European Exploration

My friend, J.L.W., has been planning a trip to Europe since before I met her seven years ago. She so kindly invited me to tag along, which is fantastic because I LOVE LOVE LOVE to travel but I HATE HATE HATE researching new places. And for those of you who travel, you know it takes a lot of prep work before you actually board the plane or start the car. That is just another reason why the Peace Corps is so amazing! I get to travel and live in a remote little village but all the boring stuff is taken care of. (Do not get me wrong, I have done tons of reading on the area I am going to be inhabbiting for the next 27 months. I know what the food is going to be like, what to pack, what I am actually going to be doing, etc.... but they mailed me the information in a nice little packet. There was not too much digging involved!)

Back to Europe: It looked like for a brief second we might actually be able to squeeze the trip in this summer, but with more thought and a little extra research my parents decided we should postpone the trip, yet another year. Except this time it is not just this year but also the next two years. Sorry J.L.W. although I am sure you are not surpised. One day I will accompany you on a European adventure (trekking through European cities, living in hostels, riding trains, and seeing everything we can fit into our two week to two month vacation)!

I really struggle with committment... but it is not really the committment I struggle with, it is the over-committment. J.L.W. has really experienced the brunt of my 100 mph life. Until now, I have always felt if I have time to do 100 things I most definitely have time for 101 things. This gets me into trouble when I realize I am waste deep in projects I do not even know how I got involved in. My 'full plate' is a five course meal! Not that things in Africa are going to be easier, but the pace of life is going to be incredibly slow. I hope this allows me to realize how important relationships truly are. Being a hard-worker does not equate to being a workaholic. Volunteering is rewarding but not when it controls my life.

Friends, thanks for putting up with me. I am going to call when I say I am going to call or be there when I say I will. I am not going to stop rearranging your lives so I can fit you in my agenda. I am a work in progress.