Tuesday, February 23, 2010
It's just the beginning..
Well, I'm off to the airport. Philadelphia by noon for orientation and then the long trek to Rwanda, arriving by Thursday night! I remarkably was able to finish packing and get a little sleep last night, and woke up this morning seriously at peace with my decision and this next step that I am taking. Next time I update you all I will hopefully be in Rwanda, and what a story that shall be. Take care and here I go!!!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
One week till staging. 9 days till I land in Rwanda.
I can't believe how fast the past few weeks have gone by.
I had my last days at work, which were filled with goodbye happy hours, lunches, parties, laughs and a several tears. I was amazed with the warmth and generosity of my coworkers as they shared stories from their peace corps days, as well as some extremely useful (and often hilarious) advice and gifts. I know that I've left SCMS in extremely capable hands and I look forward to not only hearing about the amazing work they'll continue to do but also visiting our field office in Rwanda!
I also had to tearfully and stressfully say goodbye to my home for the last 8 years: Washington, DC. To anyone who has moved two days after close to 30 inches of snow have fallen, I know exactly how you feel now! Our ("our" being me and my wonderful friend and roommate Lucy) goodbye and birthday party was of course planned for Saturday, February 6th, after at least 26 inches of snow pummeled the nation's capitol, pretty much paralyzing the city and keeping out anyone who wasn't within the city limits. But the troopers that they are, so many of our friends were still able to trek out to celebrate with us, and I thank each and everyone of you for making that evening so memorable!
All I have to say is my father is a rockstar. He maneuvered his little Blazer all the way to DC and into the nightmare that was my neighborhood. We were able to pack up the car and get out of the city in close to 2 hours and made it back safely to Ohio last Monday, the 8th.
Since then, life has been full of pulling together everything I'll need to pack for Rwanda. This has been nothing short of a challenge. And I must say I'm doing remarkably well (though every few minutes I add something to my "to do" or "to buy" list). I'm hoping to practice packing tomorrow, so fingers crossed on that one!
My mom also went above and beyond (per usual) and threw a (what else) SAFARI themed goodbye party, for my family and friends here in Wooster. Despite being slightly embarassed at first, embracing the cliche-ness worked wonders, and I soon found myself decorating tables with cougar print fans and elephant and monkey shaped "duckies". The food was great (all my favorites I'll dearly miss), the company was fantastic, and well, I must admit this happened:
So, in a week I'll be at staging, overwhelmed and excited and anxious I'm sure. So for now I'm enjoying sleeping alot, hot showers, cold milk, my crazy family and friends, and all of the glorious snow that continues to fall each day.
Oh, and I did get my mailing address!! This should work for at least the first 3 months of training, but can also work for the duration of my service (though I may get another PO Box closer to where my site placement is, but more to come on that later on).
For letters:
Amy Studenic, Peace Corps Trainee
PO Box 5657
Kigali, Rwanda
Don't forget "Par Avion" or "Air Mail"
For packages:
Amy Studenic, PCV
US Peace Corps
PO Box 5657
Kigali, Rwanda
So, that's it for now. Stop reading this and go write me a letter :)
Until next time...
I had my last days at work, which were filled with goodbye happy hours, lunches, parties, laughs and a several tears. I was amazed with the warmth and generosity of my coworkers as they shared stories from their peace corps days, as well as some extremely useful (and often hilarious) advice and gifts. I know that I've left SCMS in extremely capable hands and I look forward to not only hearing about the amazing work they'll continue to do but also visiting our field office in Rwanda!
I also had to tearfully and stressfully say goodbye to my home for the last 8 years: Washington, DC. To anyone who has moved two days after close to 30 inches of snow have fallen, I know exactly how you feel now! Our ("our" being me and my wonderful friend and roommate Lucy) goodbye and birthday party was of course planned for Saturday, February 6th, after at least 26 inches of snow pummeled the nation's capitol, pretty much paralyzing the city and keeping out anyone who wasn't within the city limits. But the troopers that they are, so many of our friends were still able to trek out to celebrate with us, and I thank each and everyone of you for making that evening so memorable!
All I have to say is my father is a rockstar. He maneuvered his little Blazer all the way to DC and into the nightmare that was my neighborhood. We were able to pack up the car and get out of the city in close to 2 hours and made it back safely to Ohio last Monday, the 8th.
Since then, life has been full of pulling together everything I'll need to pack for Rwanda. This has been nothing short of a challenge. And I must say I'm doing remarkably well (though every few minutes I add something to my "to do" or "to buy" list). I'm hoping to practice packing tomorrow, so fingers crossed on that one!
My mom also went above and beyond (per usual) and threw a (what else) SAFARI themed goodbye party, for my family and friends here in Wooster. Despite being slightly embarassed at first, embracing the cliche-ness worked wonders, and I soon found myself decorating tables with cougar print fans and elephant and monkey shaped "duckies". The food was great (all my favorites I'll dearly miss), the company was fantastic, and well, I must admit this happened:
So, in a week I'll be at staging, overwhelmed and excited and anxious I'm sure. So for now I'm enjoying sleeping alot, hot showers, cold milk, my crazy family and friends, and all of the glorious snow that continues to fall each day.
Oh, and I did get my mailing address!! This should work for at least the first 3 months of training, but can also work for the duration of my service (though I may get another PO Box closer to where my site placement is, but more to come on that later on).
For letters:
Amy Studenic, Peace Corps Trainee
PO Box 5657
Kigali, Rwanda
Don't forget "Par Avion" or "Air Mail"
For packages:
Amy Studenic, PCV
US Peace Corps
PO Box 5657
Kigali, Rwanda
So, that's it for now. Stop reading this and go write me a letter :)
Until next time...
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