Well all the time has finally come for me to shove off. It seems like it has been a long time coming but it has been well worth the wait. I first applied for the Peace Corps on December 24 of 2007 and finally on Thursday February 19 of 2009 I am due in Philly for registration and some important introduction information. There will be a group of around a dozen of us heading to Malawi. We are being bussed the following morning to JFK airport for where we have a quality 17.5 hour flight to Johannesburg. We stay the night and the following morning we have a 2.5 hour flight to Malawi's capital of Lilongwe. Followed by a bus ride to a town called Dedza where we will be trained for a little over 2 months and during that time I will live with a host family. We will then be dispersed throughout the country into our programs. None of us knows exactly what we will be doing yet so I will let you know when I get more information. It is an environmental based program which has many different avenues so who knows where I will end up.
I am beyond excited for the adventure that lies ahead and I am really not nervous at all right now about my impending departure. I am sure there will be huge challenges ahead of me and many humbling experiences but that is exactly what I signed up for. I cannot wait to learn a new language, engross myself into Malawi's culture, and share everyday life with its people. With this blog I will just try and convey what life is like here and hopefully you my friends and family who read this will enjoy following my tales from the cradle of life we call Africa. I am not sure how often I will be able to update this blog but I look forward to doing it whenever I can.
For those who are curious or still unsure exactly why applied for the Peace Corps here it is...
As I have grown person and look around this crazy world I realize that we need a lot of people fighting the good fight and trying to make a positive impact on this world. There are many ways to do this I just happen to be joining the Peace Corps as my first step in a new career life that will be dedicated towards making this positive change I have mentioned above. So I plan to never look back and only push forward in this philosophy.
I want to thank all my friends and family for their support they have given me in this decision. You all have been so great and generous in many ways. I will miss you all very much while I am gone but it's not like this is goodbye forever. I wish all nothing but good times and many smiles in your lives in these few years while I am off the radar. You all will be on my mind in my heart.
PS-I can be a grammatical nightmare at times so bare with me
