Not much is going on for us here in Oregon right now, so there isn't much to report. I will upload a few photos at the end just to share with everyone. Nan and I are moving along slowly but surely towards our May 19th leave date. We have a few things lined up to help move time along. We are looking forward to Nan's parents, Michelle, PJ, Haley and Parker all visiting in mid-April and Kevin is coming in mid-May. Also, we've (and by 'we' I mean Nan did all the planning) planned a trip to Vancouver Island in May as well. We figured since we're so close and neither of us have ever been to Canada before, we might as well hop on up there for a few days. Nan's last day of work is planned for May 5th and mine May 2nd. May really can't come soon enough.
We got an e-mail from the Peace Corps a couple of weeks ago with some very good information. The purpose of the e-mail was to get us in touch with the Peer Support Network, or PSN for short. The PSN is a network of people who are currently in or have returned from the Peace Corps who can answer questions for us to help us prepare and/or fight off any feelings of unease as we get ready to go. It has been very very useful as we are gathering the last of the supplies we need before we go. They've given us all kinds of information from clarification on what daily life is like in Fiji to insight on what is necessary and unnecessary on the official Peace Corps packing list (and what was omitted) completely. They were also able to answer a question for us that we couldn't seem to find an answer to in any of the hundreds of pages of Peace Corps documentation we've recieved. As we have been reading blogs and posts and messages from Peace Corps volunteers who have returned, we noticed many of them mentioning their FRE status. Some were FRE-1 and others FRE-3 or 4, but we could not find what this meant. We recently found out that we are FRE-7. FRE stands for Fiji Re-Entry Group. Awhile back (about 7 years ago, actually) the Peace Corps was allowed to re-enter Fiji. For a number of years Fiji was having trouble with some revolts and revolutions. The government was unstable and thus, the safety of Peace Corps volunteers could not be ensured. The US Government decided to abandon Peace Corps operations in Fiji until things were settled and safe. Nan and I are among the 7th group of volunteers to re-enter Fiji. This means that most of the projects going on in Fiji are relativly new and there is much to do. It's exciting and we look forward to the challenge.
So, that is our latest Peace Corps update. We are still counting down the days until we leave (78 and falling!). That number is much less gigantic than other numbers... for example, the number of days since we turned in our initial Peace Corps applications (578!) So, here we are, sitting and waiting to leave. Nan is taking the GRE next month and has signed up for a drawing class at the Sandy Community Center, so everyone should wish her luck with those endevours. I am still snowboarding nearly every weekend with Adam (who is Chris Zorn's brother) and as the temperature warms up I'll start looking for an ultimate frisbee team to play with.
As promised, I'm including a few recent photos of what we've been up to lately.
Thanks for looking in on us!
Chris (and Nan)
Olivia Lynn Zorn is getting so big and it seems like she gets cuter everyday.
These are pictures of me, Adam, Nan and Karen on a recent ski/snowboard trip to Ski Bowl on Mt. Hood.
Hey Chris & Nan
ReplyDeleteI saw your last post and got psyched for you guys. Sounds like things are moving along. Brevard has been about the same as you left it. I started playing Ultimate up in Asheville which has been pretty fun. They actually have formal leagues, so it's been a pretty good time. Anyways, just thought I'd give you guys a shout. Enjoy the last of the snow and good luck these last couple of months! -Seyl