Packing has begun

Packing has begun and it sucks. My room is a mess and my suitecases are empty. What does that tell us?

Two weeks left

I can't believe there's only two weeks left until I leave. Its crazy. I'm excited but also very nervous and now I'm getting to be sad as well. Everything is finally settling in that this is actally happening. These last two weeks are going to go by fast. I only have three days of work left and then. . .
Nov 19th- last day of work
Nov 20th- Nov 27th I'm be in Virginia and North Carolina
Nov 28th- Nov 30th- Intense Packing/ final farewells
Nov 29th- Going Away party I
Nov 30th- Going Away party II

Yeah I have a lot of things I have to do as well. And try to spend more time with friends but we'll see what happens. I am very excited and can not wait to depart. After looking over the training and oreintation schedule I know it is going to be a bunch of hectic days coming up and I can not wait. There's 37 people who will be also serving in Guinea. I actually met one yesterday which is pretty awesome.

December 1st is the big day. I'll be off to Philly bright and early for staging. I think I'm more excited than anything else because this is all such a wonderful dream come true.

Staging info

Today I recieved my staging material. I can't believe how close I'm getting to the departure date. So here are the details. I'm taking a plane to Philly bright and early December 1st I'm gonna be arriving at 9am. I'm pretty nervous. I'm really going to be exercising my passport. hehe.

I also recieved my international itererary as well. It's gonna be three long flights after pre-service orientation. We are going from JFK to Brussels. Brussels to Dakar. Dakar to Guinea. Its gonna take a day but we are going to get to Guinea one way or another.

I'm very psyched about pre-service training and meeting everyone. It's going to be a jam-packed three days in Philly. We have training scheduled all day for two days. And then the day we leave we have our shots and then off we go on the third. It's been comforting talking with a handful of people on facebook. When I made my flight arrangements today the guy said our group have 37 people. WOW! I hadn't expectd so many people. Hopefully we'll be pretty close while in country. Like maybe a half an hour bike ride.

I'm still trying to figure out an appropriate gift for my host family. I want to get something American and something that is also very personal to me. I was thinking about getting a Christmas tree. But I dunno, maybe some alcohol like wine or something or a game. LOL. I'll think of something.

Thinking of packing makes my head hurt. I know I NEED to start soon but I've been keeping busy with work and spending as much time with friends as possible. I have so many "potential" packing lists and guidelines and such, I just have to actually get down to it and figure out what I'm really gonna need for two years. Good thing it's a warm climate, I don't have to worry about packing heavy sweaters and/or jeans.

I'm very excited for Guinea and can not wait. I can not imagine how I'm going to feel once we arrive in Guinea. It' s hard to imagine anything right now. I'm just very nervous with anticipation and can't believe it's less than a month away. I got three more weeks!

My contact info

Don't forget to write and contact me:

Kimberly (u know my last name)
Corps de la Paix Americain
B.P. 1927
Conakry, Guinea
West Africa

You can email me as well at Kimmie609@aol.com

I'm sorry but I am unable to accept phone calls, if this changes I'll let you know.

I can't wait to hear from you, make sure I get your address so I can reply and send you letters as well. It's going to be a long two years.

Preperations

My staging is set for December 1-3rd, less than a month away. And I am absolutely nervous and excited. I can't believe it's really happening. I'm in the process of letting everyone know but I wanted to create a blog page where I can post information and what's going on for friends and family.

So Staging is the same thing as orientation which will be held in Philedelphia. I haven't got much information about flights or anything like that yet. I expect to know more before the end of next week.

From staging I will be departing for Guinea, West Africa where I will begin my training and living with a Guinean family for 3 months. Apparently I will be learning french and another local language and I will be learning more about the Peace Corps, Guinea and my assignment.

After I am done with my training, I will be sworn in an official Peace Corps volunteer! How exciting! And thats when my 2 year commitment will begin. Approximately around March 2008- 2010.

I don't know for sure how often I will be able to update my blog but I will try to keep it updated and add pictures when I can.

Your questions Answered!

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I'm sure some people already know this but in case you don't know I am joining the peace Corps and I'm leaving in December.

The peace Corps whats that?

Well it's a non-profit orgainzation that offers the oppurtunity to those willing to take their skills and expertise abroad and travel to far off places outside of the United States. They range from different assignmens from teaching to agroforestry. Just check it out for yourself on their website.

Wait, where is Kim going?

I will be departing soon for Guinea. Its a very small country in West Africa that speaks french and probably a number of other languages.

What are you going to be doing in Guinea?

Good question! I will serving as a Health education volunteer. My job that i have accepted will be to educate and create awareness about the AIDS epidemic and help in the prevention. I will be working closely with a health center and working on many different projects within this area.

OK? When are you leaving and for how long?

I'm leaving December 1st for my orientation, which will be be in Phillidelphia. I'll be ther for three or four days. After that it's off to Guinea and I'll be residing there for approximately two years.

Is this a joke? Are you being sarcastic again as always?

No, this is not a joke. I am seriously leaving. I already put my two weeks in at my job so I can spend my last weeks with my family and of course packing. I am seriously leaving!!!

So can i still email you?

Another good question. Apparently electricity is not a viable resource where I'm going however I should have some access to internet from time to time. So it would be safe for you to email me. My repsonses will be delayed.

Can I call you? I want to hear your voice?

Absolutely not. I am not paying for any calls from Africa to the States are you out of your mind. Thats mad expensive sounding! lol.

Can i write and send you care packages because you are so far away?

ABSOLUTELY!!! i Would love letters and packages. Please please please write if you can or whenever you can. remember I will be gone for two years. I will get homesick. I will write back and send things. i may need someone to upload my memorystick once in a while.

What's your new address?

My name
Corps de la Paix Americain (it's french for peace corps)
B.P. 1927
Conakry, Guinea
West Africa


What's your email?

Kimmie609@aol.com

Can I see you before you leave?

If you would like but you need to contact me ASAP! Cause I'm still working and I'm going to Virginia the week of thanksgiving. So hurry up!

Are you having a going away party?

Um possibly not a party but i was thinking of having a dinner and then maybe going out afterwards.

Am you going to visit NP before you leave?

I'm working on it! It may have to be a thursday before i leave. Because I don't know yet!

Are you serious?

Yes I'm serious! I'm not being sarcastic, I'm not joking around. I've been in the application process with the Peace Corps since January.

What can I do?

You can send me your updated contact information! This is so important I don't want to come back two years later and feel disconnected.

So when will you be back?

Ok. So I said approximately two years I will be there. A rough estimate of my arrival back home would be March 2010. But that is a ROUGH ESTIMATE!

Kim, I hate writing letters. Can I contact yoyu on myspace, facebook, or myyearbook?

Absolutely. from what I gather. I may have limited access to the internet so i can check those things out from time to time and it'd be great to hear from everyone back at home.

Kim, we haven't talked in a while? Why didn't you say anything beforehand?

Because I didn't know anything beforehand. Like I said I've been in the application process for a long while and there was a point where I wasn't sure whether I would get medically cleared to leave. I recently recieved an invite about a week or so ago.

Kim, I have more questions but I'm afraid to ask them right now?

Then message me, email me, or call me. I still have my phone until Nov 30. You can text me if you don't like the sound of my voice. lol. Whateva works!

I'll keep posting as i find more answers to those questions and when I have more information for you. Thanks so much for the support.

Take care,
Kimberly

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