06 April 2005

learning to breathe

4 April 2005

We saw (name censored to protect the innocent) at a career fair here in Monterey. He was surprised to see us.


“You’re still here?” was written all over his face. He had shaved his head, and at first we didn't recognize him. then he smiled and started to talk.

"Randall (not his real name)," I said out loud, as if savoring each syllable. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway: He's one of the only decents I've met in my PC experience so far. Not that I'm a peach.

Sometimes I'm a sour grape--or two.

We told him that we’d be getting our invitation to the Peace Corps by the end of the week. He said if the wireless worked in the building we were in, he’d find out for us right then.

Karen said, “We’ll drive you to the campus. They’ve got wireless there.”

I thought, "I'll fucking carry you on my back. Hop on!"

But he told us to email him later, which we did.

His email: one word.

After, god, how many years, it comes down to one word.

Ukraine.

1 comment:

Karen said...

It seemed too simple.

I didn't even have to open the email to find out the information I had been waiting months for. And then I knew and it felt really strange. Too easy, somehow.

This application process has taught me not to trust answers that seem easy. So I didn't want to believe we were going to the Ukraine until I had the invitation in my hand. Even when I did, it was hard to believe because we had been told so many times it was coming when it never came.

Now we know, and the information gathering has begun. Larry, true to form, has a thirst for anything and everything related to Ukraine, from Yahoo groups to travel novels, to newspaper articles, to blogging (a concept on the edge of my active vocabulary). I, on the other hand, work more slowly. I am just as interested in finding out about our future destination, I just read, move, and process more slowly.

It will be an adventure, that's for certain. I'm looking forward to feeling prepared, then feeling completely unprepared, then feeling prepated again.

And I second his comment about being a "sour grape--or two." More like 10 most of the time, but who's counting. =)