One Week

After all this waiting it is hard to believe one week from today I will head to Philadelphia for Staging.  My itinerary for Staging includes checking in at 1 PM on November 10, 2009, orientation and more shots from 3-7 PM, sleeping until we leaving for John F. Kennedy Airport (New York, New York) at 2 AM, and departing JFK at 10:30 AM for a nonstop (!!!) flight to Johannesburg, South Africa arriving at 8:30 AM on November 12 (South African time)!  Details, details.

There are only a few other mini-updates from the last time I wrote.

I officially said goodbye to all my friends and distant family (plus C.D.).  There will be no more travel, just a week of rest and relaxation.  Saying goodbye was a lot harder than I imagined.  My friends are all incredible people.  Not seeing them for 27 months seems like torture.  I have faith in our friendships (and bets on who will visit)! Thank you guys and gals for everything. You mean the world to me!

I had my first press release. Semi-exciting?

Packing: I might have mentioned I get to bring an extra 50 pounds (total=100 pounds) because Lesotho is considered a cold weather country! That is good news, although the task still seems a little daunting.  In the words of the Peace Corp the mail in Lesotho is "fairly reliable," leaving loving parents to mail whatever gets left behind.  Obviously, the ideal case is to fit everything I need into a suitcase.  Along with my faith in my friendships, I have faith that my minimalist self(s?) ability to pack two years of life into a suitcase.  I have said it once, and I will say it again... things truly are a burden.     

This week I will be mailing out my blog address to those who might be interested, I will update Facebook to contain my address and other important information, and write letters to each of my dear friends... along with making an uncountable number of phone calls, one last trip the free clinic, and one last night of babysitting.  

That is it for updates!  Peace.