Paperwork Is Killing Me Softly

So, I got my invitation (Mali) and dates of service (1 July 2010 - 3 Sept 2012) this past Tues 18 May. Since then, I have read several dozen pages of material sent by PC and several hundred pages of blogs and published memoirs of people who have served in Mali before me. My naïve little mind thought it would get a break from reading at a college volume level. Nope.

As if graduation, moving, separating from my boyfriend (for practicality's sake, not because of ended affections), eight straight days of work at catering, my sister having surgery and my brother not quite graduating from high school were not stressful enough, I had to go and make a mistake on every single form involved for my passport and visa applications (PC has us get special gov't working passports, even if we have current, valid passports). I had to bike all over town hitting up the post office, UPS, and the Mali consulate to get new forms because white-out and strike-outs are unacceptable.

Eight passport photos, one UPS next-day air, three USPS envelopes, and roughly fifteen biked miles later, I can say that I am... 10% done with my pre-departure preparations.

Workers in the building next door started drilling right at 8am this morning. Sleeping in had already seemed like a luxury but now it is has been elevated to unicorn level - mythical and unattainable. My roommates here on (fake) Harvard Ave remain sparse; I have not yet met any but one of them. It really makes for an awkward stint here. I could be behind them in line at Trader Joe's, sharing both a cashier and an apartment, and never know.

For everyone who is related to me (I suppose that counts Sir William), I filled out a form that will be publishing an announcement of my PC service in your local paper. I have no idea when this publication will take place, but keep an eye out for it. Soon I will be receiving information regarding just where I will be staying in Mali (i.e. postal and other contact information). The trend among previous/current PCV's as far as publishing on their blogs is an entry every 10 days - 4 weeks. As bleak as that may seem, it's better than relying solely on air mail (which can be as slow as 8 weeks for delivery!) for correspondence.