Now, before I go any further, I have to state that I am only heavily intrigued and quite serious about the prospect of extending. Notice all the non-committal words in there. Now, I'm actually committed to the idea of extending my service another year, however, it's not quite that easy. The Peace Corps/Cambodia senior staff have to approve such a request, and not everybody who wishes to extend will get to do so; there are quite a few people interested. I will have a much firmer idea by the end of February; people's minds will change, and I will know how the staff will feel at that point. I mean, if I run through my town naked singing songs in Thai, I might not exactly get the vote I was hoping for. As well, who knows if any job opportunities will present themselves. It's definitely up in the air. At the moment, however, I do have some ideas of what I would like to do:
1. Working with a major health NGO, collaborating their efforts with individual Peace Corps Volunteers
2. Collaborating with major health NGOs, in general, networking them with Peace Corps/Cambodia
3. Designing country-wide health projects for CHE PCVs
etc.
I don't know exactly what I'll be doing though as I 1) am still researching opportunities 2) will need to align/collaborate/compromise with Peace Corps/Cambodia on what I'll be doing, should I be granted an extension. When I do, I'll be sure to let you all know.
Until then, here's a fun story of how my mind changed.
During the last weeks of K5 PST:
K5#1: So, Garrett, you're involved in this training, so you must really enjoy working with Peace Corps. You'll probably extend right?
Me: What? Hell no.
K5 #7: Garrett, are you thinking about extending?
Me: You know, I probably won't. Funny you should ask, though.
K5 #12: Garrett, I bet you're going to extend right? You seem to really like it here.
Me: Well, I'm not so sure about that yet, but I'm not closed off to the idea.
K5: #20: Hey, Garrett. How are things? Do you think you'll extend?
Me: You know, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I'm definitely exploring my possibilities in to the matter.
Yes. K5s, I mostly blame you all.
As well, I had a lot of influence from a K2, Greg, who was a technical trainer with me during training. He was a 3rd year volunteer who was, technically, in his 4th year half way through training. He had explained to me that his 3rd year was when he felt most productive and when his Khmer really took off. Kristin, a K3 (who was also a technical trainer for training) was a half ETTT (English Teacher/Teacher Trainer) and half CHE PCV. She had many ideas of what the first extending health volunteer could do, and it just got me thinking.
Questions you might have:
When will I know for sure? Mid-March
Would I get to come home? Absolutely. I'd be home, theoretically, Aug 3rd - Sep 2nd, 2012
When would my service actually be complete then? Either Sep 2nd or Oct 2nd, 2013.
Would you still live in Nimitt? No.
Where would you live, then? Not quite sure yet, but most likely in a provincial town.
Are you actually happy in Cambodia? Yup! I actually am happy here! I spent a lot of time thinking about this question and mulling over my feelings here. To be quite honest, I've felt quite comfortable and at home here since training began in early July in the provincial town in Takeo province.
Are you doing this to avoid the economic crisis affecting the U.S.? No, but I like to think of it as me freeing up another job in the market, not that I'd be assured one anyway. $6k/year isn't exactly ideal. If I were really just doing this to avoid the job market, I'd simply just go find a job with an NGO somewhere and get paid.
It's December, and things change.
Talk to you soon,
Garrett
p.s. Wish me luck in my 10k race on Sun!
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