I have officially been medically separated from the Peace Corps. While my eye is doing 1000 times better then it was, it is still in the recovery process and the PC decided that it was in my best interest to have 4-6 months for my health to stabilize. With that being said, even when the healing process is complete my eye will never be the same. I will never have the same vision as I once had, and it may not get better then what it is now. Currently, while i can see things out of my, it is like looking through a fogy window. Things are hazy and blend together. The reason for this is because I am looking through the scar that was once my ulcer. Depending on your much the scar fades will determine how much clearer my vision gets. This can take up to 6 months. In the end I think separating me was the right decision, and now I can be monitored by my doctors and focus on getting better. As of right now my plan is to return as soon as I can, which is the beginning of October. However a lot can change in 4 months and I'm keeping my options open.
SO in the mean time I have been looking for work. However my ability to get places has been extremely restricted. First, I don't have a car. Second, up until 5 days ago I wasn't aloud to drive. Under the orders of my parents I was instructed to take a driving lesson to make sure that I was still able to drive with the same ability as before. I called a first time driving school and scheduled a lesson. My instructor was a woman name Neirtha and she loves Wendy's! Every time we drove past a Wendy's she was scream "oh I love that Wendy!" Until finally I asked her if she was hungry and wanted to stop and grab something. She was delightfully surprised by my offer and had me pull into the next drive through. She shared her fries with me, so I liked her. While the driving issue was resolved I still do not have a car, so being able to get to my new hypothetical job posed a problem. It was a definite reality check coming back home and once again living in the new jersey suburbs having to rely on a car.
It wasn't until my father suggested that I look for nanny jobs in NYC that I had a direction. I began talking to people about becoming a nanny and I learned that there is a whole online system, kind of like Craigs List but only for child care workers and families looking. I was pointed in the direction of two websites and began the process. With in 1 weeks I was scheduling interviews back to back and beginning to have a lot of options. I began to see the Upper West/East Side life of New York City that I'd only seen in movies, such as Uptown Girls or Nanny Diaries. I figured if Brittany Murphy could do it, so could I! I began interviewing with families and seeing the different dynamics. There were the families that had door mans, live in house keepers, and nanny's to cater to their multiple children and escort them all around the city. There were the families that lived in the Hampton s for the summer. There were working moms, and stay at home moms, moms that alphabetized their children books, and moms that has their kids scheduled for 3 classes a day from water aerobics to art class to basketball.
In the end I was accepted a job that was offered to me by a nice family living on the upper west side. The mother and I got along really well and seemed to be on the same page. Her and her husband have two kids: Julliet, whose 4, and Mathew, whose 6. The commute is about 45 minutes and involves me taking a bus and two trains. I have been soliciting all my friends that live up town or off the C train for week day sleepovers. While I'm really excited to start being busy again I'm also a little scared. For my first two days of work I accompanied Claudine, the mother, for their daily activities in order to get accustomed to their schedules. I began to realize just how different growing up in the city is and how so many more accidents can happen. I also observed other families and watched kids publicly yelling at their moms and/or nanny's and realized that soon that will be me yelling "STOP!" and "NO!" in crowded public spaces. I've listed to mothers tell stories about their children having to poop behind bushes in the park, because they couldn't get to a bathroom soon enough. I've been to swim lessons and art class and am slowly learning the ropes but I can't help think that I'm in over my head.
Tomorrow is my first official day. Lets hope everyone makes it through the day!
