Staging and Packing

These next two weeks before my staging in Chicago are going to be lonely.  I had a beautiful week with Geoff in South Carolina, showing him every place I've lived at and where I went to school.  I got to show him off to my parents, family and friends.  Dropping him off at the airport was probably one of the hardest things I've had to do in a long time.  I know we will be together after my adventures abroad, but it will be a challenge not to lose my mind without him.  I really do love him and already miss him.  Happy Birthday, Happy New Year, Happy Valentines Day and many many more celebrations for the next two years, Geoff.  It will be a wonderful 30th birthday and the start to a beautiful, adventurous life together when I get back.

I spent most of the morning getting the run-around between hotels, shuttle services, the airport and so-on trying to create the smoothest journey possible to my staging.  For those of you who do not know what a staging is, I basically have a two-day orientation in Chicago, IL where I get to meet other Peace Corps volunteers going to Africa for the Peace Corps.  I imagine it being like the first day of college orientation, filled with ice breakers, "what I expect out my adventure" types of questions, and PLENTY of paperwork.  I want to portray an energetic and adventurous woman with nothing but the world to offer.  What people MIGHT get from my appearance is a tattooed, gauge-eared, feather in her Mohawk youngin', fresh out of college, wide-eyed and reckless!  Oh well, my entire life has been first-impressions flipped in the air through beautiful conversation and soul connections.  How could this possibly be different?

In eighteen days, I will be stepping off an airplane after sixteen + hours of flight time and sixteen + hours of replaying images of my friends, family and everything familiar to me in my head.  Blended in these memories will be visions of what is to come, beautiful minds I will peek into and vibrant souls I will explore.  I am both broken and excited - a feeling familiar to me.

This past year, I have moved twice to places (Charleston and Colorado) where I didn't know a single face and left many beautiful people at home in hopes of a new adventure.  That butterfly in my stomach is a reoccurring feeling for me.  I have found through these travels that even though I am flooded with anxiety because I am alone and in foreign territory, I can turn this energy into an amazing adventure.  It is easy for me to meet beautiful souls because I am always trying to send out positive vibrations into the universe.  I cannot help but feel that I am protected in that sense from anything thrown in my direction that could potentially be harmful.  In every person I meet, I am both a teacher and a student.

Salaamalekum!

The title of this post means "peace be with you" in Mandinkan, a native Gambian tongue. As many of you know, I have been selected as a Peace Corps volunteer for The Gambia, in West Africa.  In three weeks, I will fly into Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, for my 27-month service as a "Health and Community Development Extensionist".  I will be working in and out of the capital, in a smaller and more rural village not far from Banjul.  I will post more on what I will be doing in Africa in a later post.

As for now, I am trying to soak up my friends and family in South Carolina, filling my mind and body with happy memories and feelings of love.  When I am alone with my thoughts, I am consumed with visions of Africa and the beautiful souls I will meet within the next few weeks.  Everything is happening so fast, but I am trying live in the moment as best as I possibly can.   I already miss those I left at Snow Mountain Ranch, Colorado!  The Rockies were the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen, and I met amazing people that were just as beautiful as those peaks.  I'm a mess without you, Geoff!  Now I have to fill my thoughts with paperwork for my staging (orientation) in Chicago, what I am going to pack for Africa, what I am leaving behind, and what will be thrown my way soon.

I will try and keep up with this blog for the next two years, but try and realize that I will have limited access to a computer or electricity at all!  I am extremely excited/anxious for this adventure to begin.  Everything I know about life will be tossed around and rearranged into who I will become while in Africa.  I will have to blend who I am now with who I want to become, and somehow have enough energy to leave an everlasting impression on those I will be helping in The Gambia.  Yayyyy adventure!