A Brief Intermission

We are in Japantown at the Miyako Radisson at staging. Tomorrow morning we leave for China. There are 61 volunteers from all over the country that will leave as well. These people will be a big part of our support system over the next couple of years. While there will inevitably be some attrition, I feel very confident that I will get to know most of them very well.

Odds and ends:

I was able to see Superman! I was bummed out that I couldn't see it. When I was a kid he was a favorite of mine. C'mon, who wouldn't like the man of steel?

The hotel was out of normal rooms so they asked me if it was okay to move us to a deluxe suite. I thought about it for 1/430483403984th of a second and accepted. We now have the Mariana Trench for a bathtub and a football field of goosedown for a bed (with adjustable firmness!) on the 14th floor. I like it, but it is hardly the right way to get us acclimated to the new lifestyle that we are about to undertake. Oh well.

Question: If you were to have one last meal in America before you left for two years, what would you eat? Shell got a grilled cheese and I got a burger (grilled onions, mushrooms and cheese....mmmmm). Gotta have that last grease fix, right?

Here is our address for the next couple of months for those of you who want to send snail mail:

U.S. China Friendship Volunteers
Peace Corps / China
Sichuan University
No. 29 Wangjiang Road
Chengdu, Sichuan, 610064

We are learning a lot and look forward to using our new knowledge.

Liftoff

Tomorrow we leave for San Francisco. We may be out of touch for awhile until things get settled. Thanks for all of the well wishes and kindness. Take care.

See you in a couple of years...

My Own Private Idaho

Stew and I went on one last tour of the state. We did some camping and exploring. I will really miss being able to throw a tent and sleeping bag into the back of my truck and take off in any direction to find something new and amazing. We went out toward the City of Rocks National Reserve. Along the way we were sidetracked a few times by some interesting places.

First, we stopped by Shoshone Falls. I regret that I wasn't able to stop earlier this spring when the falls were really raging. I hear that it was quite a sight to behold. At any rate, as you can tell, they are still quite nice.

Next, we made it out to the City of Rocks. The reserve was jammed full of people this time. I went last fall and it was virtually abandoned. The reserve isn't that well known because of the popularity of other nearby places (Hagerman Fossil Beds, Craters of the Moon, the falls, etc.) I think that City of Rocks gives these places a run for their money though. The formations are amazing and (for you history nerds out there) the California Trail even goes through the reserve. You can find Camp Rock, where westward travellers used axle grease from wagons to sign their names.

After that, on the way home we decided to take a couple of detours. We went to the Shoshone Ice Caves. Even though the temperature in the desert was about 384,739,473 degrees (Fahrenheit, of course,) we found an underground, ice-filled cavern that hovers around 20 degrees year-round. It is a bit inauthentic because the proprietors try too hard. You can't blame them for being a bit gaudy (just ask the caveman riding the dinosaur at the gate) to drag in a few suckers (i.e. me,) but it has its own kitschy yard sale type charm and the caves are really something.


Finally, on our way back home we stopped at Malad Gorge. Many of you may know it because I-84 passes right over it, but I'll bet most of you didn't stop. It is a rather narrow opening in the earth with a raging river (the Malad River, named after a French trapper got sick and felt it was from a meal of beaver that ate bitterroot growing in the area. Moral of the story: Don't eat rodentia.) There are hiking trails nearby and a story about escaped convicts from Boise that could easily make a great movie.



What I got from my trip:

1. One mean, sunburned trucker arm.
2. One last in-depth look at Idaho. I hope it will stay with me for two years.
3. A chance to hang out with a good friend one more time.
   
4. A reminder that there are some cool things right under your nose, wherever you are in this world.
   

Staggering

It was a rough day.

Elucidations

“Why?”

This is the question that I have been asked most frequently since we have revealed our plans to join the Peace Corps.

Considering the circumstances it is a legitimate question too:

We are essentially sacrificing over two years’ worth of income and all of the associated benefits.

We have had to sell our home and find new homes for pets.

We will be living in a foreign country where the living conditions and the government are significantly different from our own.

I am not sure that I have had an answer that is good enough for my inquisitors. So I will try to put something down here that helps explain it.

I believe in volunteerism. I grew up in a family where it wasn’t stressed as much, yet I had always wanted to try it. Once an opportunity was presented I found that I loved it. Since then I have had the chance to volunteer for many different projects and I have picked up some skills and friends because of it too. LCHS requires that students volunteer a certain number of hours for graduation. I feel that is one of the strengths of our school because it takes away some of the reticence that comes with trying something new. One of the reasons that I chose to join the Peace Corps is because it sort of represents a pinnacle of volunteerism for me.

Education is important. For others as well as myself. Most Peace Corps volunteers claim that they come away from the experience helped more by the experience than they contributed. While that is not my goal, I will not pass up the opportunity to become a more informed person. More importantly, I’ll have the chance to teach others about the U.S. and about American English. This is a unique opportunity to be a representative of our country in a foreign land. Many people will form opinions of our country based on their interactions with me. My work as a teacher is important because, not only am I teaching classes, I am helping people decide about our country.

Have you ever just wanted more? I guess the thing that I am looking for is a future where I can look back and not have regret for something that I wanted, yet never tried to attain. I also want to become a better person and I think it starts here, by experiencing a new way of life and seeing the world from a different perspective. You just can’t get this knowledge from a two-week vacation looking out over the city from the 15^th floor of Radisson. You have to climb down from the tower and get your hands dirty. You must become involved.

So, I’ll answer the question again in a more concise manner:

Why am I leaving?

Because time spent wishing is time wasted.