Finally here

So I am in Kyrgyzstan and I have finally found an internet cafe! To sum things up I am having the most amazing time here! The traveling was fine- the prices were horrible in the istanbul airport but I slept a lot on the plane so I have had almost no jet lag! I arrived at 3 in the morning Monday and after a quick night sleep we began training and have been sitting in training for the last two and a half days. We have been staying in this big hotel that looks like it was built in the 70s by the Russians and NOTHING has changed!!!

In training we are covering things like security, safety, food, and our assignments. I found out that I will be a business advisor which I am so pumped up about and that I am learning russian rather than Kyrgyz- only 16 out of 63 volunteers are learning russian and several people that are learning Kyrgyz are upset because they feel like Russian is a more applicable language which is totally true but the bad part is that Russian is so much harder. Medical is also a big element of training and I have had two shots already Rabies and some other one. It was so crazy, the two doctors that administrated the shots just had me roll up my sleeves, stood on either side of me and *bam*bam* I was vaccinated!

The thing that has just kept me smiling the entire time are the other peace corps trainees I have fallen in love with everyone I have met!!!

Tonight I am going to move in with my host family, only speak Russina... anyway this is where I will be staying for the next three months- it will be some intense language, cultural and technical training. I'm not to nervous- I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have a good time.

There is a good handful of volunteers that are pretty homesick right now- I feel bad for them but there is nothing I can do other than point out the good. I hope they start to fall in love with Kyrgyzstan like me!

Gettin' ready

On July 3rd, one week from today, I will board a plane and leave for Philadelphia where I will begin staging for 27 months in Kyrgyzstan.

One year ago I began filling out my application for the Peace Corps, I spent hours planning out the perfect essay, searching for the right recommendations and day dreaming about a life as a volunteer. Followed by my interview and nomination came dentist and doctor appointments who would confirm that I was healthy enough to spend two years away. And then it was quiet, I didn't hear a word from the Peace Corps for over two months.

I resumed my college lifestyle and my thoughts began drifting away from the Peace Corps. Then in mid march, while I was bed ridden with a nasty flu -I thought I was going to die- I received my invitation to Kyrgyzstan. Over the next couple of months the paper work picked up again, I received a membership to Rosetta Stone so I could start learning Russian, I graduated with a bachelor of science in business administration, partied like it was my job, I started working part time in a prime brokerage office, had my highschool best girlfriends come visit, I began collecting clothes that I could bring with me and slowly I have started to pack. Yet even with only seven days left I still can't believe this is about to take place.

On one hand I feel like I haven't fully acknowledged that I am about to embark on this journey; but on the other hand I factor Kyrgyzstan in everything I do. If I buy a pair of shoes I ask myself if I can bring them to Kyrgyzstan. If I decide the four-inch-leopard-print heels won't be practical in Kyrgyzstan then I have to ask myself; in two years will I look like a crazy person who is stuck in a fashion trend from 2008? I don't think very many people appreciate the difficulty of my inner conflicts.

Of all these conflicts I have been wrestling, by far the hardest is saying goodbye to my family. I want to spend every minute with them because I know these next two years will be filled with minutes where I wish I were with them. Here's to enjoying every last minute I have with them and preparing for two years of volunteer work!