I'm Here

So a lot is going on inside my head right now, but every emotion just melted away as I sat on the airplane with a fellow trainee. He silenced all the emotions to one. How? Well he looked and me and said, "Jenny remember there's a reason why the rear view mirror is smaller then the windshield." At the moment all the emotions stopped and the only one remaining was pure joy! I shed my 1 tear not because I was sad, worried or stressed, but because I was HAPPY! I am heading into the future doing the one thing I love doing most. I get to dedicate this time to helping people.  My main job is HELPING people, I can't think of anything I love doing more.

Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna miss family and friends BUT you guys know my heart is big enough to fit another group of people and maybe a nation or two :-)

I want to still be a part of your lives BUT you have to make that choice.  How? Well how about we step back in time together :-) I'll try my hardest to update you all collectively on here but this is a one way conversation. So if you want me to know what's going on in your life, you're gonna have to write me.  And I mean actual ink & paper.  Don't worry about trees, I'll plant a few over here :-)

I honestly am so excited and can't wait to see what life has in store for me. So will you join me in focusing on the future in front of you and using the past as a guide to review where you've been? You never know when one turn in that road could lead you to the best adventure of your life.

With all my love.

JumpInTheJungle

Information overload

This post was actually written sitting in the camper in Lake City as I try and wrap my head around the craziness that is quickly becoming my life. (I know what's new lol) Any way one of the other PCV ( Peace Corps Volunteer) posted on Facebook "7 lies you tell yourself before going into the Peace Corps" http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/7-lies-tell-going-peace-corps/

1. You’re going to save the world.

2. You will become fluent in a foreign language and use it forever and ever.

3. Everyone in your host country will love you.

4. All of your at home friendships and relationships will stay the same.

5. You will remain strong.

6. Everyone back home will care about your service.

7. You’ll be the same person when you get back.

Well I knew most of these BUT I really liked the explanations they gave in the article, go check it out, it might help you understand what I'm gonna be going through,
I sure wish I could sit down with each one of you and ask you, how are you? How is life? Do you know I care about you? (yes even you random person who found this blog off Google because that means your thinking about changing a part of your life or visiting Vanuatu. I encourage both!!) 

Until Next Time!
JumpInTheJungle

The silence is over :-)

So I know that weeks went by without a peep out of me. Well the reason is simple! I'm about to give up years with my family so I wanted to focus on THEM! Nothing but them. I felt like they deserved every second I had to spare. I was up with them all day, and packing, preparing,  & praying most nights.

So are you ready for all the Juciy info?!?

About 2 weeks ago we got our tentative assignment locations.  (Tentative because everything is always subject to change lol)

At this moment, after training I will be relocating to the village of Womul.  Womul doesn't have a lot of info about it on Google,  I plan on changing that :-)

Womul is located on Malakula island, also called the dog because of it's shape. Womul is at the nose of the dog up into the mountains.  (Super excited and scared about that). Womul just got their first water tank system due to the amazing work of RPCV Jasmine! So even though I won't have running water I won't have to get up and hike down to the river every morning to fetch a bucket of water. Thanks Jasmine :-)

Womul is very remote and this is both exciting and a challenge.  There are about 10 or so volunteers on the island but most are at the feet & back of the dog. According to Jasmine the hike in should take 150 min more of less (I think the 1st time will be more) my goal is over time to cut that time down significantly. 

Over the next few months I will provide you with information about Vanuatu,  Malakula,  and Womul.

For now all I know is that I'm sitting in the airport not sure if I wanna laugh or cry or run away. So many emotions, so much has gone into the next 48+ hours and yet they are just the beginning to an amazing adventure. 

Until next time
Jump-n-Jenny

Another week of see you laters

Well this week is another week full of see you later moments. When leaving UT for the 1st time I actually let myself cry and well I have a feeling it's one of many nights I'm gonna ball my eye red (I'm to literal to say out lol)  This week my task is to clean out my office and get it ready for the next teacher..... eeeekkkk..... SIGH. I have dedicated so much time and energy into building a solid network for community classes here in Lake City that it's so hard to just walk away from it all BUT I know that I have to for me. Besides new people bring new ideas and each have their purpose in their time so I'm sure whoever comes after me will do exactly what they are here to do. I have just grown to love this place BECAUSE of the people in it AND I'm sure when I leave Vanuatu I will feel the exact same way.

Today at church I had a few people tell me there are enough people and kids for me to look after here I don't have to go... I signed and inside answered but I do, I'm glad you love me enough to want me to stay BUT I must go!

So go I did and I'm so glad I did!

Emotions of Change

So, I've been out on vacation for the past two weeks in Utah, and it's giving me time to think a lot about.... I've got to spend a lot of time hanging out with old friends as well as get to know new friends. It’s made me realize just how difficult this journey is going to be. While I am absolutely ecstatic about leaving for the Peace Corps I also want to be realistic with you all. I’m so going to miss my life here in the States!!! I know that much will change while I am gone and while I will be able to occasionally contact some friends and family, I know that will be a rare occasion (compared to the consistent availability of technology here). As I say “see you later” more and more it starts to really kick in that I really am saying “good bye” because when I return both they and I will have changed so very much. I am grateful for the changes that I know will be coming BUT I know that I will not be the only one to change. I think the hardest realization is that I know I won’t be there to comfort or celebrate with those whom I love so much. I can’t send my random SMILE texts, or swing by for babysitting breaks, or if I lose/gain someone in my family I will not be beside my mom’s side as she goes through those moments. (This is a decision I made, Peace Corps gives you leave, but I have decided that I will not return to America during my service because I think it would be too tempting to stay if I did). The main reason THIS is going to be hard is I’m such a mommies girl, even during our ups and downs I have ALWAYS spoken to my mom regularly, even while in Costa Rica, This is going to be hard for me BUT it’s gonna to be hardest on my Mother. She has always had to deal with my nomadic lifestyle and while she hasn't agreed with some of my choices she has ALWAYS been there with arms welcoming me home and has tried everything she can to make sure I have what I need. I am grateful to the Lord for letting her be my mother, I know I wouldn't be who I am today without her. I also know so many of my family and friends have shaped my life. To quote a song, “you are the wind beneath my wings”. I know I could not do all of the amazing things I am doing without such a supportive network of friends and family. SO THANK YOU for always supporting me even if you don’t always agree with me, I truly love you all so deeply and I am sorry I am going to miss out on so many parts of your lives, but it is time for me to soar and see just how far I can fly! But always remember no matter how far away I am we will always be under the same sky and I will always know where my safe harbors are.

For those thinking and preparing to join Peace Corps know that the journey is one of pure emotion and many times you will wonder what you are getting yourselves into, but remember where much is given much is required. You will never regret getting out of your comfort zone and giving a piece of your heart to others because in return they fill the very corners of your soul!  

SMILE you are LOVED!

Jump'n Jenny

Until Next Time!
JumpInTheJungle

Letting it ALL go!

So this is another LONG read but I promise make it to the end and you'll smile!

So lets talk about STUFF! I have a LOT of STUFF. And I have a lot of MONEY tied into stuff. However most of the stuff I need/want to bring with me I DON'T have so I'm spending a bit of money trying to get those things and yet i'm having a HARD time getting rid of the things I already have.

Now a side note i'm almost 30 and have lived independently for over a decade now and have lived lived in 4 states and did extended stays in 2 countries so this may not be an experience many of you will ever have. But along my travels I have gathered art work from around the world, and that takes up most of the storage at my dear mothers house. Therefor items like shoes, jewelry (they suggest not bringing those especially medal where I am going. The major things however are my kitchen items. Think big expensive things that I have worked YEARS to buy.
Kitchen Aid mixer (Masters Grad $), Vita Mix Blender (bonus at work), Calphalon pots and pans (bought one at a time at outlet malls and on sales with coupons), Hand painted bowls (A friend who knows my kitchen love), Antique serving-wear (A co-worker, these are over 80 years old, think FINE china), Bone China server-ware (bought in Costa Rica, I almost literally lost a finger over them as I lost circulation while going through customs with them), Not to mention ALL of my catering and chocolate decorating items!! (that's just the big stuff think about 10k worth of stuff, sad fact that may even be an understatement)

Any way ALL of the just to say that well I can't sale them. I just can't emotionally see letting someone buy my $150 pot for 20 bucks at a garage sale and them not appreciating the amount of effort that went into getting it.

So what should I do?!?!

Well I am a religious person and I believe in inspiration (ideas that come from a higher power), and as I was sitting in a meeting I got the clear impression. "I have given it to you, GIVE THEM AWAY. You can't take them to the grave, but you can bless others with them." And as soon as the idea came into my mind I was felt such a weight come off of me! I have been given much; through a great job which has blessed me with things I never dreamed I would have. So why not pass my good fortune onto others?!?

Now lets be honest there are somethings I will keep like the antique set, the kitchen aid (because my name is engraved on it), and like I said earlier my artifacts from around the world. BUT the rest of it can GO! A friend has the Vita mixer already and her kids now eat healthier and have a blast with it. She's a mom of 3 small ones, what better habits are they establishing. A friend is moving out into her own place and she will take some of the kitchen stuff. Another friend is getting my chocolate molds and will use a part of the profits to fund Peace Corps projects (yuppers). Another friend is going to come get ALL my holiday stuff and use them in her special needs classroom for her students.

I feel like I'm taking my heart and breaking it into a million pieces and handing it out to the world BUT in doing so I will live forever in the memories and hearts of those I am leaving behind. This is what I want my WHOLE life to be like.

Honestly I am so excited to think that I can take a small moment of my life and just share so much of my heart and soul with so many other people.

(update: So after dispersing things I was still hanging out with those friends and it brought me so much joy to see them using those items and to see them enjoying them with friends and family. I am so happy with the choice I made!!)

So here's to a heartfelt Hi from the amazingly crazy Jump'n Jenny
Until Next Time
JumpInTheJungle

A random thought (warning long and emotional)

So I am being completely real and raw on this blog. I want you too see the struggles the moments of doubt. Why because I want you to know your not alone!! I also want you too see the success for all they are, and if you never see the mental struggle you'll never understand the emotional joys. This blog is going to be open and honest which is hard!! But I want to be fair to you! I want you to know the struggles, I want you to feel what I feel because seeing what we do is only a small taste of what this experience is about!

And yes be for warned I LOVE !!!!!!! and CAPITAL LETTERS oh and :) :( hehehe and I don't like editing. Even though they will be simple mistakes I know if I go back and re-read them I am liable to take the emotions out, so I have to just type and submit or else you won't get the thoughts in my head. So please understand I'm not an English major and I have no concept of your, you're, there, their.
But I am a human who is learning and I want to share that with you!


Here's a post I wrote on Facebook today and felt like I should share this with you all as in truth it has a LOT to do with preparing for the Peace Corps!

SO who's ready for a DEEP thought?!? If not keep scrolling! (this is not a pity post so ABSOLUTELY NO your the best crap, It is a dialog of the human nature)

So it PT(personal training) day and like i posted last night I feel like my emotions are taking over my body, dang double X chromosomes, and well I have a trainer that is amazing at not letting me give a half ass attempt. And today I so tried for one because I was having an internal pity party. Which lead to a plank (that one I posted about a week ago that I almost cried over) See the think about planking is it is 85% mental 15% physical. Well needless to say I half ass'd it because I keep thinking i'm to fat, to weak, to BLAH BLAH BLAH. But as the trainer sat there with me crying and hyperventilating after saying a few choice words to him. He asked me a deep question. And I want to ask it to you.

Why do we put limitations on ourselves?!? Why do we say we can't before we try!?! Why have we put living a LONG life about LIVING life?!?

An example of this is a friend I miss most times I see a Toyota with a dent, or a waterfall, or anything else I could see them running to jump off of. (Jason) Well you see he LIVED, his life was short but man oh man was it FULL. But MOST of us are so afraid of failing that we never even start! WHY?!? Why are does it take Cancer for us to finally say sorry, or go do that one thing you always wanted to do!?!

At what point do we as humans allow fear to control us and lose faith in ourselves and our god?!?

Just a deep questions for you all? One I know I will be thinking about!

Again this isn't a it's ok jenny post this is a stop and think about YOUR life YOUR actions, your passion. I'm not saying quit your job and go try and hug a bear on the side of a mountain. But I am saying stop and think about how you talk to YOURSELF, I am so mean and crule to myself because i've let others shape who I am and the thing is I have some of the most supportive people in my life. A mother who let's me drop off the face of the planet every could of years to "find myself", a lot of friends who have always encouraged me to do more, keep smiling, A great church family who is ALWAYS there when I need them most! Not to mention a group of colleagues who cheer me on. I've had the nay sayers, but for each one of them I've had 3 times as many tell me I could if I focused, tried.

Any who this is probably the longest post in history BUT again PLEASE stop and think, who knows it might just change your life!!

I'm hoping and praying it does mine.

Lots of Love
The lone wanderer
JumpInTheJungle