Aspiration statement

so i've made my first contact with the PC uganda team. this consisted of my resume and a short aspiration statement. it's by no means the most exciting thing in the world, but i'm trying to keep some consistency on here and well, to be honest im not doing much but waiting till feb. here is the first section of my statement, specifically the "personal attributes I plan to use and what aspirations I hope to fulfill during my service".

A: At this point I am optimistic that the professional attributes I have accumulated through the years will allow me to accomplish the goals I have in mind for my service. I am also optimistic that the aspirations I have now will pale in comparison to those I will develop when I settle into my community. Overall, I am optimistic, which is probably the most important thing I hope to use during my service.

I will also lean heavily on my patience and sense of humor. Having a sense of humor will let me see the lighter side of the cultural difficulties and having patience will help me deal with them when the humor wears off. Both of these attributes will help me maintain a positive attitude, which I’m sure will be desperately relied on often.

Finally, my curiosity and creativity will be something I turn to for inspiration in my professional position. Teaching, as well as learning, requires a great deal of both of these qualities and hopefully my creativity can help to develop ways my co-teacher and I can fuel the curiosity of the students. These attributes will hopefully allow me to fulfill some of the following aspirations:

- make great friendships in the community
- inspire students to strive for goals beyond the normal expectations
- establish a tutoring system driven by the students
- inspire someone to fall in love with math
- achieve many “ah ha!” moments
- set-up organized sports leagues or tournaments
- have a positive impact on the American stereotype
- prove something to myself about my abilities to adapt and persevere
- feel “at home” in my new community

Where I am right now.....

(wilmington, nc)

an introduction of sorts

so after a slight delay in my medical clearance i have been pushed out of the november group and will now be leaving february 10th. no worries though, gives me more time to get ready as november would of been a huge stretch. kinda put a damper on the going away party in oct though, but at least i get to spend the holidays and my bday with the fam before i leave.

I will be (hopefully) maintaining this blog throughout the next few years as I travel to Uganda, East Africa with the Peace Corps. I have been accepted into the Math/Science Education program and will be teaching secondary school in Uganda for the next two years. internet could be a hard thing to come by, so dont expect more than one or two updates a month once i get settled into my village/community (probably around april '08).

i'll use this first post to address this question as i've had a good bit of practice the past year: "eric, why the hell would you do something like this".... well i'll give you a few reasons:

1) when you sit in a cubicle for 2 years in dc churning computer code for the gov't you begin to wonder....isn't there more to life then this, people i could actually be helping?

2) pops was in south america and mali in the late 60's with the peace corps, so i've been hearing stories about how great the experience was since i was a young tike

3) it's africa....who wouldn't?

hopefully those reasons clear it up somewhat, but if not...just know that i'll be safe the next couple years...and please keep up with me here so i'm not just talking to myself.

"Every silver linings got a touch of grey
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by-i-i, I will survive."