Contact with questions

Only a few months ago I was a nervous PC applicant with invitation in hand, awaiting my departure date and my conformation as a PC trainee. Back then I received loads of help and encouragement from individuals from previous PC China groups. This help came in the way of packing lists, tips for travel, and conversations on what to expect.

So now, I want to offer my help, I want to be available to pay it forward. If you're out there, and you're looking to transfer or apply, or if you've been invited (although I don't think PC China 16 invites have been mailed yet), please feel free to contact me.

Christian.p.tuttle@gmail.com

China is calling, how far will you go?

Manifest Destiny

After a restless night, a 3:30AM wake up call, a 6AM departure, and cross-continental flight, I've arrived at staging in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I am roughly four hours early, but at least I have a free wi-fi connection and my blog to kill the time.

The morning was rough, mostly because my loneliness and nerves kept me up through the night. I felt like my sleep cycle was just starting as I forced myself to my feet at quarter of four. Too bad, I had business to take care of. The flight was uneventful, although United Airlines charged me $50.00 to check my bags, which is ridiculous. Hopefully (fingers crossed) the PC will throw that back at me.

In more interesting news, I sat next to a young couple from China. We only began talking towards the end of the flight, but I learned that they were working/studying engineering in Massachusetts after having moved from (no joke) Chengdu. Its a little, tiny world out there. They gave me some good tips, and told me the city is beautiful and filled with helpful people. Also, they spoke of an area outside the sity proper that was supposedly as beautiful as Yosemite. I want to find this place, although I don't really remember the title of the park/area. It sounded as if there are two words in its title, and strong "j" sounds began both. Jing Jao? Jiang Je? Ching Joa? I'm not sure.

The last time that I was in California was over 15 years ago for the passing of my Great Grandmother, so I feel that I wasn't able to fully appreciate the expanse of American land that passed 30,000 feet beneath the fuselage. Looking out the windows of the plane was pretty crazy; I'm a sucker for clouds and landscapes. I watched coast turn to farmland, then badlands, the mountains, and finally back to coast. Very cool.

Dreams and photos

This post concerns a dream I had last night. I've heard that reading and listening to other peoples dreams can be one of the more boring subjects, so I've added some pretty pictures of my parents house, my pre-staging staging spot, in New Hampshire. If you don't want to read about my dream, you can look at pretty pictures. And theres even a puppy!

I dreamed about the PC last night; I guess I've been thinking about departure so much that its permeated my subconscious. I don't imagine that China/PST/Chengdu will be anything like what I saw in my dream, but it was neat. I'll just paraphrase some of the notable moments:

The dream started with me waking up on a dirt country road with all my gear, in medias res, if you will. So very Dante-esque. I wasn't scared, although I knew that I needed to get huffing because I needed be at PST by 8 AM. SO I started to move it, running along this road with valleys and lakes to my left and pretty hefty granite rock slope/cliff on my right. On the walk I noticed three things: China looks a lot like New Hampshire (I don't believe this is true), I couldn't figure out what time it was back home so I was afraid to call (I'm not planning on carrying a phone), and my luggage felt rediculously light (80 pounds is 80 pounds in any country).

After running down a well worn dirt road, I found that PST was being held in a building that minutes late and looked quite a bit like an American public middle or high school. I arrived about fivefound a room full of Americans. Assuming the were all PCVs I set my gear down an searched for a bathroom. I think the difficulty I had with finding the restrooms symbolizes my apprehensions surrounding the Mandarin lanuage; I couldn't find what I needed, I couldn't ask for what I needed, and I really had to go pee.

Extraneous punctuation.

I've been finding more and more and... more blogs from soon-to-be PCVs in China 15. This makes me totally stoked.

Packing is starting to dominate my mind.
Don't bring too much, I think one moment, followed quickly by another thought, as if shouted from across the table of my mind,
But don't leave anything behind! You'll never know what you'll need!!! WHAT IF CHINA DOESN'T HAVE ANY COFFEE MUGS??? HOW WILL YOU DRINK YOUR KAI FE?!?!?!

Seriously, the internal dialogue regarding packing is killing me. Whatever, it'll figure itself out. It better, or else I'll head to China without any luggage.

I'm getting nervous about the paperwork. I need to make sure that I know what to bring to staging and China. I know I need my Chest X-rays, but what else? Birth certificate? Teacher certification? Diploma? Transcript? If anyone has a working list, please share. I've emailed my PO, and I'll make a post regarding his answers if its worthwhile.

T-minus 24 days or so.

Its been quiet on the eastern front. Too quiet. Where have all the China PCV posts gone? I realize that there's a ban on blogger, but I had expected some American ingenuity and technological side stepping.  I guess I'm just hungry for news from the nation.

I'm living with the parents now in their fantastic, newly renovated home in New Hampshire, USA. Even though I grew up by the ocean, with "sand in my shoes" as my mum says, I feel so much more at home in the hills and mountains. I'm very thankful/excited/relieved to have my parents living in foothills rather than sand dunes. Don't get me wrong, sand dunes are beautiful, I just happen to prefer rolling hills, solitude of the mountains, wilderness, etc.

Today I need to get more paperwork in line. My fantastic (ex)adviser at UMF pushed my transcript and teacher certifications through the bureaucratic tangles of various education offices, and now I need to send them away. Additionally, my $30,000 worth of loans need to be dealt with, and, oh yeah, I've got to unpack my entire life from my van. And then pack it up again and huff it half way across the globe. 

So yeah, and China PCVs or fellow applicants, post away and give me something to read!

Packing Lists

Next step: packing lists.

I'm being torn in two different directions when I compile packing lists for China. I don't want to forget anything, and yet I don't want to bring too much. The cause of the conflict is simple: I have no idea what I'm getting myself into.

When I hiked Mt Katahdin for the first time, I definitely brought too much. My 3000 cu inch pack was full of photo gear, layers, bags of gorp, water bottles and bladders, spare socks, spare spare socks, mini med kits, hats, sun glasses, sun screen, bandannas, and so on and so forth. I learned my lesson: the next year I carried a tiny day pack with one layer, a liter of water, and a sandwich. It turns out you really don't need a lot of gear for a day hike.

All in all, I'm attempting to pack for 2 years over seas, and its not easy. I've got to remember, and correct me if I am wrong current PCVs, that I can find things I need in China. Its not like I'm living in uninhabited wilderness for two years; I'll be teaching at a university in a city. I can do this.

If you're in China or you've been there, please give me packing tips. I've heard shoes are tough to come by for Americans with big feet, so I'm packing a few pair, along with socks, spare insoles, etc. Anything else I should stock up on? I think I read somewhere that deodorant is tough to come by. True?

Offically invited!

I received my Peace Corps invitation packet today. The online toolkit said that it was mailed on the 27th, so I didn't know when I'd receive it. A week? 5 days? Nope, only two. I guess the PC gets shit done when they are in a rush.

Whose got two thumbs and is going to China in exactly two months? This guy.

The packet is thick! Three booklets, one around 90 pages, another a little slimmer, and another even slimmer; they shrink in size as they grow specific. On top of those, there are a few letters, one of welcome, one of congratulations, and then a series of documents that need to be filled out and returned in the addressed envelope included at the bottom.

I've got ten (or so) days to call the HQ and tell them I want to go. One of the letters says that the person on the other end of the phone is going to quiz me on the stuff in the thick booklet. We'll see what this brain, steeped in the hoop-jumping routine of American public education, can do with that quiz.

So, anyways, I am stoked. This will be an adventure, once I'm done wading through the paper work. What that you say? The paper work never ends? Well, at least that's another constant, on top of death and taxes.

Unoffically invited

I've recieved unoffical invitation to the Peace Corps, and it has put the ENTIRE prospect of going away into a brand new light. Before yesterday, the PC was a possibility, a tenuous, vapid possibility that existed in the clouds of the future, partly visibile, and mostly obscured by all the things that laid between then and now. But now, with a definite (albeit unoffical, I'll get to that in a second) date of departure and at least a nation to aim at, rather than a continent, things have became far more tangible. I am going to China. I am leaving in 64 days.

I missed a call last thursday from the PC placement office, and I didn't check my messages until Sunday morning. A placement officer had called, hinting at a "special oppertunity" for me if my schedule fit the timeline. I called the PC office back on monday, and after some phone tag I got in touch with the officer. Ihad a 20 minute conversation while pacing in the Wal-Mart school supply aisle. I've never enjoyed being in that store more than during that call.

Long story short, the PC had an opening in the Chinese program leaving June 29th that needed to be filled before it got to late. My window of placement was from July through September, but I don't mind being bumped up a little. My summer plans will change, but I can't wait to leave. A definite date is what I was waiting for; now i've got it.

SO now I'm waiting for the offical paperwork. My PC account has been updated, and I'm waiting to sign the volunteer papers. More later, my roomate wants to play ball.

More fillings

I just got back from the dentist. I had to get a few fillings for the Peace Corps dental evaluation. My left jaw, cheek, gums, etc. are numb, but the Novocaine is wearing off. It wasn't a bad experience, and I am pretty comfortable in a dentists chair. I don't get freaked out; I just leave the work to the experts and wait until its over.

So I am almost done with finals at school. I finished my senior thesis on The Song of Roland for and English class, and now onto I'm tying up loose ends in my other classes.

We got some snow yesterday. About 6 inches here in town, and roughly the same in the mountains. I think the glades are ready to ski now, which is prett exciting. Theres nothing like skiing New England trees. Last night we got a crew together and built a little kicker in a parking lot on campus. We had some buddies tow us into the jump behind their cars. It was a blast, a little airtime is good for soul. Remeber, always wear your helmets.

Red Bull wearing off...

Its 12:12 AM east coast time. I'm plugging away at this term paper. I really like where its going, and I think my argument concerning Roland's weaponry is sound, but... the Red Bull is wearing off. Alas.

I've been thinking about the Peace Corps a lot lately, specifically since I started searching for PCV blogs in Asia. I am super stoked to adventure. I think i am ready to embrace a something new. I've been in Farmington for close to four years now (I guess closer to three and a half) and a change of scenery would be great. Don't get me wrong, I do love western Maine. I feel very at home in the hills and the mountains. The little downtown area of Farmington is great, and the community offers so much to its members, but still... this is just a stepping stone.

I've got a couple buddies heading out West in the next few days. Some for the semester, and some for good. I'm wishing the best of luck to them, specifically Steve, Joey, and Johnny Tsunami. I hope they shred the deepest of the gnarly pow that Utah, Montana, Colorado, etc. have to offer. I'll be shredding east coast ice and loving it boys. Think of me when you're out there and raise a PBR. I'll do the same.

Seriously, Why?

Why do I want to do this?

At some point in the application process, I'm pretty sure I've been asked Why, oh why, do you want to be sent halfway across the world to teach for no money at all?

That is a tough question. In reality, I am breaking, or at least putting on hold, all of the relationships I have committed to over the past (at least) five years. Nearly everything social (in the broadest spectrum) will be changed.  I am willing, however, to shake up everything I know. There must be something great that is tempting me to disrupt everything I have now.

I want to serve in the Peace Corps because the experience overseas will be unlike anything I have encountered. I want to throw away all the comfortable, American assumptions that I grew up with. I want to redefine the term " A roof over my head." Screw the Hannaford,  Market Basket, Shaw's grocery stores down the road. I want to learn how a different culture survives. I want to all my present opinions and assumptions to be thrown out the window.

This is the third post in under five hours. I really like this blogging thing.

Payment via language and skiing

I'm bored and posting again is a great way to put off studying for finals.

People who have learned of my plans to join the PC have asked Why? They don't even pay you! I couldn't agree less. The immersion into a foreign language alone is worth the two years sans paycheck. I can't think of too many other jobs that pay in the currency of fluency in another language. As an English education major, I believe in the very direct correlation between literacy and intelligence.  Reading comprehension has been shown to relate to intelligence, so I imagine that learning to read a new language, to follow text in a different fashion, will actually make me into a better English reader and teacher.

Like I said in my last post, I'd love to hear from anyone who is on assignment in Asia and is currently skiing. Its just the beginning of ski season where I am, and I've been looking forward to making turns for months. After my first day on hill, my girlfriend mentioned that it became much easier for us to hold a normal conversation. She says I stopped interrupting her to say how much I wanted to go shred. So, seriously, if you ski in the PC, let me know.

An Introduction

I've been putting off establishing a blog for way too long. It is time to start documenting what I hope will become a Peace Corps service. 

Right now I'm deep into the application process. I have applied, interviewed, submitted my medical and dental review, and underwent the legal background check. To anyone who is interested in applying to the Peace Corps, know that the application process takes a good deal of effort. I haven't finished the process yet, but thus far I've jumped through some serious hoops. I think that current PCVs or RPCVs will agree.

I've been nominated to serve as an English teacher trainer in Asia. People ask me where I will be serving, and I usually reply with some snarky remark about how the Peace Corps has assigned me to work in the largest land mass on Earth. Yes, I tell them, I will be teaching all of Asia to speak English. Yes, I know that is badass.

I've known about my nomination for five months. I received a formal letter in August, or perhaps September, but my PC representative told me at the end of my interview that I would most likely teach English to some extent in Asia. My background as a Secondary Education Major with a concentration in English and the general need for teachers in Asia made my nomination a semi-safe bet.

I'm excited to possibly serve in Asia because I am, above most things, a skier. I define myself as a skier, and I'm very at home in the mountains. I hope that I am placed in a location such as Mongolia, Kazakhstan, or some other mountainous region that will let me carry my passion with me in the Peace Corps. If anyone is reading this that is serving or has served in Asia and knows of a skiing sub-culture in the Peace Corps, please let me know. 

Well, thats enough for now. I hope to keep this blog going because I want to share my experiences with others. I also want to keep a running journal of what is happening on my jounrey(ies). So much as happened already, and I'm not even a volunteer yet.