the path less taken pt.2

continued from here...

so, what does it mean that i’ve been accepted as a volunteer? 

long story short i am now in the process of being placed to live and work in another country for anywhere up to 2 years. whoa. whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. allow me to elaborate. 

papua new guinea

for my readers in the U.S. think of this organization kinda, sorta, like the peace corps. basically, it’s an international organization that accepts volunteers and places them to work/live overseas in a developing country where their professional background is put to use. so you are using the skills you have (and you have to have been a professional in your field for at least 2 years) to benefit the community/organization you are working for. you are paid but it is a ‘living wage’ meaning don’t expect to get rich or save! they work in just over 40 countries around the world - so you can be placed anywhere from tanzania, ghana, ethiopia, south Africa, to honduras or peru to cambodia or vietnam or countries so off the beaten path like mongolia , papua new guinea, or vanuatu. they work in 7 different areas including education, hiv/aids, health, and the environment. one of the things i really like is that you do not have to pay anything. once you are selected as a volunteer everything - training, medical, visas, airfare, accommodation - is covered for you. there is basically very little for you to pay out of pocket for. now once you’ve been selected you still have anywhere up to (on average) 8 months before actually going abroad. a suitable placement has to be found for you. you have to accept the placement. you have to go to additional training in ottawa. you have to pass your medical checks and get the appropriate vaccinations...and so forth and so forth.

cambodia

anyways...ahhh...yeah. so that’s what my big news is. this blog has the huge potential to become very different than what it is now (because i would definitely try to continue to maintain a blog-you know, hoping that some of you would still be interested in reading along).

how do i feel? oh gosh. my emotions and feelings are all over the place right now. i’m excited, anxious, nervous. even though i made a pros and cons list before applying (the pros clearly won out) i’m now thinking “what the heck? is this what i really want to do? what have i gotten myself into???!?!?!?!” and the other part of me is thinking “wow! this is so exciting. imagine all the things i’m gonna see and experience. this can drastically change my career path - into something i really really want...” it’s funny because the material things i’d be leaving behind while i go overseas is not even an issue - not even a thought really. can i be honest with you?

it’s my dog. oh how i love howard. it kinda hurts how much i love this little guy and thinking about being away from him for so long is really the hardest part of all of this. of course, i’d miss my family and friends...but there are things like phone calls, email, skype - heck they can even visit if they want! but i can’t really communicate with Howard like that can i? i mean, as it stands when he’s at my mom’s and i call i don’t like being put on speakerphone because i feel like he can hear me but can’t see me and that’s just kinda cruel...he’ll run around looking for me and stuff :( he’s the best.

anywho, there’s not much more info/details i have that i can give to you all (like where i’d potentially be placed) but if you have any questions please leave it in the comments and i’ll answer as best i can. as i get more info, that i think you’d all find interesting?, i’ll be sure to share. wow. I still can’t even believe it.

i’ve got tons of stuff to read through and tons of paper work to fill out. i’ve been kinda..stuck in fear and haven’t started any of it yet. that’s normal right? i think it is...but i try to remind myself of these following quotes (many from the book 'who will cry when you die')...


when george bernard shaw was asked, on his deathbed, “what would you do if you could live your life over again?” he reflected and replied “i’d like to be the person i could have been but never was.”

“at any moment i could start being more of the person i dream to be - but which moment should i choose?” (to read the full quote click here)

“...on your deathbed, in the twilight of your life, it will not be all the risks you took that you will regret the most. rather, what will fill your heart with the greatest amount of regret and sadness will be all those risks that you did not take, all those opportunities you did not seize and all those fears you did not face...”

and, of course, one of my new favourite quotes from the movie the curious case of benjamin button.

"for what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. there's no time limit, stop whenever you want. you can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. we can make the best or the worst of it. i hope you make the best of it. and I hope you see things that startle you. i hope you feel things you never felt before. i hope you meet people with a different point of view. i hope you live a life you're proud of. if you find that you're not, i hope you have the strength to start all over again."

*don't get me wrong. i'm very very proud of the life i've lived thus far - but i feel like it's time to kinda..change (not rewrite) these next few chapters of my story.