Disclaimer

Disclaimer: The thoughts presented in this blog are solely my own and are in no way the thoughts or beliefs of the Peace Corps or the United States Government.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Into the Abyss

Well the first day of training in Philly is complete and we take off for Brussels this evening.  We begin travel by bus to JFK this morning and will not land in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso until Tuesday evening.  I am so excited to have finally met the other 25 volunteers.  We all  went out for dinner together last night and I can already tell we are going to have a blast in Burkina Faso together.  We were told to expect to live without our luggage for a few days.  If our luggage does not make the connecting flight, it will not make it to Burkina Faso for at least 4 more day because people do not fly to this little African country all too often.  I was also told to expect that we would not have access to internet or a telephone for the next 3 weeks at least.  I told my family to keep in mind the no news is good news and that I will contact them as soon as I can whenever I can.
I really wanted to say thank you for everyone's support and well wishes lately.  It has been extraordinary to witness the prayers and kindness directed towards my family and me (and especially my brother) over the past couple of weeks.  Our friends and family are truly a gift and a blessing.
Packing for this trip was really a pain.  My bag has plenty of room in it but I am really having trouble with the weight requirements.  We are allowed 2 checked bags, no more than 80 pounds total and no single bag weighing more than 50 pounds.  I think I am exactly at 50 and 33...oops.  I am hoping my dazzling smile and pleading excuse, "But I am leaving for Africa with the Peace Corps and will be there for two whole years," might render TSA lenient.  And a shout out to Courtney for documenting the horrific disaster of my bedroom last Saturday.

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