More Information!

When I arrived at my parents house I had this romantic idea that I would pack right away and spend a leisurely week visiting friends and enjoying time with my family.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a penchant for procrastination and am a deplorable over-packer.  11 days after I have arrived, and 1 day until I depart for staging, I have finally packed my bags.  I am over my 80lb weight limit, but I am hoping that because US Air and Delta only seem to charge fees if any single bag is over 50 lbs that I can follow their rules and not the PC packing guidelines.

The last week has been full of emails and information from my country desk.  I now know that upon arrival I will spend roughly a week in Lomé before spending 11 weeks in the village of Tsévié for training.  It sounds like only volunteers for Girls Education and Empowerment will be training in this village, which amounts to 6 of us.  My subsequent two years will most likely be spent as the sole volunteer in whichever village I am placed in. 

I am both excited to embark on this journey that I started working towards over a year ago, stressed out by what I still need to get done, and a little nervous about what to expect once I am in Togo.  I have already begun to find humor in the stress of leaving.  I have filled out countless forms, spent more hours than I would have liked shopping for dresses and skirts that cover my knees and shoulders, and read every blog I could find by PCVs already serving in Togo.  I have also dropped my phone in a cup of coffee and I need to go to the DMV to replace the title to my car, as I accidentally tried to sign it over instead of my last car when it sold.  Apparently you can't use white out on an auto title.  I can only imagine that in a week, I will be so overwhelmed and excited by my new life that I may even forget how worried I was about what to bring and what to get done prior to departure.