Departure Date July 6, 2008

My service departure date is July 6th, 2008 and even though that’s three months away I think about Mali and what the Peace Corps service will be like. When the orientation packet came for Mali the most interesting section was the one on diversity. The diversities addressed were seniors, people of color, gays and lesbians and religions. Because I am 58 years old, a lesbian and don’t consider myself a Christian this was good news to me.

The other minority that was not mentioned was someone who does not drink alcohol. Now I don’t drink not because of religion it’s just that I am an alcoholic. I have been sober for over twenty-five years. So the vision I have of me in Mali is during training, we get a night off and everyone wants to go to the bar for a beer. I can say in French “I would like a beer or some wine.” I can ask you if you would like a beer or some wine. Picturing me at a bar in Mali, I just don’t see it. Even in Vietnam when I bicycled through the country going to a bar never crossed my mind.

As for being a Lesbian, that is just a part of me and a part of my culture that will be in the back ground. The fact that I lived in the Gay Ghettos for most of my adult life and raised children both mine and foster kids both gay and straight will for at least a couple of years be a memory. My daughter may visit me, but maybe not too. She is proud of me joining the Peace Corps and I will miss her. On the Peace Corps application they ask if you’re married not if you have a domestic partner. There maybe a difference with straight people whether you’re married or in a domestic partner situation but for gays and lesbians there is no difference.

What I am looking forward to is learning French and a local language, being a part of the community, learning about the Islam religion, and working outside the box of the 9 to 5 world. Training and working with other Peace Corps volunteers, what an experience to share. I also need to open my heart to people who are different from me.

The internet site http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/ has a directory of blogs written by Peace Corps volunteers all over the world. Most of the volunteers are white, straight, and under 25 years of age. I have learned a lot from reading all the blogs, written by people in Jordan, Kenya, Mali and beyond. I hope that this blog helps someone.

Recently I read that a baby boomer described themselves by writing that when they were young they tried to change the world, then they had kids, then they were middle age and now they were looking forward to retirement. Me, I am ready to start changing the world again like when I was in my twenties. At twenty-three I was one of the founders of a Food Coop, a Woman’s Clinic, and worked in a collective called Alternative Finance where we would go around and help collectives set up accounting systems. In my thirties I wrote and took pictures for different gay newspapers around the country. My family of kids were always active in the community.

Looking forward to the serving; Until next time.