after making some cuts (including my large aveda bottles, contact solution, and all the food - i couldn't sacrifice the graph paper and graphing calculators!), i'm holding steady at 86 pounds of "stuff." what kind of stuff does one pack when moving to africa for two years? some clothes of course, a couple of toothbrushes and tubes of paste, camping hammock and sleeping bag, mosquito net, headlamp, a deflated volleyball, crank flashlight and lantern, a few journals (to double as notebooks), can opener and garlic press, lots of school supplies, and an old-fashioned grade book. the kind where you write the kids names in and record all of their grades. then calculate the grades by hand. i didn't even use one when student teaching. 6 pounds over. not sure what's going to go if they really make me get rid of 6 pounds.
tomorrow (i should say 8 hours from now) i'll be off to philly from cleveland for 2 days of training, and then we'll all be off to guinea via senegal from NYC. i'll be living with a host family for 11 weeks about 70 miles outside of the capital. i'll be immersed in french and left with no choice but to learn to survive! i've had a really wonderful two weeks in cleveland. old friends, boston friends, family friends...everyday was something fun. the last installment of the family and friend fun marathon was tonight - family dinner at mom's - mom's homecooking, uncle danny telling the fountain story, and aunt patty's pies. it was a perfect summer night - sunny, breezy. a nice night to end on.
hopefully i'll have exciting news for you soon from the other side of the atlantic.
Go to bed! You have a big day ahead of you!
ReplyDeleteGOOD LUCK!
after an emotional morning of seperation from you, Kerry took me for what was to be a lighthearted lunch of splitting a cheeseburger and a serving of "county fair style french fries" accompanied with vinegar! I cried through the entire lunch.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Momma