I made it!

After over 26 hours of travel through three different time zones, we made it into Gambia this evening around 6:00 (Gambian time). I saw the Sahara desert for the first time in my life from the airplane. It went on and on. I wasn't sitting near a window, but I would occasionally get up and check with a friend to see if the landscape had changed yet. For a while, each respose was simply "Yep, more sand." Lots and lots of sand. I wish I could describe what it felt like to look out the window and see the Atlantic coast of West Africa for the first time. We were all pressed against the windows like kids at a zoo. It was very beautiful. We had a group of Peace Corps staff and volunteers meet us at the airport, which really made a potentially stressful situation very easy. They were all extremely helpful and very friendly. We are staying in the Kombo area for the next week, right down the street from the embassy, which is where I am sending this email from. In our compound, I have already seen a ton of beautiful birds, geckos, and other small lizards. This is such a colorful country. And good news for me... it's mango season right now... I just heard a loud pound from the roof which I was told was a mango falling from one of the various trees. I'll have to go searching for a ripe one tomorrow! I couldn't use the phone cards I brought, so it will have to be email until I get a new one... but I am safe and well (just tired)! We will be staying in this area until Monday, when we will go to our training villages. I probably won't be online much during that time period, but I will send updates as soon as I am able!

My last night in the USA

I just finished my training seminars for the day, and I am full of nervous energy ( but in a positive way) right now. Today was a mix of saftey and awareness training, cross-cultural issues, and general travel details. At the end of the day, we were split into groups and were asked to portray one of the concepts we talked about. Since I'm the only one with an instrument, I was asked to come up with a song. A few of my new friends jumped in to help me out. By the way, two of the girls here, Becca and Liza, are fellow Appalachian State University graduates... we've had a great connection so far. So we, along with my "roomate", Blair, came up with a Peace Corps/Gambia version of Rocky Top. It was perfect, really... three of us lived in the Appalachian mountains so we figured a bluegrass song was appropriate... Rocky top is the theme song for University of Tennessee, which, coincidentally has the mascot of the "Volunteer"... and my brother and sister-in-law are Tennessee graduates. They would have been very proud! Tomorrow we get to go through a bunch of immunizations and then head to the airport, so my next blog with probably be from Africa!

I made it to D.C. yesterday afternoon and finally met the rest of my group. There are 19 of us in all. We are all education volunteers... either primary teacher trainers, secondary science and math teachers (like myself), or ITC teachers. We come from all over the country and from all different backgrounds. Most of the group are in their early or mid 20's, a few are like myself, and a few are quite a bit older. I'm really poor at judging ages, but I'm pretty sure that at least two of my fellow volunteers are old enough to have grown children, but I haven't gotten to know them well enough yet to know whether they do or not. After our training yesterday, we split into groups and went out for food and to check out D.C. a bit. Some people had never been here before, so we might do a little sight-seeing this evening. Before that, however, we have 12 fun-filled hours of very cold air-conditioning to look forward to (I didn't pack many warm clothes... I didn't take this weekend of "luxury" into consideration). I guess I should be thankful for it while I still have it.

Ready to Go

I have finally finished my packing for The Gambia, which has not been the easiest task. Packing for two years is tough, but I think I managed to bring everything I really need without exceeding my baggage weight limits... I guess I'll see for sure when I get to the airport.

This past weekend has been family-filled and emotion-filled. I am relieved that I am finally ready to go, I am sad to be leaving my family for so long, and I am extremely excited to begin my newest adventure. It is a very complex mix of emotions. Tomorrow, I travel to DC and meet the other Peace Corps volunteers in my group. I am looking foward to finally meeting them. We will spend 2 and 1/2 days in DC in our "staging" period. Then we fly out on Wendsday. I should be arriving in Gambia around 5:45 on Thursday... that's Gambian time. (4 hours ahead of east coast time... that's 6 hours ahead of all of my Colorado friends)

I will update this blog as opportunites arise. I hope it will end up being a good way to keep in touch with everyone and share things like my photos.