The Waiting Game

As you can tell, I’ve decided to give this blog thing a try. I can’t promise you monthly entries or even that I post more than this one time, but hopefully I provide you some insight into my life as I ramble on.

Here’s a brief introduction for those of you who don’t know me. My name is Wilma Mui and I graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2009 with a B.S. in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies. I was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. I am very social and enjoy going out/hanging out with friends, but I'm a nerd at heart. I love spending an afternoon reading or museum hopping. One word that I often use to describe myself is effervescent and I like to think of myself as a very loving person. I’m a sports fanatic and I stick with my teams through thick and thin (you have to when you’re a Warriors fan). I even worked for the WBB team at SC and had the privilege of traveling to numerous places including the Bahamas and Hawaii. I’m actually not very good at this part, so if you want to know anything specific, just ask! Now, onto why I’m writing this Blog.

I am currently a Peace Corps invitee. I have been assigned as a Preventative Health Educator in Senegal. To save you the trouble of Google-ing it, Senegal is on the west coast of Africa, west of Mali and North of Guinea. On the rough outline of Africa that I can form with my hands, it’s at the midpoint of the cagina of my left hand (no, its not a dirty term, it’s the area between the thumb and index finger). Still can’t picture it? Use Google images. As of right now, it’s a little bit over a 7 weeks till my departure (54 days to be exact). It seems like forever ago since I received my nomination- over a year, in fact. Since then, it has been a long and at times torturous waiting game. I recently received an email informing me that I have staging on March 8th and 9th in Arlington, VA. It isn’t a plane ticket, but it’s the next step showing that the Peace Corp hasn’t forgotten about me.

Some of you who are reading this may be wondering why I’m starting my blog now, before I’ve done anything. The simple answer is: my dear friend said that I should. On an eventful 6-hour drive from Los Angeles, CA to Tempe, AZ on the first day of this New Year, we discussed everything under the sun including my current life decision aka Wilma goes to Africa for 27 months. While sharing some of my decisions, concerns, fears, and excitement, she said that I should definitely write about it. (This may or may not also have to do with the fact that another close friend had mentioned that day that she would love to read blog entries about our lives.) She thought it would be interesting to read about the process that leads up to my departure, including some of the decisions that I have to make. To me, these are decisions and topics I am checking off my to do list, written on multiple pages of my green Kate Spade notepad (it didn’t make sense to buy a 2010 planner for 2 months). I’ll attempt to organize my decisions and thoughts into a few general headings, but I warn you that it’ll resemble a collection of ramblings.

Family
Being apart from my family is nothing new to me. I am the black sheep of the four daughters- the one who left the Bay Area for Los Angeles and didn’t attend UC Berkeley (GO TROJANS! FIGHT ON!!!) That being said, I was only a phone call and a six-hour drive away (5.5, the way I drive). It’s a whole different story being on a different continent and not being connected via numerous mediums. Out of everyone, my grandma is the most worried for me. She’s told me that she doesn’t want me to go, but knows that I’ve chosen this route for a reason. Then there’s my dad. He’s supportive of my decision; I didn’t even have to fight to get his OK on joining the Peace Corps. In fact, I wasn’t even the one who told him I was considering going to Africa (my sister spilled the beans). It’s funny; my dad has been more concerned with my little sister going off to Rome for the semester than he is about me going to Africa for two years. I assume its because he knows that I can take care of myself and has told me that I have a good head on my shoulders.

Onto the sisters. As I mentioned before, my little sister is studying abroad in Rome for the semester. If I don’t return home for a visit or if she doesn’t visit me in Senegal, we could be apart for 29 months! That’s the longest we have ever been apart, including before she was born (there’s a 19 month age difference). It’ll be interesting. I’m contemplating returning for her college graduation in 2011, but we’ll see what my situation is at that point and if it’s feasible for me to come back (plane tickets are $$$). Then there’s my older sister. She seems to like her job, but I don’t think she loves it. Also, she doesn’t tell me much, so in the time that I’m gone, she could get a promotion, a new job, and/or be in a relationship. Who knows what will happen there. Lastly, there’s my oldest sister. She JUST got engaged and while I am extremely happy for her, there’s a little (selfish) voice in my head that’s wondering when she’s getting married. Obviously I will fly back for her wedding, but I wish I could be around to help her plan it. I have experience!! I once planned an entire wedding in my high school econ class =D. Also, my friends can vouch that I throw great parties- I’ve never done a bachelorette party or a bridal shower, but it can’t be that hard. It’s going to be an interesting being away from them, but they can’t drive me crazy from 6400 miles away. On the flip side of that, I can’t stop them from stealing my clothes, shoes, and accessories either.

Friends
Where do I begin with this topic? Being back in San Francisco has been an experience. I was definitely spoiled in college, living a few feet away from some of my closest friends. It’s been nice being close to my best friends from home, but we’re used to being apart and our relationship always picks back up in no time. I admit that I may have taken some friendships for granted. It wasn’t until we were scattered in multiple time zones that I realized how lucky I was! Whenever I needed someone to talk to, a shopping buddy, or a partner in crime, all I had to do was walk out of my room or make a phone call. Gone are the days of wine & movie nights, morning after recaps, and wedding show marathons. I realized how great I have it every time I return to LA and my calendar is surprisingly booked with all the people I want to see. It’s been a challenge keeping in touch with everyone when I still have a cell phone and constant Internet access. I don’t know how it’ll be when I’m actually gone. Maybe the distance will make me a better communicator.

Now onto my fears: eek! I feel like my life in the United States will have been put on pause, while everyone else will continue to move forward. Who knows where everyone will be at that point in his or her life. Will they be engaged, married, pregnant, or a parent? And career- wise, I’ll find myself friends with lawyers, doctors, accountants, teachers, actors, writers, and maybe even a video vixen… Then there’s me. Will I come back a different person? Will my friends still want to be friends with me? I know some of my friends out there are shaking their heads in disbelief that the thought would even cross my mind, but it’s one of those nagging concerns in the back of my mind. And only time will tell.

Material Things
“You know that we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.” Yes, I admit it; I like the material things in life. However, I am not defined by my possessions. In an age where email is at my fingertips and my iPhone is permanently glued to my hand, not having consistent Internet access and texting (*gasp*) is going to take some getting used to. I am confidant that I will adjust and will probably find not being constantly accessible somewhat refreshing. And speaking of Internet access, what am I going to do about my computer? A netbook is the most logical choice, but that means leaving my beloved Mac at home. In the time that I’m gone, Apple will either a) discontinue the Macbook Pro line, or b) create two new versions of it. Will my computer be old by the time I return?

Packing up all my things and moving it 400 miles from LA to San Francisco was a reality check in my consumer ways. Simply put, I have a lot of stuff. This is the girl who has about 100 clothing items with some form of USC or Trojans written on it (to be fair, a good portion was given to me). I am not a slave to fashion or the newest trends, but I like to look good and am not simply a jeans and t-shirt type of girl. What trends will come and go while I’m away? Will I thankfully miss the comeback of shoulder pads and scrunches or will I sadly miss the resurgence of 20’s glam? Maybe it’s a good thing that my sisters will divide my closet among themselves; my collection of leggings and tunics won’t be “in” forever. That being said, I need my girls to take me on a shopping trip upon my return to reacquaint me with fashion.

Then comes Eva and Wellington- what’s going to happen with them? For those of you who don’t know, I’m referring to my car and GPS respectively (yes, I name inanimate objects). Well, my little sister is one lucky person. She inherits both of them, along with all the other gadgets in my car.

Not to fear, I’m not going sans electronics. I will have my ipod, complete with a solar charger (just in case). Everything else is just extra stuff. I learned to live with it all and I can learn to live without it.

Miscellaneous
These are the random thoughts that are currently floating through my head. The most pressing topic right now is what do I pack? I have trouble packing for a weekend away, how am I supposed to pack everything I need for 2 years into 2 suitcases? I’m convinced that this is an impossible task to achieve without having magical powers. I will let you know how that process goes.

Next up is my greatest fear. Failure. I don’t know what my role will be in Senegal, but I’m scared that I won’t be successful. I don’t have astronomical aspirations and I don’t expect to change the world by myself, but I’m nervous that I won’t accomplish anything meaningful. Also, I’m scared of accidentally offending members of my new community. I am very aware that I will be an outsider in a community and culture that I am not familiar with. It’s a scary concept to enter a different culture, but an exhilarating one as well. I could go on and on about what I’m scared of, but where’s the fun in that. I’ll write more about them as they come up.

That’s it for my first (epically long) post! I enjoyed writing most of this post and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I think I will continue this and will probably post once more before I actually leave. If you actually read this entire thing, then a) you love me, b) you were really bored, or c) I was able to entertain you with my random musings and commentary.

--Peace Out!

P.s. If you have any questions you want me to answer in the next post, let me know! I’ll be more than happy to address them =)