyn over the Williamsburg Bridge. And I loved my Wednesday night tempo runs, where I would run home 6 miles from work, and I found myself actually looking forward to a commute for once. And although I was sidelined in August due to an SI joint problem, I was able to run (ok, run/walk) the marathon thanks to intensive physical therapy. It was so incredible to see my friends and family (Jess, Wells, Brad, Brooke/Roz/Haley, Bridget, Sasha) cheering me along on the sidelines, but probably my favorite memory of the entire marathon was coming off the Verrazano Bridge and going into Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I was wearing my homemade "Emily From Brooklyn" shirt and and my Brooklyn Dodgers hat, and the cheering I got nearly brought me to tears: everyone from old salty Brooklyn guys to hipsters to little Hispanic kids to Orthodox Jewish ladies saw me and said "yeahh Brooklyn!" I got more high-fives than I'd ever had in my life. And it that moment that made me love New York more than ever.

I think I started crying right after this.

18 days and counting

Where has the time gone? That's really all I can say as I look at my blog posts from summer, reminders that I pitifully haven't updated this at all since August. After a summer of agonized waiting, finally getting my Peace Corps invitation brought about such a wave of relief and satisfaction that I sort of felt it necessary to take a break from this. And then there just became too much to say, and the idea of updating became daunting. So now that I am finally doing this, be forewarned: this is long.

When I got my invitation I was in the midst of trying to figure out what to do with my life during the waiting time pre-departure, because I already knew I wouldn't be leaving until 2012. I already had an agreement with my job that I would leave in September (because that's when I thought I'd be departing for Peace Corps), but with my revised departure date of 2/28/12, I suddenly had 6 months to kill. I got a great part-time opportunity (thanks to Tanya and Angela!) to do some freelance work updating FoodNetwork.com while they worked on filling a job vacancy, and I could do that remotely from Vermont. I was also able to go back to my very favorite place on earth, Shelburne Farms, for some cooking work during September and early October, and that was fantastically fun and exhilarating to be able to get away from a computer and get in the kitchen again. But the restaurant is seasonal, and the FN job was filled by October, so I had to find something for October onwards. By some stroke of luck or kismet, my former Food Network colleague Allison happened to be reading this very blog via one of my Facebook links, and she saw my earlier plea for ideas on how to fill my time. And so because of that, I got another offer to come back to Food Network once again (thanks Allison and Deb!), this time back in the New York office, my old stomping grounds, to cover for Allison's job while she went on maternity leave from October until February. The timing could not have been more perfect given my situation, but I was hesitant at first about going back to New York. I felt like I had already said my goodbyes to the city and had some closure. I also was worried about where I'd live and if I could save any money while there. And frankly, I had left New York and spent the summer/fall in Vermont for a reason, because I thought it would help me transition into the Peace Corps lifestyle a little better. (Going from Manhattan to rural Africa would be a pretty huge shock, but rural Vermont to rural Africa? Not as huge.) Ultimately I decided to take the job, because I decided that it was going to be the best opportunity that would come my way. And I wouldn't need a car if I went back to New York, which would have been an issue if I'd tried to stay in Vermont and work. Additionally, because I'd be working for a company where I'd previously worked for 4 years, I knew it wouldn't be as daunting as going into a brand-new environment where I would have to learn the business and the culture from scratch, and then have to turn around and leave.

I figured it would be a snap to go back to New York, a city where I had lived for 7 years and already had a strong support network of friends. But I won't lie, being back in NYC was much harder than I expected. I thought it would be all lighthearted fun and spending more quality time with friends; that it would be easy and chill since I had already packed up my apartment and left my stressful job-- I had done all the difficult stuff already. But I was very wrong. The biggest stressor was housing: I hadn't expected it to be so tough to find a 3-month sublet for someone like me, but there I found myself, bouncing from housesit to sublet to housesit, until I realized I had moved 5 times in 3 months. I also became deathly ill for nearly the entire month of December, was spending way too much money on going out and buying things for Peace Corps, and then stressing out about how I was going to pay off my credit card before leaving. The final blow came was when I was kicked out of apartment #4 for inadvertently breaking co-op rules by subletting my friend's apartment. I once again started to look for a new place, but was just so defeated by the whole ordeal that I said to myself, "I just can't." I found a friend's place that I could sublet until mid-January, and then made an arrangement with my boss that I could finish up the job remotely from Vermont. Ultimately, I think it worked out for the best in the end. My fears about transitioning to Peace Corps from NYC became even more acute, and the longer I spent there, the more detached I felt from my upcoming giant reality change. How can you prepare yourself for a slow-paced life in rural Madagascar, in a town that probably doesn't have electricity or running water, when you have 24 hour Duane Reade on the corner and your reality embodies the very idea of the New York minute? I found myself in a weird headspace-- I was trying to not have too much fun in New York, but also trying not to look forward to Peace Corps too much lest it (god forbid) not happen for some reason. Towards the end of my time I loosened up a bit and just went balls-out with restaurants, bars, socializing, the works. I felt like if I really burned myself out socially, it would help me embrace a slower-paced lifestyle. I'm paying for it now (hello, Amex), but I think it helped me go out with a bang and really feel like I could say my goodbye to New York.

Now I'm ensconced in the quiet Vermont countryside, where my big outing involves a trip to the grocery store, and I am generally practicing what it will be like to not have my friends quite so available. That was another concern I had about being in New York, that I was relying on my friends too much when I'd soon not be able to talk to them more than once a month. So this time in Vermont is allowing me a gradual draw-down of my connectivity, and a ramping up of my level of independence and self sufficiency. I'm able to spend time packing thoroughly and thoughtfully, take care of loose ends like a 401k rollover and obtaining property insurance, and also spend time with my parents. I'm also carefully packing up the last bits of my current life, paring down my belongings and saying goodbye to things I won't see for 2+ years, until all I'm left with are two packed bags and a drawer full of old clothes that I can wear until I throw them out before I hop on the plane.

So here we are, 2012, which seemed so foreboding and far away just 6 months ago. I was so adamant about not wanting to depart for Peace Corps in 2012, because it seemed light years away and I was worried the delay would derail me from my path. But six months later, I'm still here and on track, and parts of me are even wishing for a bit more time before I go. We finally got our travel information, and on Sunday 2/26 I leave for Washington, DC where we have 2 days of staging with our whole group, and then on 2/28 we all board a plane for Johannesburg. After an overnight there, we take another flight to Madagascar on March 1st. And then the adventure begins.

FAQs about Peace Corps

Now that I've made the official announcement about my application to become a Peace Corps volunteer, I've been getting a lot of questions about the logistics of the whole process-- which is understandable, because it's a crazy leap for me to be making, and also a program that a lot of people are not very familiar with. Since I seem to be getting asked the same questions over and over, I thought I'd post some FAQs here:


Q: When do you find out if you've gotten in?
A: I don't know, but I am hoping/expecting that I'll know in June. In a nutshell, the whole process works like this: you apply and interview with a local recruiter; if they think you'd be a good candidate, they nominate you to the national office. Then the national office sends you the dreaded medical packet, which takes several weeks and lots of time and money (in doctor fees) to complete. Once you submit that and the medical office reviews it, they'll often ask for more information or lab results before they can medically clear you. And your file doesn't even get sent to the placement office until you are medically cleared. My status now is that I am nearly done with the medical part-- they sent me to get a test to submit updated results, and once I get the results from that I'm hoping that I will be medically cleared. And once that happens, I am hopeful that the placement office will review my file and invite shortly thereafter.


Q: Do you know where you're going if you do get accepted? How do they pick which country to send you to?
A: You don't have any control over which country you're invited to serve in, although you can certainly list your preferences. I listed sub-Saharan Africa (Francophone countries) as my first choice, and the Caribbean as my second choice. There are so many factors involved with which country a volunteer might be placed in, such as your skills and availability, a particular project that they might need volunteers for and when that starts, etc-- plus they also need to factor in any medical issues or religious concerns. (For example, I said that I didn't want to go to any country where I would feel uncomfortable saying that I was Jewish-- so that rules out Jordan and northern Africa.) They also look for language skills, notably French and Spanish, so because I have a substantial background in French I'm hopeful that they will listen to my request and place me in a French-speaking African country. Looking at the information I see online, I am guessing that this could put me in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Benin, or others. But again, there's no guarantee. 


Q: Do you know what kind of work you'd be doing?
A: I don't, but I've been nominated as a business volunteer. Just like the location, there's no guarantee that if I'm invited it will be for a business role, but I hope that's what I get to do. I'm guessing that kind of role could mean advising local community members on how to successfully start and run a small business.


Q: If you're applying for a fall program, why are you leaving New York in May?
A: This is a question with a complex answer, because there are many reasons why I am leaving right now. First of all, my lease is up at the end of April, and if I were to stay it would be tough to break the lease (also, they are raising my rent!) Second, because Peace Corps often gives only 1-2 months notice pre-departure if they invite you to serve, I thought it would be easiest to pack up my NYC life now and move in with my parents while I wait to hear from PC. That way, I can be a little more nimble if I get the invitation, and not have to deal with packing up wineglasses and cancelling my gym membership while also planning an overseas move! Third, I also feel like spending the summer in Vermont will be a good segue for me if I am to be living, most likely, in a small village somewhere halfway across the world. Going straight from NYC to that would probably be too much of a shock to my system, but a summer in Vermont will allow me a bit of a breather and a way to take a step back from the hectic and privileged lifestyle I am lucky enough to lead in NYC. Fourth, and final, is money. I need to seriously save money if I am going to be out of the job market for 2 years, and although Peace Corps does pay you a small amount while you are a volunteer, it's basically just enough to buy your groceries. I want to be able to have some savings to use for traveling as well as have something to fall back on upon my return. 


Q: Can we get drinks/dinner/coffee before you leave?
A: I'm running around like a madwoman right now as I finish packing (and I am slowly being closed in upon by the towers of boxes in my tiny apartment), so I am pretty slammed up until I actually move on Saturday. However, I will be back in NYC throughout the summer, in May, June and most likely July, so let's go out then!

A new beginning

"I'm leaving NYC and moving to Vermont for the summer, and then hopefully moving to Africa in the fall to join the Peace Corps!" Yes, that's the 'news' in my life right now, but it requires a lot of backstory, so I am using this post as a way to explain what's going on in my life in a channel outside of Facebook. 

A bit of background: I moved to NYC in June 2004, just 2 weeks after graduating from Drew University, and have been working and living here ever since. My first job was at Astralwerks Records, and I had actually been interning there for nearly a year before I started my job, first during the summer of '03 and then commuting in from NJ by train to work all day on Fridays during my senior year. I left Astralwerks in fall 2006, then moved to freelance work with Sugar Communications and Food Network for 6 months after that. I transitioned into full-time work at Food Network and stayed there for nearly 4 years before taking my current job at Venda in March 2010. In short, I've been working non-stop since graduating college. I haven't taken any time off between jobs (though I do feel fortunate to have been continually employed!), and I didn't get to do the requisite post-college backpacking and traveling because of my job. So, I have decided that I need a break from the corporate world. It's been nearly 7 years now in NYC and if I am going to continue on this way, I feel that it's important for me to take a step back and pursue something that's been on my life list for 10 years. Which brings me to...

Peace Corps: I had been interested in joining the Peace Corps since high school, a desire which was magnified during a 2002 volunteer work trip to Honduras with Drew. I attended the info sessions but ultimately decided to put it off due to my job offer. (Picture the legions of people saying "What? You got offered a job at a record label in NYC? You'd be crazy to turn it down!") So I moved to NY and spent my time learning the ropes of the New York business world. I also began to spend a lot of my free time doing volunteer work with City Harvest, the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen, and Met Council. Nonetheless, I still felt the pull of Peace Corps and so in 2009 I decided to finally apply. However, in early 2010 I was contacted by a headhunter and ultimately received an amazing job offer at Venda, so I elected to put Peace Corps on hold to take on the new opportunity, which I knew would be an incredible learning experience. It also enabled me to move to Manhattan and live by myself, which let's face it, was on my "life list" as well. The job at Venda has been challenging but rewarding and I have grown immensely in just one short year. But again, I still felt like there was something greater that I needed to pursue in my life, so I re-opened my Peace Corps application at the end of 2010. And this brings me to...

Logistics: I have applied to become a Peace Corps volunteer, and the program I've been nominated for is doing business advising in Africa, in French, leaving in September 2011. I am indescribably excited about this, because it's exactly what I am interested in pursuing as a career: using business skills as a tool to improve the lives of people around the world. I subscribe to an idea that I term "compassionate capitalism", which means that enabling someone to start their own business and become successful is ultimately a better way to solve global problems than simple foreign aid, whether it be food or monetary donations. Creating strong community-based economies has an enormous trickle-down effect that helps combat problems like malnourishment, disease and lack of education. (Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn write about this in length, specifically about the impact of women-owned businesses, in the NY Times as well as their book "Half the Sky".) I am excited about sharing the business skills I've learned in the past 7+ years, and ultimately it's made me glad that I waited to apply for Peace Corps, because 7 years ago I would not have known what I wanted to be a volunteer for-- it took me getting out there in the world to know that the business aspect is what interested me the most.

The program I am applying for leaves in September, but the lease on my apartment is up at the end of April. So, I have decided to move back home to Vermont at the end of this month. In addition to the lease aspect, I feel that living in the countryside for a few months will do me good and allow me to re-center myself before (hopefully) leaving for Africa in the fall. Additionally, because Peace Corps often gives volunteers only a few weeks' notice before they are due to depart, I decided that moving to Vermont and tying up as many NYC loose ends as possible right now (cable bill, gym membership, etc) would allow me to be more nimble and flexible should I receive an official Peace Corps invitation with not much advance notice. Which brings me to...

My current status as an applicant: I have spent an enormous amount of time and money going through all the hoops necessary to become a volunteer. I have completed the application, gotten the recommendations, done the interview, studied for and passed the French language exam, visited my doctors and dentist (10+ visits), and though I am feeling confident about my qualifications as an applicant, I am still waiting for my medical clearance to come through. Once I receive my clearance (hopefully in the next few weeks once I submit results of one final test), my application will go to the placement office, which is where they make the official decision. In terms of timing, I'm hoping to hear from them by June or July. So this brings me to...

Today: Despite the uncertainty of my departure, I've nevertheless decided to go forward with my move to Vermont. I have spoken to my boss and will be working remotely for my company for several months at least, although I don't have a guaranteed end date. My official move date is Saturday April 30th, and on that day I'll be driving a U-Haul to Vermont that's filled with my NYC life.

I apologize for this long post, but for those of you who I haven't been able to speak with about this at length, I felt that it was important to share the background and current status of my plans. Those of you who know me well will probably not be surprised by my desire to join the Peace Corps, so as sad as I am to leave New York and my friends here, I am hoping for everyone's support and understanding as I (hopefully) launch into a new journey in my life.