It's really happening

I spoke too soon. Today we got our staging email's =) And I booked my ticket.

Sunday, August 23rd
American Airlines 2195
SNA to Dallas at 10.40 am
Arrive in Dallas at 3.48 pm

American Airlines 520
Dallas to Miami Intl at 5.00 pm
Arrive in Miami at 8.48 pm

Tuesday, August 25th
American Airlines 2297
Miami International to St. Lucia at 10.35 am
Arrive St. Lucia at 2.00 pm

From Dallas onwards I'll be on the same flight as Tiffany (she's going to be serving in St. Kitts with me!) Hopefully I'll get to meet her before leaving too. And either tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday I have a conference call with Mavis Huggins, the Associate Peace Corps Director in St. Kitts and Nevis. I know there's still so much I want to know but I don't know what to ask!

Countdown begins...

It's the 24th. Exactly one month before I leave. And I STILL don't know where orientation is. How sad is it that at the grocery store I decided not to buy a bigger bag of flour and sugar because I said to myself: "I'm leaving soon, I won't be able to use it all". I stop myself from buying fun ingredients because I have a pantry full of stuff I should use.
Sophie sent me a guest list for the annual iftar she has. She asked if I wanted her to have it before or after I leave, since I only have a couple of iftar's before I leave. I think I only have 2-3. As much as I want to be here for the iftar, I want Sophie to be able to have it the way she wants, with the people she wants. And she doesn't want the people I want to see before I leave. So I'd rather she just have the iftar her way after I leave.
I can't believe I'm actually leaving...

Family Cruise

We just got back from our week long family cruise in Alaska. It was awesome. It is so gorgeous over there. But even if it wasn't, it wouldn't have mattered. Because my favorite parts of the trip weren't the glaciers, or the hybrid husky, the beautiful hikes or the gold panning. It was the memories we made together. And the time spent. Even though I kept losing, I had more fun playing hearts and rumikuub and catch phrase with the most important people in my life than I did doing anything else.

My family =)

Yea so we're a little crazy. And just to prove that we really were there...

Me and Abu-man finally got to have our coffee talk. I really love our coffee talks. I didn't always. They used to seem more like lectures to me. Abu telling me what was wrong with me. But I think as I've grown as a person and as our relationship has grown and we've gotten closer, that's changed. Now it's more like going to have coffee with a friend and talking about life. It's a discussion instead of a one sided conversation.

Through this conversation and similar emails and discussions with close friends, I think I've let go of the mentality of dwelling over what I'll be missing out on over here and can concentrate on what I'm going to gain through the Peace Corps instead. The reason I am doing this in the first place. The obvious reason being because I want to help and make a difference. But also because I want what every RPCV I've ever spoken to has. That glow in their face when they talk about their experience. The stories, memories, friends. The conviction with which they say they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I truly believe (and hope) that is going to be the case for me.

Right now, I'm ready to leave. I'm ready to start a new phase in my life. I want to move on. And I can't wait =)