How the Change happens

"Dear Uganda Invitee –

I wanted to reach out and welcome you to the Uganda class! 

 Some of you I have already been able to speak with via phone.  I wanted to give you a heads up that the Uganda class has a slight delay.  You were

originally slated to depart from the U.S. at the end of April.  We have had to push this departure four weeks - to the end of May.  This is due to an unforeseen event whereby the

exterior wall of the office in Kampala has fallen and made access to the current office unavailable and our operations unable to support an incoming class of 50 on schedule.  The

U.S. Ambassador requested PC Uganda find a new office immediately and we have just secured a new location.  (This event jeopardized other properties in the same vicinity.)

Due to this event, Uganda Staging will be May 22^nd and 23^rd in the U.S. with an arrival into Uganda on May 24^th.  Because we have bumped you once (and feel guilty), we are offering

you the ability to join another training class earlier – IF – this will benefit you and your schedule.  There are other classes that are leaving sooner and can accommodate you." 

I received the above email from the Peace Corps just over a week ago. I didn't have an immediate inclination to leave my previous Uganda commitment, but I thought it might be a good idea to at least weigh my options.  I followed up with the program coordinator and found out that a program in eastern europe had an opening to leave at the same time as the original leave date for Uganda (late April).  After doing some additional research into languages, timeline, program options, stability, etc I decided it was time to make the switch.  

The only downside: I had to wait until the following week to accept the actual invite, as the PC had to mail the package to my parents house back in Texas.  As soon as the packet gets to my parent's house I'll post the new location here.  

Quitting your job

Quitting your job to join the peace corps may be the biggest rush you can get (legally).


Let me start at the beginning.


First, you already know I'm leaving for Uganda in April, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this.  Before I leave, however, I have arranged to work on a Senate campaign in Madison for a few months.  I've been looking for an opportunity to gain political experience and when I was given this chance I immediately started arranging my schedule to allow for some time up in the Badger state.  Over the past 3 months I've met with the campaign manager, Ryan, to discuss what I could do to help and also what to expect while I am up north.  Our conversation went something along the lines of: 
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Me: "So how can I help out when I get in town?  I'm willing to do whatever you need."


Ryan: "Have you ever sharpened pencils?  What about stapled papers together?  Taken out the trash?"


Me: "I've been at Deloitte for 3 years now - I could actually put together a college lesson plan on the best way to sharpen pencils and the optimum angle and distance from the edge of the paper which is necessary for a perfect staple.  In fact, I may have enough credits to qualify for a minor."


Ryan: "Perfect.  You'll do just fine."
*******
(I'm only partially kidding.)


Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting up to Madison in 2 weeks and learning everything I can.  It's going to be an experience, to be sure.  

But enough about what's next - I was telling you about quitting my job.  Deloitte is structured in a slightly different fashion than other companies (see image to the right), so I only actually had to go tell my regional leader Bill, a guy who is responsible for several hundred consultants, managing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects and reporting up to our national office what is going on.  Needless to say, Bill is in the big time.  Bill and I have met several times before and have a good relationship, but I was still nervous sending him an email I was planning to leave Deloitte.  I had applied for Grad School sponsorship from Deloitte and Bill had blessed my application - would he be mad?  Would he think I was crazy for joining the PC?  Would he laugh?  Would he try to talk me out of it?


Thankfully the most stressful part of the entire process was sending him an email asking to talk.  I sent / unsent the email 45 times (approximate) before finally sending it Thursday afternoon.  Bill quickly responded and we set up time to talk the following morning.  The actual conversation only took 10 minutes - he asked what was going on, what I planned on doing, where I would be stationed and let me know that if I ever wanted to come back to Deloitte I should just give him a call.  As of Friday I am on track to leave D by the 20th.  The plan is to drive to stay with my aunt outside of OK City Friday night, go to dinner and stay with my sister (and meet her BF) in Cedar Rapids on Saturday and then drive the last 4 hours to Madison on Sunday.  I'm currently in the process of finding a place to stay in Madison for the 90 days or so that I'll be there.  I originally was looking at extended stay hotels, but all of them ran in the 3,000$-4,000$ range, so I'm hoping to find a sub-lease from a student studying abroad since all I really need is a place to crash at night.


Anyways, time to shut down, the plane is about to land.  I'm planning on putting up my list of "stuff to make sure I get to do / people to see before I leave" sometime over the next few days so you can see where I'll be, specifically.  And eventually I'll get around to expanding on the "what is next" response several people have requested.  In the meantime, happy Sunday.