The countdown is getting real – there’s exactly one month left until I pull the final zipper shut on my duffels and, very casually, hop a plane to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. This countdown also happens to mean that I have only two weeks left in my current home of Washington, DC, where I have lived since September. I’ve got to do everything… take the GRE, sell my furniture (done), somehow dispense with my large collection of books, throw away a lot of useless trinkets, pack up the ones I like, and work my last week in the office before that. And that’s before I get my ducks in a row back at my parents’ house in Seattle, visit family in California, and then finally put the things I need into the duffels that will have to carry me through the 27 months in a place that, so far, looks just as beautiful as I’ve imagined.
One of my things that I absolutely had to do before I left was run my spring marathon. Since my experiences in Boston in 2013, I’ve taken the pledge that many runners from that race have taken to run a marathon each year that I am able in the spring. Last weekend, I was able to make good on my pledge a month earlier than planned at the Rock n’ Roll DC Marathon.
It was actually one of my worst marathon times (this was my fourth marathon), but it was the first one since Boston 2013 where I didn’t need to walk at any point during the race, which was a major goal that I’ve struggled to achieve for two years. Naturally that meant that I am extremely happy with my run (jog?), even if it took me over 4:30.
The next challenge will be the GRE, followed by packing and moving out of my apartment. I’ve loved my apartment here in DC and my two wonderful roommates. It’s been one of the first spaces I’ve felt like I could call home in many years, and I’m going to really miss living here with them, even though I’m also extremely excited to get settled in with a host family in Kyrgyzstan. In fact, once I am settled with my long-term host family at my site, it will be the longest that I have lived in a single room since I was in high school – I’ve moved rooms, houses, or dorms every 4-10 months since then. I think most people see Peace Corps as a sort of step outside of the stable long-term home realm, but for me it will, somewhat ironically, represent a settling down!
After moving, I’ll have to then get my things to Seattle somehow, and that’s when the fun can finally begin with packing lists, suitcases, duffels and the like, as I fret incessantly over what really matters in life and what really is necessary to live happily for 27 months (hint: it’s less than I think). I’m very curious to experience this process, since the truth is that 90% of the stuff in my room I almost never touch, 90% of the books do not get opened, etcetera. Where is the line of what is truly essential? I’ve gotten a lot of advice that indicates bringing photos, artwork, and other items (such as a teddy bear or a favorite mug) from home is a great way to help one’s new room to feel like home, and I’m excited to see that in practice. On the flip side, I’m also really excited to decorate with a blend of local artwork and things I pick up along the way. It’s always worked well for me.
In two weeks, I’ll be back in Seattle, and two weeks after that, I’ll be back at Seatac, my feet looking down at the gloriously 1980’s carpet, and hopping on a plane to Kyrgyzstan. This month will test me, but I can’t wait to have this transition behind me and those mountains back in front of me.