1 Hand!
The countdown is down to 1 hand… I leave in 5 days! 
)
So, everyone has been asking me the same question “Are you excited?” My initial + automatic response is “Oh yes!” but honestly when I stop and think about it, what I’m feeling at this moment is a lot more than just pure excitement. I’m excited, yes, but I’m also anxious and nervous. This whole Peace Corps stint is finally coming true + I’m waiting so impatiently. But what happens once I get there? I still know so little about what is going to happen in the next 2 years: where I’ll live, who my host families will be, how training will go, the type of relationship I’ll have with my co-teacher, what my classroom will look like, how my students will act, which fellow volunteer I’ll get along with the best, what the food will be like, if I’ll be able to go home next May for Melissa’s wedding, and how easy voseo will be to pick up, if Nicaragua will be like I imagine, just to name a few. Surprisingly, however, I’m okay with it. Part of the adventure lies in the unknown and I can’t help but believe that everything will work out for the best… “Lo que no mata, engorda.”
The jitters I’m feeling diminish, though, when I think about how prepared I feel. I believe MIIS has done a good job of preparing me for the field. Heck, reading through our Nicaragua “pre-departure self study guide” about language teaching theory + methodology as well as English grammar was a piece of cake: review. John is amazing at teaching English grammar. I went from “I know nothing” to perfecting structure trees in just 2 semesters! I kept thinking “I already know this” + the quizzes were just as easy as the reading. So I’m feeling pretty confident, but not overconfident, because I know there is still so much more to learn; knowledge I hope to gain during training, my 2 years of experience teaching down in Nicaragua, my last semester at MIIS, + whatever follows post-graduation.
Finally, despite the “don’t leave me” ‘s and the “Best of luck, I could never do that” ‘s , I’m also confident because I know Nicaragua is where I’m supposed to be + I have the support of all my friends + family. I couldn’t have asked for more!
So there you have it… my thoughts 5 days before departure… Now I just need to pack )
