Christmas is coming, but not when expected

So, it is finally December, moving closer and closer to the fabled winter break, where I get to not go to training and not do PC stuff for the most part and I get to go to Spain.  Yeah!  The only slight let down is the lack of Christmas type things.  Christmas isn't on December 25th here because holidays really work on the Eastern Orthodox calendar.  I mean Christmas will still happen but no one has their Christmas tree up yet and they didn't even start Christmas commercials until December and there wasn't the whole post Thanksgiving jump into Christmas like I am used to.  A friend of my emailed me and said she set up her tree and it looked awesome even if we didn't get to put it up together and that I am going to miss out of cookie-baking-fest.  Sigh.  Well I will have to make some new traditions for this year and the next.  I will do some baking but the date is still uncertain at this point.  But the lack of ceremony and well known traditions is a bit startling.  

On the plus side I am no longer dreaming of a white Christmas because it has finally appeared!!  Unfortunately it came with some freezing rain and a good layer of ice, then a melt and a lot of regular rain, but now we are back to just snow for the most part.  And I have to say, I love yaktrax, those grippy things you put on your shoes so you don't slip and fall.  I remember getting them in July or August and thinking "I don't need these, I'm from AK, these are stupid"  I can say without shame and a great deal of thankfulness that those are one of the best inventions in the world.  When I thought about walking on ice I did not realize that ice here means a skating rink covering every surface and it is well polished.  And all the Moldovans I show them to think I am super clever for having found a way not to fall.  It also helps that my shiny black Moldovan leather boots without any tred what-so-ever have been consigned to indoor wear only and my hiking boots are now my outdoor shoes until my rated to -25 AK boots get here to take there place.  I will be kicking winter's figurative butt.  As it happens my layers are already too much for the walk to school.  I think "It will be cold out today, I will wear my winter coat, hat and mittens"  I get outside, it is slightly cold, mostly windy and I get about 5 minutes into my walk and am quite hot.  However I need the layers for in school because it is about 50 degrees all day and if I didn't have layers I would be cold.  Outside I can do, it is inside that is troublesome.  

Other than that life is still good. :)  Lots of work, lots of little things to get over or work around but still good.  

Happy Holidays!  Merry Christmas!! Happy New Year!!!!  Feliz Navidad!!

Time is flying by

It is already over halfway through November, almost Thanksgiving time and for the last two weeks it has been in the 50s at least.  I have a hard time believing it is November and I feel like my seasonal clock is all messed up, I should be walking through snow and wearing snowboots and various other winter gear.  I could probably still use that gear because they have delayed turning on the heat because of the warm weather and it is getting cold again, but still it isn't quiet the same without snow.  I may be singing, and meaning it, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas".  Not that it wouldn't be the first time, but it makes me a little said every time I have to mean it.  

Classes this past month and a half have been smooth for the most part because we had a whole group of student teachers from the university doing their practicum at my school.  This meant that the bulk of my classes were being taught by someone else and I didn't have to do visual aids for five different classes.  You would think that meant I did less work but instead I worked out a alarming large amount of visual aids for the remaining two classes I was actively teaching.  I hope they appreciate how much construction paper I used for them.  They at least always said wow whenever I brought out whatever I had made for them the day before.  Wows can be very satisfying when you have worked for 2 hours to get a 10 minute activity ready.

I also have to say that I love the younger students in my school.  Every time they see me they say "Miss Carolyn!  Miss Carolyn!" and I get a lot of hugs, often group hugs.  The best part is... they are all shorter than me.  :) (To those of you who stumbled across this blog hoping maybe for information on volunteering in Moldova, I am fairly short so being taller than someone is an inside joke with all my friends)

I am still ready for a break.  I know that I have said this in almost every blog post to this date but it is the truth.  Here in Moldova there is a fall break, just like spring break at the beginning of November, however that break is spent by first year volunteers in training sessions.  The training sessions did have a lot to offer and helped me get some new ideas for classes but it would have been a week long break that I didn't get.  Sigh.  However second year volunteers do get that break off, unless they help with the training sessions, but still the option is there.  Also on the plus side being together with our whole group meant spending some time in English and eating at some really great restaurants and getting to know some of the second or third year (extendees) volunteers better.  It was a great time for idea swapping and talking out some of the frustrations of the job.  I just wish I could have done the whole thing in my pajama pants, that's all. :)

So far I am busy every day and every weekend.  Making materials, trying to get clubs off the ground, running around Comrat.  It is good but slightly exhausting, like I keep saying.  But teaching is so energizing.  For example this morning I was in a funk.  I just wanted to stay in bed, I wanted a me day.  I spend the first 2 hours of the morning in that funk.  But once I started teaching, talking with the kids, doing activities with them that funk just disappeared.  It felt great to be back in all the classrooms and working with the kids.  I supposed that means that I was meant to teach.  And I feel like I really have a place in the school, the kids were glad to be working with me again and the classes I was working with during the student teachers' practicum are still excited to see me everyday.  It is a great feeling and makes me feel like I really made the right choice to join the Peace Corps.  But it is also tough.  Like I said sometimes you just want to take time to do nothing, then you remember the kids, and your job, and all things you still have to do that day and just push through.  

However, when Christmas break gets here I will definately be taking some of that me time.  In fact I am going to Spain, yes Spain, for a week.  I am looking forward to the food, the sites, and the SPANISH!!! I plan to talk to just about every person I see, well, with in reason, but still the point is I will be surround by Spanish and Spanish speaking people and Spanish sounds and... I get little shivers just thinking about it.  I am Spanish starved.  I plan to soak up that Spanishness and use it to get me through the next 6 months.

I also want to say CONGRADULATIONS to my sister and her new husband Matt.  They just got married and are going to have a baby and I am going to be an aunt!!!  I am looking forward to visiting them and seeing my new niece or nephew where they come.

Other than that life is good here.  I did have a slight brush with giardia and food poisoning.  I know that this would count as the second time I got giardia but as I told my mother it was not because I was drinking from puddles.  Giardia is endemic here in Moldova.  If anyone knows how to detect giardia or get rid of it from a water source such as a well please let me know, I would love to share the knowledge with my host family and all of my students, some of whom are not really aware of what giardia is.  It took me two and a half weeks to fully recover but I'm back on my feet and probably doing better than before since my system is now squeeky clean.  :)

As a reminder too, if you want to send me anything I can always use stickers, art supplies, and construction paper.  

Love to everyone and I miss you all! 

Cold but not cold hmm

This past month the weather has turned...coldish, it is rainy and cloudy and without heat that means cold depending on weather you get any sun that day or have a room that just stays warm in general.  For example in my host-family's house the kitchen is the warmest room in the house and I try to stay in the kitchen for almost all of my activities now.  But for the most part I am dressed in several layers of clothes and have only been wearing boots (though very fashionable, Moldovan boots) for the past month.  At least it feels like it has been for the past month.  Every week we have a little less daylight but I think we are still hovering around 11 or 10 hours because when I get up at around 7am it is getting light and it is light well past 4pm.  I am terribly spoiled.  There were a lot of volunteers from the group before me who said that we would be getting sun in the winter from around 8am to around 4 pm in the afternoon.  I am totally happy with this. :)  It is way better than the expected 10am to 3pm sun schedule of all of my previous winters in AK.  I just wish that more buildings were heating.  I have hope for November, there was some mention (possible just a rumor to get my hopes up) that they start heating the schools in November.  I can only wish for such an event.  In any case this weekend I plan on buying some plastic and covering the windows in the main classroom I teach in and my window in my bedroom.  Maybe that will cut down on the chill seeping into the rooms.  

October has passed by so quickly!!  I have been having a little semi-break because most of my classes are being taught by student teachers doing their practicum for the university here in town.  It is interesting to see how they deal with the same issue that my partner and I have dealt with and give suggestions about what they can change, what I liked, what was missing from the lesson.  I'm not sure they all appreciate what I have to say but I can hope to have a small role in their future teaching.  I like to think that I give good advice, at least.

The pumpkins are starting to be ready to eat!! I am the most excited about this.  My family said that they only make pumpkin pastries or placinta with the pumpkin.  When this conversation comes up between us I automatically wax on and on and on about all the other equally delicious things that can be done with pumpkin.  Yummmmmm.  I can't wait to have the time to actually make some of them: pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup, pumpkin casserole, baked pumpkin.... the list goes on.  I have been imagining all these delicious treats for weeks now in anticipation of when the pumpkins in our garden would be ripe.  We also have a ton of other types of squash but I think those get fed to the chickens or something insane like that!!  I am going to have to ask.  Because once the second fasting season comes on my host babushka won't be able to eat anything made with animal products and squash is a really good source of vitamins, minerals, just good stuff in general.  It would be a good addition to the beans and potatoes that people tell me make up their winter diet.  I have to mention just quickly too that it is apple season and I have had fresh cider several times already, sweet tarty goodness.

As a teacher I am lucky to get a fall break, the fall equivilant of spring break, which I am so wonderfully lucky to be spending doing PC training.  I just want to veg but I guess that will have to wait until Christmas.  Sigh.  It should be really good training I just want some time off thats all.  

I have had some recent requests for a list of things I need here.  If you are looking to send me something I could use the following:

Construction Paper

crayons, markers, colored pencils, pastels, water color paints (anything art related, I make all of my own materials for class)

stickers -just the regular old stars, smiley faces, that sort of thing

Recipes-I would love any recipes that people would like to send me I plan on sharing them with my host family, and possibly starting a cooking club in the future

Thats about it at the moment, boxes can be sent to :

Peace Corps c/o Carolyn Mousseau

12 Grigore Ureche Str., Chisinau 2001

Republic of Moldova

Oh, I almost forgot (silly me) that this coming year is the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps.  I am going to involved in the planning and execution of a huge celebration here in Moldova.  I will post more about it as we get more finalized but I just thought I would let everyone know.  If you see events or anything related to this I suggest you attend.  It will contain 50 years worth of information, pictures, hopes and dreams, success stories and more.  If you were ever interested in the history of the Peace Corps I am sure there will be events all over the place talking about it in the next coming year.  Official start March 1, 2011.  

Behind, busy, at school

The past month has been hectic, fun, tiring, and a challenge.  Much like PST and the whole Peace Corps experience in general but this is a different flavor of all of the above.  School has settled down for the most part in that we only had one schedule change and since then classes have been right on track.  I teach a wide variety of classes from the 2nd form to the 11th form.  It is quiet the spread.  Interestingly enough I had a hard time with the 5th form students during practice school, but since i have been at site some of my younger classes are the easiest and most enjoyable, although I must say that I love all my students.  There are challenging students, beginner students in high levels mixed in with very advanced students, shy students, and of course out going students.  Just a great big mix.  I learn more Romanian words everyday but I cannot for the life of me make a whole sentence in Romanian, but I do a really good job mixing the two which amuses the students to no end.  Probably because many of them do the same thing often, or at least outside of class.  Since the beginning of school I have been mostly just making materials.  Every day for at least 2 hours I sit and make posters, vocab cards, dialogs, matching activities, something.  I made a comment the other day that if all remains constant at the end of two years I will have made enough English materials and visual aids to fill a swimming pool.  One of my friends commented that as long as it was olympic sized then that was okay, or something to that effect.  

The weather, which is a constant love/hate sort of thing, has been cool at night and warm during the day.  But it is little by little starting to get cooler and cooler, at least this week, last week it was around 75 degrees.  I didn't understand that at all.  I am also starting to pick up projects as I go along.  Some students asked me to start an English club which I am jumping right into.  I would have started last week but I caught this horrendous cold and was out for 2 days of school and the weekend.  Apparently this is the sort of cold of the season and I am not the only one who had the joy of experiencing.  I slept enough to make up for any lack of sleep during PST.

I look forward to spending time with the students outside of English class.  In class you have things to accomplish and grammar to teach and you are trying to reach all the students while keeping them interested.  Outside of class time and topics can flow easily and there are any number of activities you can do that include English but aren't strictly English.  

All I can say at the moment is that I can't believe September is almost over.  A little over 1 month at site!!  Time does go by so much quicker now that I am working.  PST was work but it wasn't the same.  Time went slow, fast, slow during PST.  Here it just seems to go fast.  We'll see if I say that in another month. :)

Update from Life at Site

Hi everyone!  So I finally made it!  I am officially a volunteer and not just a trainee anymore.  I had an exhausting last 4 weeks of PST.  Practice school is a really wonderful, really draining experience with more emotions involved then I would have thought possible.  There was great achievements in the class room, soaring high!  Then there would be some small disaster, fell back down to earth, hard.  And of course it was 100 degrees or round abouts there which made it hard to want to plan or site at the school for hours on end doing materials development but it had to be done and in the end I feel way more prepared for what is coming next.  The start of school at site.  Bum bum bum!  Our swearing in ceremony was great, we had really good speakers such as Margaret the heading of the language training, Jeffery our country direct and a great pubic speaker, 2 volunteers that MC'd in English and Romanian, and of course two people from our group Ben (Russian speech) and Zach (Romanian speech) that blew the crowd away with their well prepared speeches and snazzy suits.  After that it was say goodbye to the people you just spend 10 weeks with and hello to your new host families.  A whirlwind day that really seems like 3 or 4 seperate days all together.

Since then I have been on sort of a mini-vacation because of a group of holidays here that fall all together meaning multiple days off.  The first was Gagauzian day which was great.  There was a concert in the center that I got to go see that lasted until like 2 in the morning, I wimped out and was home by 12:30, said isn't it?  That same day, I think, was my host-grandmother's birthday which meant I got to meet  a lot of family members and try a lot of good food.  Soon after that it was the Day of the founding of Comrat, which meant I got to march with all the other teachers to the center and each school got called out to walk across an open area.  Then it was the day of the victory of the soviets over the fascists, I think I may not have gotten it all when I thought I did, where we placed flowers on a monument.  Recently it was also the indepence day of Moldova.  And coming up is Limba Noastra or day or our language.  It has been a lot of fun and a much needed break.  I have also atteneded several conferences.  I attended the conference for all teachers in Gagauzia and then I attended a conference about the new curriculum and long term plans.  Lots of Russian, some understanding on my part.  But being surrounded by Russian has been great.  I feel like my comprehension has jumped 3 or 4 places from where it was.  Now I just have to get started on Romanian and not backtrack with Russian and I am set!

School starts in about 2 days.  I will be finally getting started!

PST is over

Well, the time has finally come and PST is over.  Tomorrow (fingers crossed) I will be sworn in as an official volunteer with Peace Corps Moldova.  I am tired, hot, and ready for break but it was all worth it.  Today we did our last PST interviews, in which we sit with several very important people in the PC and talk about how we have been, any suggestions we have, and generally how we thought the whole process went.  I have to say that I feel very lucky to be working the Peace Corps here in Moldova because everyone has been generally wonderful.  My project director is the sweetest, best dressed, best informed, caring, smartest woman I have ever met.  When we did a presentation about the English Education group we introduced her as the best dressed woman you will ever see.  And it is certainly true. :)  In addition to that we have a great country director who absolutely loves the Peace Corps.  

PST was exhausting and very structured.  But looking back, of course in a short sited way because it just ended, it was good in a way.  We were kept busy, mostly out of trouble and given the tools (as we shall see in the next 2 years) to help us with life here in Moldova.  I know that I am starting to sound a little bit like an infomercial for PC but the organization is part of the reason I was so interested in becoming a volunteer.  It is also reassuring to know that some of the glow hasn't worn off.  The support is there so that with a little work on my part it is a great experience.  

Today is my last full day in my PST site and then I am off to my permanent site!!  Exciting, yes?  I have some more packing to do and of course re-packing to do because I magically have more things then I came with. :)  Mostly it is books provided by PC for English teaching but I have also managed to collect a few other things as well all on my own.  I am starting to dread the thought of packing at the end of two years.  It may seem far away but this is a good indicator that I will have a lot of sorting and generally cleaning to do at the end of it all.  I am excited to meet my new host family (there was a switch in host families so I haven't met this one yet) and get started on school and all that.  

I hope that all my friends and family are doing well!  Till next time!

Getting close to the end of the beginning

I may be too fond of funny sounding post titles, for example of end of the beginning, and earlier half-way there to there, or something like that.  I hope that it does not get annoying for anyone who is taking the time and effort to read my blogs.  But it is true this next week will be week 9 of our 10 week pre-service training and then I will be leaving my PST host-family and site to go to my permanent site.  PST has been a mixture of fun, work, exhaustion, and of course heat.  I will be saving a summing up blog for week 10 but as I get closer to then end of PST I am starting to get a little bit more reflective of how my time has been here in Moldova.  

At the moment I am taking a well deserved break from lesson planning and material making to write to friends and family about how my week has been so far.  A friend has some classical music on and the room I am sitting in is sun dappled with a slight breeze to cool me off.  It is a wonderful moment.  The kind where you realize how good life really is or how there is always something that can make your day seem better.  

Today was also the last day that our research teachers are here to help us and observe us as we teach.  It is interesting how it seems like you have been around a person for months only to realize that they were only with you for 2 weeks.  I will miss talking with my research teacher and hearing about her interesting life.  I enjoyed just talking with her the most.  She had some very interesting stories, many which surprised me.  Also, today the COD trainees and ARBD trainees left to go to the swearing in ceremony and then from there on to their permanent sites.  So now the Russian trainees are done to 4.  Sigh.  I will miss them too.  One of them was my next door neighbor so we got to talk a lot and walk to school together as well.

One more week of practice school and then I get a break!!  I am looking forward to a change of pace and to swearing in.  I hope that everyone is doing great where ever the are.  

Practice school

Now we enter the time of practice school.  This is my first real experience teaching children and I must say that I had a rocky start.  I know that I was not really prepared to take on the molding of young children's minds but I may just have a good start when practice school is over.  I have been lucky to be able to work with a Moldovan teacher who helps me through the thorny bits of dealing with a large group of 10 year olds.  Practice school, for those who don't know, is where we, the volunteers, practice teaching Moldovan children.  These are children who volunteer (or their parents volunteer them) to come to like what would be considered an English summer camp for about 7 days.  I am working with the 5th form, which is full of students around 10 yeards old.  And I must say that my students are great.  Some of them are so eager to learn.  But they are also exhausting, they are a group of 10 year olds.  

Mostly what I have to say at this point is that I am a little tired, we go, go, go, go.  It is great but exhausting.  But as someone reminded me, "You didn't sign up to rest!  You signed up to work!"  Of course this person was making fun of me, but the statement rings true.  

On another note the weather has sort of mellowed out.  I think most days it is around 85 degrees not 95 or I have seriously begun to adjust to the weather.  I am going to say that it is more likely that it has just cooled off.  

I hope everyone is doing well and I will try to have some interesting things to say in my next post.

Practice School here I come!

So, as the time goes by we learn a little bit more Russian every day, and then of course we forget it the instant we want to use it.  However this is the last week of full Russian lessons (meaning around 4 hours a day) that we will have for PST.  Next week we start Practice school and that means that we will have around 2 hours of Russian a day.  I will miss it so.  And I truly mean that because it has been so helpful and useful.  I have probably said it every blog but I really do learn a word that I can use every day.  Hopefully when I get to site I will start remembering and then using all this knowledge.

Practice school, I have heard, is a time when we have no free time.  But all the volunteers that have talked to us have said that Practice school was one of the best things for getting them ready to actually teach, especially since many people do not come with a lot of teaching experiences.  I am sort of looking forward to and dreading the whole experience but I know that it will be worth it.  I hope you are all thinking the same thing for me, so that it will definately come true.  :)

Thats it for now.  Not very exciting news but I hope it will sustain you until my next post. 

Sweet, sweet internet

Hello everybody!!  I just wanted to say that I am truly enjoying my time on the internet right now.  I have answered many an email and now I am keeping on track with my blogging schedule.  I am also enjoying being cool indoors because outside it is close to 90 degrees F, which wouldn't be so bad if it were not also very humid.  As you can imagine, coming from Fairbanks I have little experience with extending periods of humidity and wish that it would just away.  We will have a rainstorm and I think "oh good, it will cool off now", no, it just continues to be HOT and HUMID.  Not my favorite combination.  But such is life.  On the plus side my family here has a rainwater shower outside so I get to take a cool, refreshing shower at the end of the day.  How I love thee outdoor shower.  It is really the little things that make life enjoyable.  

Every week leads us closer to the end of PST or in the case of the English education volunteers, practice school.  In practice school we get to test our mettle and knowledge gained from all of the PST in teaching.  On the plus side it ends with what we would call a field day for the students who participated and gave over their young minds to our care.  My group is planning to have some good old fashioned field day activities such as an egg walk, a three-legged race, and who knows what else.  Fun stuff to be sure.  It might be sad but we are looking forward to that day a little more than practice school.  But that is mostly because we know that the field day will be the end of practice school and very close to our swearing in day.  That coveted day where we officially become volunteers and end the exhausting yet exhilarating time of PST.

Even though we, as a group, have been fairly busy I have still had the opportunity to go to events with my host family and experience some Moldovan hospitality.  I have eaten and drank maybe more that I really wanted to but it was all delicious and in the spirit of being a good guest.  They make some great things here like stuffed peppers, compote (like juice with the fruit left in it), meat in general.  Then there is all the fresh fruits and veggies.  I get to eat a tomato and a cucumber on a daily basis.  Right now there a plums, peaches, and apricots in season.  I have to say I did not realize the breadth of the different types of plums, peaches and apricots in the world.  I have had small yellow plums and a wide variety of apricots all delicious.  We definitely miss out by only having a supermarket variety.

    

In Comrat

This weekend I am at my future site of Comrat. It is about the size of Fairbanks but with a lot more fruit, veggies, shops, and fields. Plus a whole lot less winter. I am staying with the family that will be my host family when I come to live in Comrat after PST. Today I got to meet with the director (what we would call a principal), the vice-director, and a French teacher who speaks excelent English. She also teaches a couple of the lower form English classes. She is the one who took me around the city and showed me where to find everything I might need or want. This is also the first time I have been completely surrounded by Russian. In the town where I am living for PST it is mostly Romanian speakers, which I kind of like because it gives me an opportunity to pick up on some Romanian. But for overall exposure to Russian it has been a little hard. This trip has also given me a really good view of all the language skills I really need to work on before I am done with PST. It is becoming apparentent that motion verbs (there is more than one verb for to go) are really important and deserve a large amount of my attention.
At any rate I am really looking forward to coming back to Comrat in the fall. I am also really looking forward to having a fall. :) (those of you from AK know what I am talking about) I also got a little view of the school where I will be teaching and an idea of how many students. Since the bulk of students are in Russian schools our school has very few students. In terms of class size that means I am going to have small classes. I feel like that is going to be wonderful. Of course it is just speculation right now.
Everyone I have met has been absolutely wonderful. My host family here has been interested in AK and my Comrat host mom and I spent close to an hour and a half looking up things about AK and pictures and such on the internet. I managed to forget all my interesting AK things back in Ialoveni.
I also wanted to mention that right now the sunflower fields are blooming. Imagine if you can acres of sunflowers all in bloom. That is what I drove through for a large part of the day yesterday. Beautiful! If i was looking for a more beautiful country I don't think I could have found it.

4 weeks down!

Hi everyone,

I know that I said I would keep up with this whole blog thing, I did have the best of intention but lack of time and sometimes access to internet has restricted that.  Since I have a free moment I will try to catch up on everything.  I have been in Moldova 4 weeks now (if we count this week) and it has both flown by and crawled by.  We have language classes 6 days a week for half  the day and technical sessions-or classes on how to teach in Moldova-for 3-5 days a week.  So you can imagine that we have been  kept busy, busy, busy.  I also do a lot with my host family.  They love to have friends and family over and go visit friends and family.  It has been great for me because I get to meet a lot of new people.  Generally that is hard for me so I really lucked out.  

I have told a lot of people but not all that I am learning Russian.  I will be going to a site with a lot of Russian speakers, for example a town or region where there is a ethnic Russian settlement, so the PC said "Let her learn Russian!"  It will be really good for latter on because I will still have plenty of chances to learn Romanian and this way I start with the language that is "harder" to learn first.  I get to find out where my site will be really soon, so I can start making my 2 years plans. 

In addition to all the learning and studying we have excursions to learn about Moldovan culture and they also feed us.  So far we have had team building and a cultural day.  It is fun because all the volunteers come together for these days were usually we are broken up by program.  

Well, this isn't a terribly long blog but I will say that I live in a very nice house, with a very nice family, and I have a flushing toilet for all those who are wondering what my life has been like so far.  :)

Till next post!

A long trip to half-way there

So I finally made it to Philadelphia, and it is gorgeous outside. The problem is that I am soooo tired that I am not even sure I want to go get food. I would probably do it if someone would come with me but I am all alone right now. The trip started yesterday in Fairbanks, and ended when I got to the hotel at about 4pm Philly time. I did pretty good, but my shoes gave me blisters!! Why!! And my bag was late, my big pack got here on time but somehow my duffle was on a later flight. I ended up waiting an extra hour and a half to get it, but it didn't make any sense to go all the way to the hotel and then do nothing. It all worked out in the end. I took a taxi to the hotel because I definately did not want to test my metro prowess with all those bags, which also happen to be fairly heavy. My taxi prowess was pretty good though, and I must say they have some very nice, clean taxis. I have been in some that were blah, but this one was great.
Right now I am just trying to make sure I have all my paperwork in order for tomorrow, catch up on some emails, and contemplate how long I can stay up before I just crash. I am going to try for 8ish, 9 if my head doesn't hurt from exhaustion. Tomorrow is staging and then away we go!! I will have to make a couple of special in a row blog entries to let people know how staging goes and what it is all about.
Also, real quick, I just want to say a big THANK YOU!!! That is for all the people who helped me get ready, who took the time to come say goodbye, and especially a very special someone who brought me a sweet card, cookies, and a goodbye kiss. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!
I hope this was enough of a start for those who are avidly awaiting to here about my adventure. It was funny, on the plane from MINN to Chicago, I got on and was having a little trouble getting my bag under the seat because the plane was tiny and said "This plan is a lot smaller than the one I was just on." The lady next to me asked if I was going home. My reply was "Oh, no. I'm going on an adventure" I should have added that I was going in the complete opposite direction of home. :) But now I am about half-way there.

Counting down

This is my first ever blog! Wow, well first ever going-to-stick-with-it, blog. That is an important distinction I think. I will be using this blog to keep track of the personal side of my time with the Peace Corps. To be fair I could have started this blog about a year and a half ago but I don't think that anyone would have been interested in the copious amount of paperwork I had to do and the loooonng wait in between paper work getting to this point.
Today I realized that I am about a month and a half away from leaving home. In June I will be leaving to begin training in the country of Moldova as an English Education volunteer. Where is Moldova you say? Not surprising, I said the same thing. But to clear things up, Moldova is a small Eastern European country between Romania and Ukraine.
This blog is part of a three part journal study I am doing for my master's thesis as well as a way to let friends, family, and acquaintances know what I'm up to. It will be a way to add details and comments I'm probably going to leave out of my more "scholarly" journals.
At this point I am still at home in Alaska, anxiously realizing that the end of this semester is only three weeks away, my comprehensive exams are four week away, and leaving for Moldova is around seven weeks away!! I am checking off items on my getting ready lists and starting to realize how real this is. Like I said in the beginning, WOW!