odelia|JAY;

any suggestions of things i should do or places i should go while i’m there?

i finally confirmed them with the travel agency. 

they just sent over a confirmation e-mail [so i know it’s real]

T - 32 days.

—o.JAY

Until staging.

I finally got my first staging related e-mail yesterday. It’s still surreal & I’m still wrapping my brain around the reality of it all.

In my head, i laugh at all of those people who said I had so much time to prepare. Time is moving quickly & I’m happy because I can say I got most of my shopping done 2 months out.

I’m going to Ethiopia y’all! & it’s gonna be amazing.

—o.JAY

looks like i finally purchased a great pair of hiking shoes. Waterproof Merrell joints with Vibram soles.

^_^. that’s one more thing crossed off the list.

has kicked into high gear.

with only 57 days left to go before i depart and tons of those days dedicated to trips, work and travel, i did a big haul of shopping yesterday. i was a little flustered at first, so much so that I actually panicked.

overwhelmed by the items on my list and all of the people in the mall, i almost shut down. i went alone so there was no one there to ease the tension growing inside of me. it almost bubbled over & it was kind of embarrassing — freaking out because of words on a sheet of paper.  

almost immediately i calmed down, refocused and I tackled a lot of the items one at a time. i got a good workout in too. cardio like you would NOT believe.

Now, I’m crossing the things i bought off of the master list and I’ve only got a few more things left to purchase. 

I’m getting somewhere and I’m hella grateful and even more proud that I did it alone.

Thanks, God. 

—o.JAY

This is really happening.

#whoa.

Wednesday|WANT; To be done with all of this budgeting and list making

Honestly, it’s driving me a little bonkers. I’ve finally compiled a master list for things that I need to purchase for the big trip but I can’t even wrap my brain around it. I’m determined to just have all of my expenses solidified – to not spend more than the amount I’ve written down. But life is ever-changing and inconsistent in its consistency.

I’ve made so many different budgets that I could probably pass for a seasoned accountant. -__-

I pray to God that there’s some sort end to this mess.

So I found out today that my departure date has been pushed back to the 4th of June. 2 more weeks in the US. I think it’s a blessing in disguise. I’m trying to get some things together and in motion before I leave.

Excuse me while I go re-budget my life.

—o.JAY

here i come!

well… not now, but tomorrow morning.

[sheepish grin]

after that I’ll be DONE with everything until staging. thank the Lord. 

this one is for all returned/current PC volunteers: can my mother accompany me to Staging?

I know I haven’t blogged about the Peace Corps process lately. The holidays, wrapping my mind around the fact that I finally got my invitation, taking some time to focus on me and actually working kind of got in the way.

Today:

• I received a voice-mail from Sato Travel. I have to send them an official copy of my birth certificate [I used the DS-11 form since I’ll be going out of the country]. Now I’m kind of frazzled because I don’t know where I’d get one from if my mom doesn’t have an extra.
• I got an e-mail from my TEFL tutor letting me know that my official TEFL certificate will be in the mail soon. =)
• I sent an e-mail to the PC Medical office to clarify some things in regard to the Yellow Fever vaccine. Not sure if I should be going to get it before or if they’ll provide it because they didn’t contact me. 

Otherwise, I’ve been making tons of packing/to do lists, editing my PC blog [which will be taken off of private soon] and doing lots of reading to prepare myself. I need to cop a dictionary in the official language of the country so I can learn some useful words and phrases before my departure. Obviously, I won’t be needing French anymore. lol.

Pushing on,

—o.JAY

and I’m just trusting God to see me through — to sustain me. Lord knows I’ll need Him.