Hi all.
If you have my phone number, please try to avoid texting or calling me so that I am able to avoid having to deal with international fees. If you have a smartphone and want to be able to send me texts, you can download WhatsApp. I have WhatsApp and I can get messages through this app when connected to WiFi. When I get a new SIM card for my phone, my number will change and I will post my new number if I am still able to use WhatsApp.
And I am currently half-way through my travels. I am sitting in the Frankfurt airport and have one more flight into Addis Ababa. So far travels have been very easy. I'm excited to continue keeping everyone updated when I can!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Saturday, February 8, 2014
How Did Tomorrow Come So Quickly?
I keep asking myself: How did tomorrow come so quickly?
It feels like only yesterday that I went to Uganda, graduated from college... received and accepted my invitation to go to Ethiopia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Really, I had gone to Uganda a little over a year now, graduated from college about nine months ago, and accepted my invitation about five months ago.
It's amazing how fast this past year has gone by and how many major things have happened in my life. And tomorrow I will be leaving on what will most likely be one of the most major and important events of my life thus far.
Over the past week, I have felt a mixture of feelings ranging from nerves and sadness to happiness and excitement. Now that I am just about completely packed and less than 24 hours away from getting onto that plane that will take me to Philadelphia and have had time to reflect, I think I have come to a point where I am content. I have come to a point where I have processed the change I will be going through and I think I am just happy to be able to go. I am sure though that I will be going through a mixture of emotions again once I am out of the states.
With how quickly time has gone by this past year, I question how quickly the next two years will go by. Will it go by just as quickly as this past year? Or will the experience be hard and make the next two years go by slowly? How fast or slow these two years will go by I am sure will be largely based on how I spend them. I hope to fill my time with good memories and life-changing experiences. I hope to grow and learn. And I hope to make a change wherever it is I will be, even if it is a small change.
One thing I know is this: no matter what I make of my time as a Peace Corps experience, the first three months will be crazy busy with all the pre-training I go through and the next few months will be challenging as I make the transition to my permanent site of service.
Especially during these first six months, all I can ask is that everyone does what they can to stay in touch with me. Whether that be letters and packages in the mail, emails, messages via Facebook, or even just comments left on my posts, hearing from you all will mean the world to me. I will do all that I can to stay in contact with everyone and keep you all updated, but it may be hard at times to keep track of things on my end. So feel free to send me a quick message if you have a spare moment, and even the simplest thought will make my time easier and will help me to know that what I am doing is totally worth it!
I have no idea how tomorrow has come so quickly, but I am so excited to get started!
*Please note that my personal opinions and experiences do not necessarily reflect those opinions of Peace Corps as a whole or reflect the experiences of other volunteers.
It feels like only yesterday that I went to Uganda, graduated from college... received and accepted my invitation to go to Ethiopia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Really, I had gone to Uganda a little over a year now, graduated from college about nine months ago, and accepted my invitation about five months ago.
It's amazing how fast this past year has gone by and how many major things have happened in my life. And tomorrow I will be leaving on what will most likely be one of the most major and important events of my life thus far.
Over the past week, I have felt a mixture of feelings ranging from nerves and sadness to happiness and excitement. Now that I am just about completely packed and less than 24 hours away from getting onto that plane that will take me to Philadelphia and have had time to reflect, I think I have come to a point where I am content. I have come to a point where I have processed the change I will be going through and I think I am just happy to be able to go. I am sure though that I will be going through a mixture of emotions again once I am out of the states.
With how quickly time has gone by this past year, I question how quickly the next two years will go by. Will it go by just as quickly as this past year? Or will the experience be hard and make the next two years go by slowly? How fast or slow these two years will go by I am sure will be largely based on how I spend them. I hope to fill my time with good memories and life-changing experiences. I hope to grow and learn. And I hope to make a change wherever it is I will be, even if it is a small change.
One thing I know is this: no matter what I make of my time as a Peace Corps experience, the first three months will be crazy busy with all the pre-training I go through and the next few months will be challenging as I make the transition to my permanent site of service.
Especially during these first six months, all I can ask is that everyone does what they can to stay in touch with me. Whether that be letters and packages in the mail, emails, messages via Facebook, or even just comments left on my posts, hearing from you all will mean the world to me. I will do all that I can to stay in contact with everyone and keep you all updated, but it may be hard at times to keep track of things on my end. So feel free to send me a quick message if you have a spare moment, and even the simplest thought will make my time easier and will help me to know that what I am doing is totally worth it!
I have no idea how tomorrow has come so quickly, but I am so excited to get started!
*Please note that my personal opinions and experiences do not necessarily reflect those opinions of Peace Corps as a whole or reflect the experiences of other volunteers.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Communication
Hi all.
I wanted to leave a post with all of my contact information together.
As listed in my earlier post, my mailing address is:
Caitlin Rahn/PCT
U.S. Peace Corps/Ethiopia
P.O. Box 7788
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
*If you send any letters, please number them so that I know which order the letters come in (in case letters come in bulk or get lost). Also, please write "Airmail" and/or "Par Avion" on envelopes and packages.
My email addresses that I will regularly check are:
caitlinrahn@gmail.com
crahn13@my.whitworth.edu
And feel free to leave posts on my blogs as well if you would prefer to communicate with me that way.
Thanks everyone and I am excited to be able to include you all in this journey I am about to embark on!
I wanted to leave a post with all of my contact information together.
As listed in my earlier post, my mailing address is:
Caitlin Rahn/PCT
U.S. Peace Corps/Ethiopia
P.O. Box 7788
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
*If you send any letters, please number them so that I know which order the letters come in (in case letters come in bulk or get lost). Also, please write "Airmail" and/or "Par Avion" on envelopes and packages.
My email addresses that I will regularly check are:
caitlinrahn@gmail.com
crahn13@my.whitworth.edu
And feel free to leave posts on my blogs as well if you would prefer to communicate with me that way.
Thanks everyone and I am excited to be able to include you all in this journey I am about to embark on!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
More Info on Peace Corps in Ethiopia
Someone shared this link with me and it really does a good job in describing the history behind Peace Corps in Ethiopia and what to expect as a Peace Corps volunteer there. I wanted to share the link with all of you who would be interested in reading a little more.
http://peacecorpswiki.org/Ethiopia
http://peacecorpswiki.org/Ethiopia
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Mail during Pre Training
If you would like to send me mail during my first three months while I will be going through pre training, my address will be:
Caitlin Rahn/PCT
U.S. Peace Corps/Ethiopia
P.O. Box 7788
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Home
I have come to realize the to me, home is not just a physical place in which I live. My home, or I should say homes, may in part have to do with location, but have much more to do with connections. To me, these connections include memories, emotional and spiritual ties, and the people I associate these places with.
The first place I think of as home is the house I grew up in. My home here is not only the house, but also the area I grew up in as a whole. The Bay Area will always hold a special place in my heart because this is the first place I became familiar with and love. Of course, another thing that makes this place home to me is my immediate family. I will always associate this place with them and know that this will be the place we will can always count on to find each other and meet.
I would also consider Wisconsin to be home. I associate Wisconsin with much of my extended family and this was and has always been the place I know I will get to see many of them again. I have so many great memories of spending warm summer day out on a lake with my family swimming and fishing.
One other place I will associate with the word home is Spokane. I spent four years of my life in Spokane while in college and I do not regret my choice in going to Whitworth University. I had the best professors ever and made some of the greatest friends I could possibly ask for. I grew so much during this time of my life and I would not change it for the world. To anyone associated with any of these places I call home, thank you for being part of my life and for all you may have done for me (even the smallest of influences had a huge impact and me and I am so grateful for that).
I can't believe that I am leaving for Ethiopia in little over a month. I suspect that despite how hard the beginning of my two years there will be, I will find a new home. The two years I will spend here I am sure will be full of ups and downs, good times and bad times, hard times and easy times. These two years will go by with a blink of the eye but it will be a time that I know will change me for the better. I will grow and learn so much from the experiences I go through and I will look back on them with a smile on my face.
In finding a new home in Ethiopia, I am excited that I will not be losing any of the places I think of as home, but adding to them instead. Thank you all for the support you have and continue to show me while I go through this process. It means the world to me and I know that with the continued support, my transition and overall experience during the next couple years will be much smoother and easier.
The first place I think of as home is the house I grew up in. My home here is not only the house, but also the area I grew up in as a whole. The Bay Area will always hold a special place in my heart because this is the first place I became familiar with and love. Of course, another thing that makes this place home to me is my immediate family. I will always associate this place with them and know that this will be the place we will can always count on to find each other and meet.
I would also consider Wisconsin to be home. I associate Wisconsin with much of my extended family and this was and has always been the place I know I will get to see many of them again. I have so many great memories of spending warm summer day out on a lake with my family swimming and fishing.
One other place I will associate with the word home is Spokane. I spent four years of my life in Spokane while in college and I do not regret my choice in going to Whitworth University. I had the best professors ever and made some of the greatest friends I could possibly ask for. I grew so much during this time of my life and I would not change it for the world. To anyone associated with any of these places I call home, thank you for being part of my life and for all you may have done for me (even the smallest of influences had a huge impact and me and I am so grateful for that).
I can't believe that I am leaving for Ethiopia in little over a month. I suspect that despite how hard the beginning of my two years there will be, I will find a new home. The two years I will spend here I am sure will be full of ups and downs, good times and bad times, hard times and easy times. These two years will go by with a blink of the eye but it will be a time that I know will change me for the better. I will grow and learn so much from the experiences I go through and I will look back on them with a smile on my face.
In finding a new home in Ethiopia, I am excited that I will not be losing any of the places I think of as home, but adding to them instead. Thank you all for the support you have and continue to show me while I go through this process. It means the world to me and I know that with the continued support, my transition and overall experience during the next couple years will be much smoother and easier.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Merry Christmas!
Merry (a little belated) Christmas and thank you everyone so much to reading my blogs so far! I don't leave for Ethiopia for another month and a half, but all of the support that you all have given just by reading my blog is greatly appreciated.
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