Monday, January 29, 2007

Saying Goodbye Begins




Last night was my tropical going away party. Friends, old and new, showed up throughout the night and shared their words of comfort and encouragement. Thanks guys. My dad kept trying to get them to share stories about me, thankfully that didn't come to it's full potential. Anyways, I don't think he would have really wanted to hear the stories they would have had to share!
We ate, drank Sangria, admired my beautiful nieces and played a little charades. Overall it was a success. There were smiles across the board. I will miss you all.
Thursday is my last day in Fargo, then I'm off to Bismarck. This week consists of dancing, babysitting nieces, painting, and knitting. Four of my favorites. Then I throw my clothes in my car and head out. Not seeing this beautiful flat, icy, cold country side for many months will be hard. My new home just won't quite compare in beauty!
Goodbye Fargo, Goodbye Friends, Goodbye Swing - Make me Proud!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

My flight is booked!


The official date and time is Feb. 12 at 10:55am. I will be arriving in D.C. at 4:26pm, leaving me an entire day to explore Our Nation's Capitol! How exciting. Now hopefully one of my dear loved ones will have time to take me to the airport on Monday morning. Just one.
It will be hard saying good-bye, so I think I might pretend I'm leaving for only a short trip. See you in a few weeks! Two years is way to hard to fathom.
Saying goodbye to Jeremy will be the toughest. He's been part of my life nearly everyday for 2 years. Ouch. That hurts. He will be missed muchisimo. We'll have to say hasta luego two weeks from now, then off to Bismarck to visit the family and fly out.
I'm hoping to have enough adventures daily to side track my mind from missing everyone so much.
It will also be hard not watching my nieces and nephew grow up. Many of them are becoming teenagers and are going to need much guidance. It breaks my heart to not be there for them over the next few years. I'm planning on talking to their teachers to create and ongoing correspondence with their classes. Through this I'm hoping they'll feel my presence and have a better understanding of what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
And then there are the young ones. Only 2 and 4 years old. So many firsts will be missed. Break my heart. I love you all.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

4 weeks to go




Things are winding up around Fargo. My last day of work at the HoDo is this Saturday. They all will be missed, as well as the amazing dishes the cooks created. MMMM. Beans and Rice here I come!

The next few weeks will be filled with finishing a painting, the continuous stream of paperwork the Peace Corps sends me, knitting baby hats for babies I won't yet get to meet, deciding what to pack for two years (not an easy task), packing, and of course spending as much time with friends and family as I can.

I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed, but mostly excited. I'm MOVING to the Dominican, a tropical island with beautiful beaches and no snow. How could I not be excited!

My ship out date is the 13th of February. Off to D.C. for some pre-training. I've never been there, hopefully we'll have a little time for sight seeing. Then off to the DR on the 16th. I'll keep you posted on details.