So close...but yet so far.

It feels like I'm getting closer.  A couple of shots and a 17+ hour plane ride.  We will be there in no time.  I am in Washington, DC, with my fellow volunteers.  It feels good.  We have all started talking about why we made this decision and done a bit of bonding about luggage.  I think it's going well.  I don't know that I have learned anything more about our South African post (mostly we just discussed our commitment to the Peace Corps and then the logistics about making our way to South Africa) but all in good time.  When we land and start our PST (that's pre-service training) it sounds like we start cramming for finals.

I am excited, nervous, scared...I can't sleep.  Just like a little kid on Christmas night.   

A Yoga Mat?

Here I go.  So I have packed, repacked, weighed and made the final decisions about what to take and leave.  Everyone has an opinion and I'm sure I will want things that I decided to leave.  But, I decided that a yoga mat was something that was important enough to bring on this journey (and it really didn't take up that much room)?  So, I'll let you know about all of my good (and bad decisions) when I get there.  You'll know when I start asking you to send me things.  Or not. 

I love you all and will miss you.

Seize a Banana.

"I don't want to come to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it.  I want to have lived the width of it as well." - Diane Ackerman

We all have dreams, hopes, aspirations - you know, stuff we want to do.  But most of us wait.  We wait until the perfect moment.  There is a part of us all that is waiting to take that trip, chance, or reach out to the people we love.  Everyone gets to decide how to spend their time.  But don't wait too long.

Which brings me to saying thank you and I love you to my wonderful Carnelian friends for spending time with me today...and, as always, making me laugh (and cry just a little).  And as we learned how to say together, "Seize a banana!" 

I didn't take these pictures.

But here are some pictures that were taken of our soon to be training site by a volunteer who was at our training site this week scooping things out (thank you ultra helpful volunteer for providing lots of great information)!  The only piece of information that wasn't so "cool" was the part about lots of mosquitoes.  Oh well.  Let the adventures almost begin.

Back in Phoenix.

And organizing away.  For those of you who want to know about some details, I shall tell you what I know.  I leave for Washington, DC, on Tuesday, January 26 as my Staging (fancy name for a short get together with my fellow group who is also on their way to South Africa with our fearless training leaders) is held on January 27th and 28th.  And on the 28th we are all flying to Johannesburg at around 5PM in the evening (after getting a few shots before departing).

When we get to Johannesburg we head to a place (Ndebele College of Education) about two hours outside of the city near Dennilton in Mpumalanga Province.  I guess that's where we will live for about a week getting our feet wet before we are placed with our wonderful South African host families.

This collective "we" that I speak about is forming through blogs and facebook groups and is already proving quite diverse.  It will be interesting to meet everyone.  But, I have to say that I don't think that anyone can top Christine's stories...I am already missing your stories. I love you, Christine!

And I have discovered my favorite isiZulu word.  I doubt that I will ever use it but I like the way that it sounds.  idada=duck

Oh Sunday, Sunday.

In the Denver Post this morning there was an editorial entitled "One Week's Notice" which I read while eating pancakes made by my mom and dad during my last week here in Colorado (thank you)!  It was essentially one of the editors giving notice because she realized she wasn't moving in the right direction.  Did you know that over 55% of us are unsatisfied with our current jobs?  This doesn't seem that shocking to me.  Lately, everyone I talk to seems unsatisfied with the work that they are doing.  Usually it's a vague dissatisfaction about the people or the money or the actual work or they have some other passion (other than their current job).

We all have something that motivates us and our reasons are never the same.  They are shaped by our family, friends, culture, beliefs (and this list expands depending on who is making it).  Some people make changes in their career when they experience job dissatisfaction and others stay.  I'm always intrigued.  But you know what?  It's just a decision with good and bad potential which we have to deal with anyway, right?  So whatever you do, just make a decision, and move forward.

Speaking of making decisions and giving notice.  I leave in about two weeks for South Africa.    

What to do when you don't have a job. And are leaving for South Africa.

I should probably be doing something else because I feel like I have a lot to do.  But, I'm not really doing much.  Poking around on the Peace Corps journal website and reading lots of blogs about current and future travels of volunteers and thinking about how unprepared I feel (but a huge thank you to those who have detailed packing lists on your blogs - these have been very helpful)!  I figure I'll really get ready in a few more days.  But I only have 4 weeks or so left before I leave.  Ugh. 

Mostly, though, I am spending time with family here in beautiful Colorado.  It's strange not to have a job.  No emails to respond to and no worrying about project deadlines.  It feels like I'm still on vacation from work.  In a strange way (maybe not though?), it's been hard to let go of that place.

But, for now, I will enjoy playing some ninja games or guitar hero or snowboarding on the wii - or we'll just play them all at once as you can see from this picture.  Good times.