Dedication, Patience, & Flexibility are Key
Today, I thought I’d be driving to San Francisco for staging and departing to Cambodia tomorrow. However, all 74 volunteers received a phone call and an email yesterday from Peace Corps saying our departure date has been postponed. Our Cambodian visas were not ready due to an “administrative delay” and we will depart in several weeks. I was shocked by this information. I even giggled a little on the phone because I didn’t know how to respond. I told the guy on the phone, “Good luck sharing this information with everyone else. I live only 2 hours away from SF, so I don’t have to change any fight and accommodation arrangements.” He laughed and said, “thank you for having such a positive outlook on this situation.” All night, I was sympathizing with the volunteers who were already in SF.
The alternative to this delay was looking great. I thought to myself, now I can go to the Bruno Mars concert, practice Khmer, improve my overall strength, and hang out with friends and family.
This morning, I woke up to a phone call and email saying. “WE ARE BACK ON!” The original plan was to meet at Holiday Inn today for a welcome and staging event and leave the US tomorrow. Now, we are all meeting at SFO and having a revised, condensed version of staging IN THE AIRPORT.
WOW. What an emotional roller coaster this has been and i’m not even in Cambodia yet. I cant wait to see how the future unfolds.
The last email from Peace Corps ended with, “We are looking forward to meeting you tomorrow – thank you again for dedication, patience, and flexibility. These are the characteristics of successful Peace Corps Volunteers and while tomorrow may be a long travel day– by coming together tomorrow we are able to ensure that your Peace Corps service will be minimally impacted.
I need to pack now.
