‘Are you ready?’, it’s usually a simple enough question but it seems like I have been asked that 183 times in the last two months and each time I give a different answer, I can’t blame them because I ask people it as well. It is such a weird question to me though because I am numb to the feeling of leaving. I feel like I should have left months ago, if not years ago. How could this be? Well I actually happened upon an interesting goal I wrote down about 8 years ago on August 15th, 2004, ‘work in Africa within the next 10 years’, it was placed in between the goals of dunking and having larger arms then my brother by the end of the year. It made me laugh but realize this endeavour has been at the forefront of my mind for almost as long as I can remember. The route that I have wished to get to these goals has changed many times though over the years.
As I have been preparing for this day of departure I have spent many hours reflecting on all the events and people that have been influential and integral to reaching this point. From family and friends, to coaches and professors who have all given me small tidbits of advice or life lessons that have shaped who I am and God willing will achieve in the future. It is weird to feel like I am just beginning what I have been focused on training for since I read Swiss Family Robinsons for the first time (I know that doesn’t seem to relate, but somehow that is when I first decided I was going to work in developing countries haha). At the same time there is the possibility that I won’t be able to handle it and the last decade or so will not have been as integral to my professional career as I had thought. Do I believe this will happen? No, but it is never good to not prepare for all possible situations.
I have always had an urge and desire to work in developing countries for many reasons but what it really all boils down to is that I feel like it is the only job that will truly challenge me everyday. There is nothing easy about working with extremely limited resources solving very complex and interlinked problems. There is no simple solution, no one size fits all solution. It is also necessary to solve problems simultaneously or no benefits will be sustainable. Health, income, access, mobility, and education, to name a few, all require interdisciplinary solutions and neither will stand unless they are all improved. While my work in Zambia will slightly be related to these issues through my official title as a Peace Corps Volunteer I am ecstatic about the opportunity to research and investigate these issues over the next two or three years. To be expected my goals are outlandishly high, but that is to be expected I would suppose, and I can’t say that I will reach them but all you can do is try.
So as I finish up my preparations for departure I look forward to sharing what I learn and many entertaining stories and events that are sure to come up over my time of service. For those who wish to write or send me anything while I am in Zambia my address for the first three months is below. I love letters so don’t be shy and I’ll be sure to write plenty myself! Oh an cover them in Bible verses, apparently that stops people from opening them up.
Matthew Gaston
US Peace Corps/Zambia,
PO Box 50707, Lusaka, Zambia
So in conclusion I can only say, yes, I am ready...
