and off we go!

now to continue on the road i embarked on 6 months ago. i'm in the passenger seat now - not driving just yet- along for the ride- the only thing i can control is my attitude.

yesterday we met at 1:00 and started the registration process. up until my time through the line i thought i wasn't actually going to leave. i thought they would tell me my paperwork wasn't complete or my medical clearance hadn't come through. but i passed through the line easily and that night i finally slept solidly for the first time in three weeks.

before i arrived in DC i felt "prepared" for this experience. after meeting everyone and sitting in training sessions i, thankfully, still feel this way. my time with public allies solidified how i was raised and i'm confident that i'll survive: by the way we're talking about safety and health, survival is what im looking to accomplish. they kept congratulating us for coming back after breaks, or showing up in the morning! our trainers wanted to reiterate the fact that sometimes opening the door and leaving your place will be a huge task and you need to be proud of all success not just things the outside world might deem successful.

today i was up and in the fitness center at 7:30- my dad and naomi were little birds on my shoulder telling me to actually get out of bed and get some physical activity! After a small workout :) i showered and headed downstairs for breakfast and day two of training. we discussed more safety issues, threats and risks, how to manage our health and safety, watched a video of current volunteers and how their service is, and then went over some logistics.

tomorrow we checkout at 5:00am, there are 70 of us in this training class so it will take about 2hrs to load buses and head to the clinic. our shots begin at 7:30am and we then head to the airport where we'll board and then finally, 12hrs later leave at 5:00pm for Jo-berg South Africa. We've been advised to not leave the hotel once we arrive in south africa because we're not in a safe area- so no worries mom and crew, i'll be getting in a bed as soon as i can because a 12hr day on top of a 15hr flight will surely wear me out!!

On nov 2nd we go to Windhoek, Namibia and then take a bus ride to our training center in Okahandja. For two weeks we'll do language training and interviews in order to place us in appropriate sites. health volunteers (we have health and education volunteers in our group) will be placed all over namibia where education folks will be in the south. week 3 we are all dispersed to our potential permanent sites where we'll stay with a host family and continue training. we land in our permanent sites on Jan 9th and are official peace corps volunteers beginning jan 10 (right now we're still trainees).

sooooooo enough logistics. how am i feeling?!?!?! GREAT!!!!!!!! this is a perfect fit. i feel happy, confident, humble for this experience, and anxious. the missing of friends and family hasn't COMPLETELY set in, of course i miss all of you but im still on a high for this entire journey.

our directors want us to let everyone know that we will not be able to communicate via internet or phone until EARLIEST Sunday nov 4 so dont look for a new post until after that date...im sure i'll have A MILLION THINGS TO SHARE!!

one final thought: i got a pair of earth shoes before i left and they are AMAZING. fashionable, and functional:) hehehe, i rarely am able to combine the two- usually i head for function and i look like a weiner.

and here is a quote i'll leave you all with:

"if you want to go far, go alone,
if you want to accomplish something, go together."

peace,
sb