Here in Romania...

Well we all arrived safe and sound!  No problems with our flights, and all of my baggage made it through safely (although my carry on was eyed suspiciously by the Lufthansa flight attendants while boarding the flight from Frankfurt to Bucharest).

The bus ride from Bucharest to the town we train in, was beautiful (well I fell asleep halfway through, so I liked what little I saw).  We really got a taste for Romania on that ride.  I kept hearing about the economic disparity, and it really was true.  There were large beautiful homes being built next to tiny homes with rusting corrugated roofs.  I am so excited to explore more of the beautiful country and to learn more about its people.

We also kept hearing about the stray dogs.  Romania has a large stray dog population and it really is a problem.  This morning one of my fellow PCTs was out for a jog and 5 or 6 dogs circled around him as he ran two blocks.  The staff keep telling us that you need three things to succeed as a PCV: patience, flexibility, and a sense of humor.  Trust me, we all have the humor thing down.  We've spent the last day and a half in session hearing more policy and procedures and meeting more staff members.  Tomorrow morning we have a brief, basic lesson in Romanian and then our host families (gazda) pick us up.  We spend the rest of the weekend with them and then we start our training on Monday!  I can't wait for all of this to start happening, I'm really really ready!

Here's the view from my hotel room

More to come...when I find internet again.

Good-Bye for Now

Saying goodbye has never been a strong point, but I guess that would be a bad thing if you were good at it. Although, I have had a lot of practice. Mom said it seems as if we keep having goodbye parties and hello parties for me, I'm always in transition. Somehow, I still think its easier for me to say goodbye to all of you...so props!!

Thanks to my Walgreens buddies for throwing me...and some others, but really just me ;)...a fantastic party. Its always easier to say adieu when alcohol is involved...haha. I really will miss you guys!

Thanks to my Whitecaps crew for putting up with my blondeness the past few weeks. It was so strange...haha.

Last night I had a great barbecue with the family. I love all of my little (and the not-so-little) cousins to death and don't know what my life would be without them. I got lots of hugs, the ones I cherish the most were from the most unexpected sources.

So far the hardest goodbyes have been my little Italian girls. I have had a blast the past few months teaching my girls English. Priscilla is eight and I have worked with her longer that I have worked with her sister Patrizia, who is six. Both of the girls are absolutely adorable and I have looked forward to spending time each week to work with them. Today was my last day tutoring them and I usually spend an hour or so alone with each girl, but today I took both of them together. They spent the hours fighting for my attention. Priscilla needed me to find her repeat subtraction problems so she didn’t have to do each problem in her head, and Patrizia needed my help deciphering Curious George :). After finishing the “homework” we looked through my travel guide on Romania. It is really something to take a look at a new culture through the eyes of a child. Priscilla found the little dictionary at the back of the book and kept reciting new phrases to me. I couldn’t help but giggle listening to her read me Romanian phrases in her Italian accent…precious.

Well tomorrow is the big day. I made sure to pack some extra Kleenex in the carry-on...but its exciting too! Here's the itinerary for the next few days, I wouldn't want Grams to have to start praying for a safe flight a day early or anything...haha.

Tuesday, May 18th
10:25 Depart Grand Rapids to Chicago
10:20 Arrive at Chicago O'Hare...meet up with my new Peace Corps buddies and find our way to the hotel.
12:30-Basically the rest of the day: Staging stuff

Wednesday, May 19th
10:30 am Check-out of the hotel
3:40 pm Flight leaves Chicago O'Hare

Thursday, May 20th
6:50 am Flight arrives in Frankfurt, Germany
10:30 am Flight leaves Frankfurt, Germany
1:45 pm Flight arrives in Bucharest, Romania

Once again, thanks for all your help and support during the past few weeks!!! Without all of you I probably wouldn't be nearly as prepared, emotionally or physically, as I am. I love you all and I'll see you in August 2012!!!

Pre-Departure Preparations

Only one week before I leave Grand Rapids, never to return again! I'm being dramatic, I will be back to pack up my stuff.  One week, yet I have so much left to do! Those of you fortunate enough to spend time with me over the past few weeks know that I have been uncharacteristically preoccupied. Thanks to all of you for putting up with me, I know it hasn't been easy.

Everything is finally starting to come together. After finishing up my job (or at least the real one) I have had the time and focus to figure out the messier details of leaving the States for 27 months. I hate having to deal with finances and the like, but unfortunately that is how I have spent the past week.

Basically the only thing left to take care of is packing. Yikes! Those of you who went to France with me, or helped me pack for France, know what a difficult task I have ahead of me. I say "ahead" of me because I have yet to get to it. For the past three years, my room has really only been a landing pad, because of this I have accumulated a lot of crap; crap that I now need to sift through. I do have some piles of stuff to pack floating around the room: stuff to take with me next week, stuff to have shipped to me in August as soon as I have a permanent location, stuff to have shipped to me closer to winter, and stuff to have shipped to me for another summer. Did I go a little overboard? Probably, but that's how I roll. Speaking of packing, thanks to all of my friends and family who have generously pitched in to help me acquire some of the pricier items on my packing list. I appreciate it more than I can express. You are all amazing!!

I'm nursing quite the sinus infection, so that's about all I can muster right now. More to come soon!