Bula (Hello!),
Today is exactly one month from when I will
board a flight to L.A. to join the Peace Corps and almost exactly a year from
when I passed the music therapy board certification test! Last August, after I
finished my internship, I applied to the United States Peace Corps. I decided
that if I couldn’t find a job in the United States working in my population of
choice, youth mental health, I would could find one abroad while living in a
new culture and having the adventure of my life. I figured that fate would
decide which door would be open. Ironically, I didn’t even apply to the country
that I was given an invitation to serve in! Somehow the Fiji Placement Officer,
who also is a musician and understands music therapy already, found my
application and asked to interview me. In march, I was invited to be part of
the 92nd group to serve in Fiji (right over there near Australia,
New Zealand, Tahiti and Samoa) under the Community Youth Empowerment Project
and I will depart August 31, 2015.
I have wanted to serve in the Peace Corps since high school,
but it always felt like a far away dream and I was always in school. I didn’t
have a job, was finishing school and wasn’t dating anyone; I decided that since
the chances of getting in were slim, that I should just go for it. I am
absolutely excited to be an ambassador for not only my country and generation,
but my field as well! There is no music therapy association in Fiji and the
only music therapist in Fiji is currently a Peace Corps Volunteer. I love what
I do so much, that I decided that even though not everyone in my city has my
exact skill set, someone could learn to do what I know if they needed it, but
in Fiji, there is nobody with my skill set!
I will be working as a Community Youth Empowerment
Facilitator and working with developing positive youth mental health. In Fiji, youth is defined as birth to 35 years old. It will not be direct clinical work,
but if you are a musician, you understand that music is ingrained into every culture
and everything we do. If there is a therapeutic way to incorporate music into
my goals as a PCV, then I will find a way to use my skills. As my former
professor, Dr. Wlodarczyk always says during introduction to music therapy, “music is a key;” we never know what music can unlock
that traditional counseling cannot unlock.
I am selling everything I own, so if you need something, you
know who to contact! I am getting super excited about this opportunity and
living on an island for two years, but I am also hesitant to leave my
relationships behind. Thankfully, my close friends and family are all very
supportive of this new adventure. Granted, most of them are convinced that I’m
going to meet some amazing guy over there and come back married, haha. (Note:
this is not my reason for joining the peace corps!) I’ve been warned that this
is not allowed, unless there are invitations sent out, of course. I have many friends and family who have decided that they will try to come to Fiji to see me, and the ocean, of course.
The biggest thing I will say is that we are supposed to be
creating a new support network within the Fijian culture, so I am not be in
contact, as much, for the first few months. I am so grateful for the support of
the music therapy community! I will not have facebook messenger or much access
to facebook. I plan to keep using “whatsapp” to text and call back home! I will
post my address on here in a few weeks. It takes anywhere
from a week to three weeks for post to go in and out; sometimes, that depends
on if there is enough mail for the post man to go to that city. I do know, make sure everything is sealed
and mark food as a generic label, such as “snacks,” or customs might take it. Please don't mail me anything worth over $200 or I will have to pay a customs tax. I
would appreciate snail mail, e-mail and many more! Mail can lighten up the mood
during training, or so I've heard.
I am not doing a count down, but I am very aware of the
date. I want to live these last few months up as much as possible and spend
time with my loved ones! I can’t wait to
see where life goes in the next two years! This blog will be the easiest way to
follow where I am and what I am doing. On the topic of where I am... I do not
know exactly where I will be stationed. Once we pass our language, cultural and
safety competencies following our “pre-service training” in country, then we
will be sworn in and notified where we will go and exactly what we will be doing! I
could be in a “city”, or the only American on an rural island. The Peace Corps
is all about adaptability, or as us musicians like to say, improvisation! I am excited for you all to follow this journey with me.
If you want to support me, I need to pay off my medical bills before I leave. Here is my gofundme account: http://www.gofundme.com/yrrgg6p
-Kelli Maddock
