COS....!

COS Conference in Yaounde has come and gone! My COS (Close of Service) date is November 18th...and I will hopefully find out my exact itinerary for flying home, in the next few weeks (Peace Corps is making my reservation).

The few day conference was a bit more anti-climactic than I may have anticipated, but being altogether again (the 29 of us who remain in Cameroon from our original 32), for the last time, was well worth it!

Apathy has taken over me a bit and a mixture of "how is this transition going to be for me?" and "how long will the glory of being 'home' actually last?" and "how do I plan my next steps knowing that I will have a lot of free time and freedom?"

Don't get me wrong, I CANNOT wait to walk around (inside and outside) barefoot for hours on end, relish in the luxury and ease that we call normal life in the United States, eat and drink phenomenal things, and reconnect with all of you! But for any of you who've been/lived abroad for extended periods of time, you can understand why all of that may no longer (for this moment in time) be sending me infinite good vibes and comfort.

These are my POTENTIAL (and I stress that nothing is set in stone and no specific dates have been chosen) PLANS upon returning to the US:

~ Flying to Pittsburgh for about a week

~ Flying with my brother to San Francisco for Thanksgiving

~ Spending some time in California seeing family

~ A cousin's Bat Mitzvah in CT on December 17th which will lead me to the NY/NJ area for the holidays and New Year period

~ JANUARY is unknown/unplanned

~ A cousin's Bat Mitzvah in Northern CA at the beginning of February and then Hawaii for my Mom's 60th birthday

~ Possibly Australia towards the end of February (for a revisit and to help nanny my nephews while my sister attends a conference)

~ From March, I'm thinking of becoming a Peace Corps Recruiter in San Francisco before transferring that job to Chicago and beginning graduate school in the Fall of 2012 for a Masters in Adolescent or Health Psychology.

I'll keep you posted as life plans become more concrete!

Thanks for keeping up with my blog, hope this entry finds you well, especially you East Coasters dealing with Hurricane Irene!

Stef