I never really had much luck with Friday the 13th. It’s not to say that anything tragic has ever really happened, but it’s the combination of many little tragedies throughout the day that generally creeps me out. I once almost burned down an apartment building (unattended candle next to a box of kleenex in a different room while I was in the shower) – oops. I’ve also had weird allergies, been known to lock my keys in my car, wear my clothes inside out without noticing … you get the picture.
Today was no different. I was rudely awakened at six in the morning by a couple of very vocal dogs. The barking went on for hours, ensuring that sleep would not find me again that morning. Then I went to get my hair cut. I had decided that since I would be living in Kiribati, I had no need for hair. With the risk of lice and the oppressive heat under thick curly hair, I decided an incredibly short crop cut was for me. Unfortunately the hairdresser was a bit more apprehensive and just couldn’t manage to cut enough hair off. I looked ridiculous. So I went to a different salon. To a different hairdresser. Who was equally incapable of taking directions (for some reason she was under the impression that I wanted to be able to spike the top of my hair which is just silly). It eventually took my wonderful friends Ashley and Erin taking turns evening it out in my bathroom with craft scissors to make me look reasonable.
And then I got the phone call from the US Peace Corps Pacific Island desk: All programs in Kiribati have been indefinitely suspended due to the infrequency of flights to the outer islands – they could not guarantee prompt medical care in an emergency so the country director decided this was best.
I feel a bit displaced. I just chopped off all of my hair to live in a country where I’m not going to live anymore, which is of course not a big deal since it’s just hair, but life sure does have an interesting sense of humor. I’m disappointed that I am going to miss out on the opportunity to live in such an amazing country. Moreover, I now know more useless facts about a country nobody has heard about than ever necessary. For example, did you know that the per capita consumption of fish on the country is 400lb/yr? That is 400lb of fish for every person every year. Absurd. I am grateful for having been given a reason to gain a wealth of information about that region of the world, but am a little worried about having to start emotionally preparing all over again.
I am supposed to call my placement officer on Monday to discuss future options. They said they would try to place me based on my qualifications and interests starting in the Pacific. If there was no suitable match, they would look to Central and South America, the Caribbean, and then the rest of the world. So we’re basically back to square one. The curiosity is killing me!
What a weird day.
