Details to come!

There's a lot going through my mind right now. Sometimes I don't want to think about all the things I need to do before I leave, so I spend my days customizing this blog or meandering around my house. The reality of it all is that I will be living in Africa in less than a month. Trying to get your life squared away at home in order to create a new home somewhere else for two years has been an interesting process. I really don't have anything to show for it yet, except a nice typed 'to-do' list that hasn't been printed. Those things will get done...eventually.

Just to let you know, on October 5th I will be boarding a plane to head for Philadelphia. I'll spend a couple of days here doing paperwork essentially and meeting the group of volunteers I'll be training with in Ethiopia. From Philadelphia I'll jet off to Ethiopia for pre-service training, which usually lasts about 10 weeks. It will take me a little over 25 hours to get from Point A (Philadelphia, PA) to Point B (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). Hopefully I'll be able to sleep and the beating of my heart won't keep me up. I mean...I am going to Africa...to live...for 27 months.

As I stated before, I am feeling a whole bunch of something right now. Overwhelmingly though, I'm just plain excited. Joining the Peace Corps is something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. Before I knew you needed a degree to get in, I was contemplating taking time off from college to do it. Their rules do make sense, I have to say. So in a phrase, "I'm livin' the dream!" Well, my dream that is. The Peace Corps offers a lot of materials to help a volunteer to prepare, both emotionally and physically. Absorbing it all has been a feat. I still feel more or less clueless, but have a mysterious sense of preparedness. If I am to take anything from this process, it is an open heart and mind. I don't want to carry expectations to Ethiopia with me.  Everyone has a different experience and sees life through a different pair of eyes. I really have no idea what it will be like and that's fine with me.

On the flipside, I do know a little about my job. Yes, I do have a job over there, which honestly sometimes I forget because I'm thinking about how the coffee will taste or if it will be safe to run. Although these topics are equally important to me, I haven't been employed by the government to wine, dine, and keep in shape. As I digress, I've been given an assignment (like a secret agent without the secrets). My job title is 'Community HIV/AIDS Volunteer,' which is basically what I went to college for but with a focus on a specific disease. I will be able to put Health Promotion (my major--think "Public Health") into practice, which is--in a word--awesome. The Peace Corps gave me a generic description about my duties, but in essence, I think I'll be a liaison between the target population I'll be working with and HIV/AIDS services in the community. I'll also probably work on trying to enhance these services that focus on prevention, care, and support on the community, health center, and hospital levels. Please keep in mind that I use the words "think" and "probably" with full intention of letting you know that I only have an idea of what I'll be doing over there. My only wish is that whatever I do, I do it well and to the best of my ability.

Well, I suppose I'll leave you for now with this first post on my first blog. I imagine it will get more interesting as time progresses like with pictures, videos and gadgets galore. I'm new to this though, so be patient with me. Exciting times are ahead and I can't wait to share them with you.