Welcome!

            It is currently 12:20 in the morning, I have to work in less than 7 hours and I can't sleep (probably shouldn't have slept till 11 this morning.) Instead of staring at the backs of my eyelids until I fall asleep, I decided to better utilize my time and start this blog at my home office (aka the desk in my room...). The purpose of this blog will be simple, it will be a place where I document my adventures applying to the Peace Corps (PC from here on out), getting ready for the PC, and ultimately and most importantly while in my host country. It will also act as a way for my friends, family, and numerousadoring fans/stalkers to keep track of me and as a way for me to remember, reflect, and learn from my own experiences. I will do my best to update it as often as possible however I am unsure of how often this will be since internet and wifi access can be spotty in other countries around the world (odd Iknow...). The last and most obvious goal of this blog is to achieve more traffic than Uncle Artie's blog, an impossible task I know.
            A question I have received a lot since this whole process began is, "Why?" It is a fair questionand one that I believe is quite important. The simple answer is because I want to help people, and hopefully make a positive difference in the world. While this is the simple answer there are numerous other answers that have influenced me. I have lived a very blessed life. I have never gone hungry (though somemight think I have while watching me eat), I have never had to worry about aplace to sleep, and I have never had to worry about finding clean water to drink. However, not everyone has been given the same environment and situationas I have been given. Following in the Benedictine tradition (I did learn something at Benedictine University, contrary to popular belief since it isn'ta "real" school and all), I want to live a simple life and will try my best to live up to the Benedictine motto of “ora et labora” meaning "pray and work." Ever since I first began thinking about joining the PC, it has seemed to me like God had it as part of His plan for me, I will try my best to
be an instrument of Him. Another reason for joining the PC is that I want to not only experience a non western culture but I want to immerse myself in that culture, I want to see what the world has to offer. Do not get me wrong, I love America (USA, USA, USA!) but I want to see what else is out there and hopefully gain a better perspective on what I have been given. One other factor in my decision is that I want to go outside of my comfort zone. I believe that if you stay inside your comfort zone you are not giving yourself a chance to grow, what a better way to grow than to travel halfway across the globe and live and serve in another culture?
            Alright, now I just want to share some information concerning where, when, and what. The where is Asia (at this point, all of this information is subject to change). There are six countries in Asia that have PC programs, they are as follows: Indonesia, China, Philippines, Thailand, Mongolia, and Cambodia. The when is August of 2010. The what is a Primary Teacher Trainer volunteer. Now this is merely speculation, but through some online research of different wiki websites concerning the PC, assumptions, and a good feeling I believe that I will be placed in the Philippines, and will be leaving August 19th. Again, this is just speculation. I will continue to update this periodically with more important information and also lots of useless information including lots of my thoughts (which may or may not be important). Until my next post, God bless.

 ----    Jim(mer)