Last (full) day at home

Today is my last day at home before I begin my long, and rather circuitous, journey to Peace Corps staging.  Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving for Isle of Palm, SC for a long weekend and family reunion at the beach.  Although I'm totally psyched about seeing all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles, this means that I need to have everything ready to go for when I return on Tuesday -- a little stressed right now, but it should be worth it in the end.

In true Peace Corps fashion, I have very little information about next week.  I do know that we're leaving our downtown hotel at 9:15am for a 3:45pm flight to Dakar!  If I don't already know the Atlanta airport well enough, now's my chance!  We'll arrive in Dakar (insha'allah) at 4:40am on Saturday, June 21 and then bus 6 hours to the training center in Rosso.  I've been told that we should be there by lunch time (again -- insha'allah).

But for now, I'm trying to focus my attention on spending time with Kelsey, Mom, and Dad and fitting 80-lbs worth of gear into my suitcase.  For those of you who have travelled for long periods of time, you know benefit of having what you need and the joy of packing light.  It's more of a mental challenge than anything, but it's given me something to think about for the past six months! 

Hopefully, I'll be able to chat with many of you before I leave the States, and hopefully, you'll be able to read about my experiences on this blog very soon!