Saturday, July 19, 2008

Peace Corps Staging in Frisco - Night Two



It's around 10pm and I'm feeling a lot better than I was earlier. Last night was fun at O Izakaya for dinner and Dimples for karaoke in Japantown, but I woke up with an achy swollen sore throat and a body temp that had me sweating in biz casual attire all day. That's okay, it was worth being able to go out big with family and friends (thanks so much Mom, Dad, Drew, Meg, Pete, Jonathan and Gigi - you guys rock!). Training today was interesting, inspiring . . . and a little long. But there is a lot to cover in a short amount of time before leaving for Japan midday on Monday, arriving in Bangok in the middle of the night, and then flying to Cambodia for a hotel stay in Phnom Penh. Oui! This is exciting. But exhausting? 

Yep.

Registration started at 1:30pm, and afterwards we made introductions and had some team-building. Then came a presentation of Peace Corps history and mission - established by JFK in 1961 at University of Michigan as a pledge to students to get involved in waging world peace. Then we learned about our role in the experience and the expectations. Leading all of this both today and tomorrow is a really cool, exuberant woman who served as a volunteer in Papua New Guinea in the late '80s. She's making it fun to be orientated. 

Of course, I feel like the oldest person in the group. All these trainees, with the exception of about three (out of 36), are just out of college. But I'm becoming more and more okay with that. I'm hoping my age and experience will work to serve me in my job and life within the community of Cambodia. And hopefully it will help me not to feel so shaken up by all of this. That's the idea - I'll let you know if it works! ;-) I will say it's been really hard to be away from Maui, even for a day and a half. I love it there so much. 

Here are some quotes from today's orientation that I found particularly applicable and inspiring: 

Arthur Ashe: "From what we get, we make a living; from what we give, we make a life."

Helen Keller: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

Georgia O'keefe: "I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do."

Schopenhauer: "Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one else has seen. But to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees."

And another one from Gregg I really like by Mark Twain: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."




3 comments:

Unknown said...

Very inspiring Ashley! Love the quotes. Enjoy yourself there and hugs to mom and dad from me. Pix from the swearing in ceremony???

Anonymous said...

What an adventure you've begun! As a quote collector, I appreciate the quotes you shared :-)
~Laura

G. said...

Oh my, what a fun time in the city, I'm so sad it was a "good bye" evening. I will miss your presence but will enjoy living vicariously thru your blog! Love the double chin photo of me.

Miss you already!