Okay, honestly right now I am starting to get really nervous!!! Tomorrow we are being dropped off in our training villages where no one speaks english. When meet with our instructors we will be able to speak in english, but other than that, I have to try to remember any Mandinka that I've managed to pick up over the past couple of days. Out of the 16 of us (one person has already dropped) 11 of us will be speaking Mandinka in our permanent villages. There are three of us going to my training village, and we like to call ourselves the "slow learning" group. Basically we are the people that rate ourselves the lowest, and we clearly have the most problems memorizing the language. I will be staying in Karif (or something like that) for my training. It will not be too bad because we are only staying there for like 2 0r 3 weeks, and then we are traveling to a tourist spot for a couple of weeks. Then later in March we will do the same thing again. (I know that I am missing a "we" between when and meet, but the computer would not let me add one.)
This morning we went to a farm and learned about gardening. I'm not sure how well I will do, but everyone keeps telling us that the whole process is very relaxing. We visited the Gambain National Archieves, in Banjul, the country capital. I tried to read and see as much as I could, but we really did not have a lot of time. I got a kick out of the fact that The Gambia has also managed to completely destroy their land as well. (or at least the settlers I guess.) We then visited the marketplace which there are no words for. Immediately we were swamped, and everything was really dirty. Females are supposed to wear wraps in the villages, so we all had to pick up some fabric. I ended up getting enough for four skirts (which will probably make me look like a huge jerk since I'll probably have more than most people). I'll have extra fabric, so I should be able to make some sort of bag or something like that. I also was followed by a man that kept announcing that he was my husband. We spent most of our time hiding in the fabric tent, but when we all gathered to get on the bus, things got horrible!!! We were attacked by the "bumsters" (aka men that try to sell items, and sometimes even themselves.) They all thought that we were from Europe or on vacation, and they were really annoying. One of the girls in my group gave the "nasty finger" by mistake ( when you are shaking hands with someone and you tough their palm you are basically giving them an invitation for other things), and the guy started stroking her arms until one of the older PCVs who is almost done with his two years knocked the guy's arm away. Everything was really dirty, and I really prefer the city environment where the PC office and transit house is located. It's still a city, but things are actually a lot cleaner, and the people are way less scary. The PC office is also right down the street from the American Ambassey (not spelled right).
I'm going to charge up both of my camera batteries tonight, so I can take a lot of good pictures. Get my numbers from my mom, and call me sometime if you can afford the phone card. (make sure that she gives you the AfriCell number, which is the number that I gave her when she called me on the GamCell number the other night).
I cannot believe that I've been in Africa for like six days now!!! Things are so much different than back home. Sometimes I get really nervous, but then I just think about the fact that this whole experience is so much fun and really life-changing. I got some really great pictures today in Banjul, but I did not have a chance to get to my computer to put them on a thumb drive. I wanted to make sure that I got a good spot in the computer line, so I jumped out of "the coaster" with some of the other people in my group. (The coaster is this huge, 26 passenger bus/van vehicle that the PC uses to transport us until we are out on our own.)
I'm guessing that I will be able to get to a computer when we reach Tenanbum in a couple of weeks, but I'm not 100-percent sure. This may be my last time writing for a while, so good luck to everyone. Things are going to be insane, but I'll be okay. Most of the volunteers have said that they just started to cry when they were dropped off in village for the first time, but sooner or later, things start to work out. Bye, and look for letters in the mail if you gave me your address (or if my mom did).
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Pictures...
Okay, maybe the pictures will work now. I set the pics to public, so hopefully they will work.
I can't type much now because we have a class in like 20 minutes, and I have to run back (through piles of sand in my cheap Wal-Mart sandals) to where we are staying.
We've been getting a TON of shots, and we move to our training villages on Wednesday. (That's when things should get real interesting...)
We have a three-hour ride to look forward to, and we have been learning random things about malaria, water, and everything else that might kill us along the way.
Hopefully I will be able to get back over here before we leave, but if not, than I'll talk to you when I can.
I plan on taking A LOT of pictures, and when I have a lot of time I'll try to upload them.
I hope that things are going well with all of you!!! = )
I can't type much now because we have a class in like 20 minutes, and I have to run back (through piles of sand in my cheap Wal-Mart sandals) to where we are staying.
We've been getting a TON of shots, and we move to our training villages on Wednesday. (That's when things should get real interesting...)
We have a three-hour ride to look forward to, and we have been learning random things about malaria, water, and everything else that might kill us along the way.
Hopefully I will be able to get back over here before we leave, but if not, than I'll talk to you when I can.
I plan on taking A LOT of pictures, and when I have a lot of time I'll try to upload them.
I hope that things are going well with all of you!!! = )
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Update
I added some photos today as well. The other post that was added is from the other day. I found an internet connection where we are staying, so I may try to get on later this evening.
It looks like it is going to be REALLY hard to get on the internet for the next two months (after wed when we move to our training villages), so it may be better if you write to me via regular mail instead.
It looks like it is going to be REALLY hard to get on the internet for the next two months (after wed when we move to our training villages), so it may be better if you write to me via regular mail instead.
In The Gambia now
I have now officially survived my first day here living in The Gambia. Yesterday really does not count because I did not leave the airport until almost 11pm. I just finally realized that we have a pretty large time difference. It’s about 10pm here, and I am planning on going to bed after typing this. Where most of you are, it’s about 5pm, and you are coming home from work, and probably thinking about eating dinner soon.
Our travels here were rather interesting. We left Washington, DC, via Dulles on time, and the flight over to Brussels was awesome!!! I included a couple of pictures of the vehicles that transported us between the terminals at the airport because I got a big kick out of them. About half of us got to ride in “Economy Plus,” which really meant that we got more comfortable blankets, better service, and MUCH more leg room. The plane that we flew over on was set up as 2-5-2, and my seat was the seat that was in the dead center of the row. The two seats next to me were empty on take-off, so I moved over, and had even more leg room. The meals were great, and I ended up watching three movies!!! Each person had their own little TV in the back of the seat in front of them, and we had like seven movies to choose from. We then arrived in Brussels, and my traveling luck began to change…
So we arrived in Brussels, and we had to go through some sort of security line again to get into the terminal where the planes where taking off. Of course both of my bags set off the censor, and I forgot to take a wrapper out of my pocket with a tiny, tiny metal piece embedded in it, so of course I set off the metal detector as well. I then was pulled aside, and had to deal with a woman who did not speak English patting me down (including copping a feel on my chest), and then I had to deal with the wand. Next, I had to watch as two guys went through both of my bags taking EVERY SINGLE THING out of BOTH of my carry-ons. Thankfully other people had to deal with those problems as well, so I did not hold up the group at all.
Once we all made it through security, we checked in with Air Brussels, and we all just sort of lounged around the airport. I was starving, so I ended up buying a sandwich and a Coca-Cola light. All I had was a 20-dollar bill, so I ended up getting back six Euros and some odd change. My favorite part of the airport was the Coca-Cola machines. I guess that there is some sort of famous statue in Brussels that looks like a small boy peeing, and they used that on the machine. On the machine is the statue peeing into a bottle of soda above the phrase, “taste the Coke side of Belgium.” Soon after all of that excitement we board the plane, and then all of the real fun began.
The people checking us in only managed to tell one of us that we were going to be making a stop in (famous city that starts with an “M” in Liberia that I cannot remember now), so it was some time before we all figured it out. The flight was basically a disaster. At this point everyone was exhausted, and there was a considerable less amount of leg room than my previous flights. Everyone but me passed out before we took off, and once we were off the ground I went to sleep as well. The flight attendants kept waking us up trying to give us food, so we all basically missed the snack and main meal. This was the craziest flight ever. After spending a good amount of time the past couple of days on planes where if you got up to go to the bathroom you were questioned, watching people stand in the aisle, and jump all over the plane was really different. The worst part of the flight was watching the map on the one, very small TV screen in the middle of the plane, and knowing that we had passed The Gambia.
We landed in Liberia, and the trip got much worse from there. First of all, the airport was something out of a horrible Africa movie. There was only like one hanger, and the entire place was full of UN planes. As we were landing, there were hundreds of soldiers loading onto a plane. That was our first piece of entertainment, closely followed by watching our pilots fight on the runway with the men who worked for the airport. There was a lot of hand-gesturing, and both sides looked rather upset. I have to say that my favorite part of that part of the trip is when they made an announcement 1.5 hours into the flight that they were going to finally fuel the plane. This came after the fuel truck proceed to drive around the plane multiple times. FINALLY, everything was dropped off and fueled, and were off to The Gambia. After this, everyone was starving, and we were served some sort of fo-turkey, cream cheese sandwich on soggy bread. At this point it was pitch black outside, so we really did not have the chance to see much of The Gambia as we flew into the airport.
The airport itself was really not that bad. We flew in on a pretty big airplane, (2-4-2) and then all loaded into buses for the drive up to the one and only terminal/baggage pick-up. Never in my life have I ever experienced any thing like what I am about to described. As we all walked into the terminal room we were greeted by some of the Peace Corps workers. Our special treatment began immediately. As everyone else waited in line to make it into the baggage retrieval part of the terminal, we were all let through a side gate as people gave us mean stares. We all quickly grabbed luggage carts, dodged the people that were trying to help us handle our luggage, and wait nervously as our luggage comes out. I was freaking out waiting for my luggage because not only did I want it to actually make it here, but I also wanted it to be free of tampering. After what seemed like FOREVER, both of my bags came out on the ramp, and I quickly got them. Once we all gathered our things, (this actually took a good deal of time because the plane had not been loaded the right way, and eventually they had to take every single piece of luggage off the plane, and then reload it all for the final destination in Dakar, Senegal), we slipped through the side door again, and this time totally bypassed the men who go through the luggage. My luck continued as I realized that I had the cart with a broken wheel, so it was rather difficult to get my bags out to the PC SUVs. The workers loaded up our bags, and we all pilled into the PC bus. The bus had like five or six rows with jump seats in each aisle. I sat in the row next to the door on a jump seat, and the ride was actually quite comfortable.
We had about a 20 minute drive, and there were a great deal of things to look at along the way. One of the current PCVs who came along to assist us this weekend, told us that when he came two years ago the roads were not lit. I wish that I had been able to get a picture of it, but as we were exiting the airport, we saw a billboard thanking the President of the country for curing HIV. (Yes I forgot to tell you all, the President did cure HIV recently, and when people bring this up we have to agree with them, but also tell them that we still need to prevent the disease.) Sex tourism is pretty big in the main cities, so along the way we saw some white European women hanging out with local Gambian men. That was quite a sight. Along the way we passed through SeneGambia, which is a big tourist trap. There were flashing lights, and we were told that this was the place to go if we wanted to go clubbing. Apparently there is even a PC discount. We even got to see the very first stop light. As we traveled, we probably passed through at least 3 or 4 police roadblocks. We were told that this is completely normal, and that The Gambia is really into security. As soon as the police saw the PC van, we were flagged through.
We made it to our home for the next few days a little after midnight on Friday morning. On Monday or Tuesday we will move out to the training villages, so for the time being we are staying at the PGI (which I believe stands for Pastoral Gambian Institute.) We were told that this is a sight were priests are trained. The rooms are actually pretty nice. I am sharing my room with another girl, and the room comes with a shower and a sink. We have to use the toilets at the end of the hall which are actually pretty gross. The tanks will only flush a few times a day, so everything just sort of sits in the toilet all day. We have a bucket in our shower, but I am opting to take a freezing cold shower with a regular water flow for the next couple of days because this will be my last chance before I have to take bucket showers permanently.
It’s now rather late here, and I need to go to bed. I will pick up where I left off tomorrow and walk over to the PC office sometime tomorrow and post this page and possibly another if time permits. I also plan on putting up some random pictures if I have the chance.
Our travels here were rather interesting. We left Washington, DC, via Dulles on time, and the flight over to Brussels was awesome!!! I included a couple of pictures of the vehicles that transported us between the terminals at the airport because I got a big kick out of them. About half of us got to ride in “Economy Plus,” which really meant that we got more comfortable blankets, better service, and MUCH more leg room. The plane that we flew over on was set up as 2-5-2, and my seat was the seat that was in the dead center of the row. The two seats next to me were empty on take-off, so I moved over, and had even more leg room. The meals were great, and I ended up watching three movies!!! Each person had their own little TV in the back of the seat in front of them, and we had like seven movies to choose from. We then arrived in Brussels, and my traveling luck began to change…
So we arrived in Brussels, and we had to go through some sort of security line again to get into the terminal where the planes where taking off. Of course both of my bags set off the censor, and I forgot to take a wrapper out of my pocket with a tiny, tiny metal piece embedded in it, so of course I set off the metal detector as well. I then was pulled aside, and had to deal with a woman who did not speak English patting me down (including copping a feel on my chest), and then I had to deal with the wand. Next, I had to watch as two guys went through both of my bags taking EVERY SINGLE THING out of BOTH of my carry-ons. Thankfully other people had to deal with those problems as well, so I did not hold up the group at all.
Once we all made it through security, we checked in with Air Brussels, and we all just sort of lounged around the airport. I was starving, so I ended up buying a sandwich and a Coca-Cola light. All I had was a 20-dollar bill, so I ended up getting back six Euros and some odd change. My favorite part of the airport was the Coca-Cola machines. I guess that there is some sort of famous statue in Brussels that looks like a small boy peeing, and they used that on the machine. On the machine is the statue peeing into a bottle of soda above the phrase, “taste the Coke side of Belgium.” Soon after all of that excitement we board the plane, and then all of the real fun began.
The people checking us in only managed to tell one of us that we were going to be making a stop in (famous city that starts with an “M” in Liberia that I cannot remember now), so it was some time before we all figured it out. The flight was basically a disaster. At this point everyone was exhausted, and there was a considerable less amount of leg room than my previous flights. Everyone but me passed out before we took off, and once we were off the ground I went to sleep as well. The flight attendants kept waking us up trying to give us food, so we all basically missed the snack and main meal. This was the craziest flight ever. After spending a good amount of time the past couple of days on planes where if you got up to go to the bathroom you were questioned, watching people stand in the aisle, and jump all over the plane was really different. The worst part of the flight was watching the map on the one, very small TV screen in the middle of the plane, and knowing that we had passed The Gambia.
We landed in Liberia, and the trip got much worse from there. First of all, the airport was something out of a horrible Africa movie. There was only like one hanger, and the entire place was full of UN planes. As we were landing, there were hundreds of soldiers loading onto a plane. That was our first piece of entertainment, closely followed by watching our pilots fight on the runway with the men who worked for the airport. There was a lot of hand-gesturing, and both sides looked rather upset. I have to say that my favorite part of that part of the trip is when they made an announcement 1.5 hours into the flight that they were going to finally fuel the plane. This came after the fuel truck proceed to drive around the plane multiple times. FINALLY, everything was dropped off and fueled, and were off to The Gambia. After this, everyone was starving, and we were served some sort of fo-turkey, cream cheese sandwich on soggy bread. At this point it was pitch black outside, so we really did not have the chance to see much of The Gambia as we flew into the airport.
The airport itself was really not that bad. We flew in on a pretty big airplane, (2-4-2) and then all loaded into buses for the drive up to the one and only terminal/baggage pick-up. Never in my life have I ever experienced any thing like what I am about to described. As we all walked into the terminal room we were greeted by some of the Peace Corps workers. Our special treatment began immediately. As everyone else waited in line to make it into the baggage retrieval part of the terminal, we were all let through a side gate as people gave us mean stares. We all quickly grabbed luggage carts, dodged the people that were trying to help us handle our luggage, and wait nervously as our luggage comes out. I was freaking out waiting for my luggage because not only did I want it to actually make it here, but I also wanted it to be free of tampering. After what seemed like FOREVER, both of my bags came out on the ramp, and I quickly got them. Once we all gathered our things, (this actually took a good deal of time because the plane had not been loaded the right way, and eventually they had to take every single piece of luggage off the plane, and then reload it all for the final destination in Dakar, Senegal), we slipped through the side door again, and this time totally bypassed the men who go through the luggage. My luck continued as I realized that I had the cart with a broken wheel, so it was rather difficult to get my bags out to the PC SUVs. The workers loaded up our bags, and we all pilled into the PC bus. The bus had like five or six rows with jump seats in each aisle. I sat in the row next to the door on a jump seat, and the ride was actually quite comfortable.
We had about a 20 minute drive, and there were a great deal of things to look at along the way. One of the current PCVs who came along to assist us this weekend, told us that when he came two years ago the roads were not lit. I wish that I had been able to get a picture of it, but as we were exiting the airport, we saw a billboard thanking the President of the country for curing HIV. (Yes I forgot to tell you all, the President did cure HIV recently, and when people bring this up we have to agree with them, but also tell them that we still need to prevent the disease.) Sex tourism is pretty big in the main cities, so along the way we saw some white European women hanging out with local Gambian men. That was quite a sight. Along the way we passed through SeneGambia, which is a big tourist trap. There were flashing lights, and we were told that this was the place to go if we wanted to go clubbing. Apparently there is even a PC discount. We even got to see the very first stop light. As we traveled, we probably passed through at least 3 or 4 police roadblocks. We were told that this is completely normal, and that The Gambia is really into security. As soon as the police saw the PC van, we were flagged through.
We made it to our home for the next few days a little after midnight on Friday morning. On Monday or Tuesday we will move out to the training villages, so for the time being we are staying at the PGI (which I believe stands for Pastoral Gambian Institute.) We were told that this is a sight were priests are trained. The rooms are actually pretty nice. I am sharing my room with another girl, and the room comes with a shower and a sink. We have to use the toilets at the end of the hall which are actually pretty gross. The tanks will only flush a few times a day, so everything just sort of sits in the toilet all day. We have a bucket in our shower, but I am opting to take a freezing cold shower with a regular water flow for the next couple of days because this will be my last chance before I have to take bucket showers permanently.
It’s now rather late here, and I need to go to bed. I will pick up where I left off tomorrow and walk over to the PC office sometime tomorrow and post this page and possibly another if time permits. I also plan on putting up some random pictures if I have the chance.
Friday, February 8, 2008
We're here...
I do not have much time for this post, but we flew into The Gambia at about 9:30pm. We ended up taking a detour to Liberia to deliver parts for another airplane that was stuck there, and that added on a lot of time. Our six-hour flight turned into an 11-hour flight complete with 2.5 hours of sit time on the runway in Liberia.
We are spending the first five days in the city, and then we will be moving out into our training villages. I'll write a more detailed blog another time. In the future I plan on writing these things before hand, and then coming over here to the PC office to post.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely, and so far things are going well. Today I got a rabies shot, and we are learning all of the rules.
We are spending the first five days in the city, and then we will be moving out into our training villages. I'll write a more detailed blog another time. In the future I plan on writing these things before hand, and then coming over here to the PC office to post.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely, and so far things are going well. Today I got a rabies shot, and we are learning all of the rules.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My First Day
Today was my first day of staging, and things are going well.
My first goal of this entire experience was to actually make it to D.C. with all of my luggage, and I made it here!!! I'm also proud that I did not have a nervous breakdown as I continued to pack and re-pack all of my items over and over again.
My day started this morning at 4am when I woke up to finish getting ready to go. (I had a wonderful two hour nap) I made it to the airport, and of course my carry-on bag was inspected in security, so I had to stand there barefoot watching a man poke through my bag. The flight to Miami was short, and I even got to sit in the emergency exit row which was nice because I was able to spread out and enjoy the flight. My flight arrived in Miami around 8:50am, and by the time we waited for the people to come out to the plane and park it, ride the shuttle, and make it upstairs, the time was 9:07am and my connecting flight departed at 9:20am. I took off with my huge carry-on bag, and I made it just as they were closing the gate. I got some flack from the gate guy, and I just told him that we sat in the plane parking lot for over 10 minutes. I got to my row 11 seat, and all of the over-head bins were full, so I had to put my bag in the over-head bin in row 42!!! ( it was really fun to wait for EVERY SINGLE PERSON to walk past me so I could go gather my bag. The only advantage was that I did not have to wait at all at the luggage pick-up.) I had the window with the engine below, but I was all alone in all three seats!!! I moved over to the window, put up the armrest next to me, and just sort of spread out. I was alone for quite some time until someone else moved to the aisle seat. I was shocked when the flight attendent gave me the ENTIRE can of soda without me asking her to do so.
I made the mistake of reading the book sent from the Peace Corps entitled, " A Few Minor Adjustments." The book only introduced more things for me to be nervous about. As we were landing we flew past the momuments, and I waved to the President in the White House. Once I got there I had the pleasure of trying to navigate my HUGE backpack on my back, a rolling suitcase, my nike duffel bag carry-on thrown across my chest, AND my crocs regular-sized backpack half dangling from my shoulder. I now have random bruises all over my body, and my bra straps indinations may forever be on my shoulders.
I took a five-minute shuttle ride to the hotel, and me and all of my bags checked into the hotel. A few minutes later my rommate showed up, and we spoke briefly. I didn't want to be rude, but I had to excuse myself because I really needed to eat something before staging started.
Lectures/group activites are never good on a couple of hours of sleep. I almost fell asleep many times, and there were quite a few of us doing the head-bop. I spoke to one of the Peace Corps people, and he told me that a new person made the list. I was joking with him that if you tried to pack everything on the packing list, it was impossible to get it all in. He was laughing, and he explained that he tried to tell that to the new person, but he guesses that it didn't stick. I was glad to see that other people had the exact same problem as me. We are all going to be getting a lot of packages over our first few months of service. Everyone was really nice, and I think that we are all going to have a lot of fun.
There will be 17 of us heading to The Gambia on Wed. Now that I am here, I'm starting to get nervous. That's okay to me because it just makes the whole experience more worth while. Today I read a quote on the wall that stuck in my mind: "A turtle can't walk if it doesn't push its head outside its shell." Even though I am nervous and really scared, I just have to get out there and do this or I may miss out on a lot of things in life. I am about to start something that might possibly be the most exciting thing I do in my life, and I can't wait to share it with all of you along the way. I'll write when I can, and I look forward to hearing feedback from all of you. Email me, or just leave a post right here on the blog.
I'll write again tomorrow if I have time. (Note: This blog is set to the time in The Gambia.)
ps if things are not clear, or there are spelling mistakes, I wrote this when I was really tired, and I really do not feel like proof reading it.
My first goal of this entire experience was to actually make it to D.C. with all of my luggage, and I made it here!!! I'm also proud that I did not have a nervous breakdown as I continued to pack and re-pack all of my items over and over again.
My day started this morning at 4am when I woke up to finish getting ready to go. (I had a wonderful two hour nap) I made it to the airport, and of course my carry-on bag was inspected in security, so I had to stand there barefoot watching a man poke through my bag. The flight to Miami was short, and I even got to sit in the emergency exit row which was nice because I was able to spread out and enjoy the flight. My flight arrived in Miami around 8:50am, and by the time we waited for the people to come out to the plane and park it, ride the shuttle, and make it upstairs, the time was 9:07am and my connecting flight departed at 9:20am. I took off with my huge carry-on bag, and I made it just as they were closing the gate. I got some flack from the gate guy, and I just told him that we sat in the plane parking lot for over 10 minutes. I got to my row 11 seat, and all of the over-head bins were full, so I had to put my bag in the over-head bin in row 42!!! ( it was really fun to wait for EVERY SINGLE PERSON to walk past me so I could go gather my bag. The only advantage was that I did not have to wait at all at the luggage pick-up.) I had the window with the engine below, but I was all alone in all three seats!!! I moved over to the window, put up the armrest next to me, and just sort of spread out. I was alone for quite some time until someone else moved to the aisle seat. I was shocked when the flight attendent gave me the ENTIRE can of soda without me asking her to do so.
I made the mistake of reading the book sent from the Peace Corps entitled, " A Few Minor Adjustments." The book only introduced more things for me to be nervous about. As we were landing we flew past the momuments, and I waved to the President in the White House. Once I got there I had the pleasure of trying to navigate my HUGE backpack on my back, a rolling suitcase, my nike duffel bag carry-on thrown across my chest, AND my crocs regular-sized backpack half dangling from my shoulder. I now have random bruises all over my body, and my bra straps indinations may forever be on my shoulders.
I took a five-minute shuttle ride to the hotel, and me and all of my bags checked into the hotel. A few minutes later my rommate showed up, and we spoke briefly. I didn't want to be rude, but I had to excuse myself because I really needed to eat something before staging started.
Lectures/group activites are never good on a couple of hours of sleep. I almost fell asleep many times, and there were quite a few of us doing the head-bop. I spoke to one of the Peace Corps people, and he told me that a new person made the list. I was joking with him that if you tried to pack everything on the packing list, it was impossible to get it all in. He was laughing, and he explained that he tried to tell that to the new person, but he guesses that it didn't stick. I was glad to see that other people had the exact same problem as me. We are all going to be getting a lot of packages over our first few months of service. Everyone was really nice, and I think that we are all going to have a lot of fun.
There will be 17 of us heading to The Gambia on Wed. Now that I am here, I'm starting to get nervous. That's okay to me because it just makes the whole experience more worth while. Today I read a quote on the wall that stuck in my mind: "A turtle can't walk if it doesn't push its head outside its shell." Even though I am nervous and really scared, I just have to get out there and do this or I may miss out on a lot of things in life. I am about to start something that might possibly be the most exciting thing I do in my life, and I can't wait to share it with all of you along the way. I'll write when I can, and I look forward to hearing feedback from all of you. Email me, or just leave a post right here on the blog.
I'll write again tomorrow if I have time. (Note: This blog is set to the time in The Gambia.)
ps if things are not clear, or there are spelling mistakes, I wrote this when I was really tired, and I really do not feel like proof reading it.
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