Friday, February 28, 2014

My Story So Far


My name is Jake Reedy.  I come from the Willamette Valley in Oregon and am currently serving in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. I have decided to write this blog to help keep in touch with friends and family back home and to help with the third goal of the Peace Corps:  to teach the people of the United States about the cultures and peoples of the world.  I have been in country for a couple weeks now.  The process to get to this point has been a lesson in patience, as I started my journey to the Peace Corps by applying in June of 2013.  Two months, an interview, and lots of paperwork later, I was invited to be a part of the mission to Ethiopia.  Since August, I have had numerous medical tests, filled out innumerable forms, and submitted even more information.  It was all fairly surreal and distant until staging on February 10, 2014.  Staging is a quick (one day) orientation to the Peace Corps.  The next day I, along with a group of 62 others, boarded a plane bound for Addis Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia.  Even whilst on the plane to Addis, it felt as though I was only going to be gone a few weeks; perhaps even now I am not fully conscious of the true distance, in time and miles, between me and the people I care most about in the world.  Once in country, we had a couple days in the capital filled with survival classes and more shots.  It has been a whirlwind of activity, but I also feel as though I have not yet done much.  The people are great, and the atmosphere is electric.  Everyone is filled with excitement for what is to come.  I will write more later to catch everyone up, but its off to bed for now.  G'night!

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