I'm Here!

We finally got here last night! The 2 days of staging in DC were pretty fun and very informative  and the group of other volunteers is great.  There are 54 of us and we are already becoming pretty close.  Right now we are at a beautiful resort/conference center in the mountains of western Cartago (I think).   Our days are extremely busy right now but we still have a little time to relax or go online. I will try to take some good pictures to post next time.  Sunday we will each be dropped off at our own host families and we will start official training classes monday.  Tomorrow night we get to go out to a town for dinner with a few other volunteers and only $4 each.  That will definitely be a good learning experience b/c there will be nobody there holding our hands.  By the way, out of the 54 volunteers, I definitely have among the worst spanish ability and it is making thing a little harder (and definitely more awkward).  I am not too worried though b/c it seems like the training is going to be great and i know if i work hard i will pick up on it fast. Im sure sunday will be a little awkward meeting my host family for the first time. Hopefully they are VERY patient. Well its time for lunch so i have to go.

-Heath

Two More Days! Already Packed

Here is everything I am Bringing:

I'm posting my packing list on here because it may give future volunteers some ideas on what to bring. I don’t know if I've brought too much/enough or how it's all going to work out, but it’s what I think is going to work the best for me at this point. It all weighs less than 60 lbs and there are only 2 bags (since the small backpack goes inside the duffel when I am not on a plane). To save space I've packed all my clothes in large Ziploc bags and squeezed the air out.

Bags:
EMS 5500ci Hiking Backpack
EMS Large Duffle Bag
Smaller North Face Backpack (carry on for electronics, fits inside duffle when traveling)

Clothes:
5 pants (1 pair are dress pants)
5 short (2 pair are running shorts and 1 is a bathing suit)
8 pair of underwear
8 pair of socks
6 t-shirts
5 button-up shirts (one is a long sleeve dress shirt)
3 polos
3 tank tops
1 tie
1 fleece pullover
1 raincoat
1 hat
2 belts

Shoes:
Gortex trail sneakers
Keen walking shoes
Crocs
black dress shoes
cheap sandals

Electronics:
Apple i-book and charger
Small travel computer speakers
Small book of CDs and DVDs
Camera
Rechargeable batteries and charger
4gig USB drive
i-pod shuffle

Miscellaneous:
Fleece Sleeping Bag
Fast-dry travel towel
Nalgene bottle
World Map
3 Hacky Sacks
Sunglasses
Headlamp
Pocketknife
2 Paperback Novels
Shortwave Radio
Scissors, tape, pens, pencils, markers and other office supplies
Couple coloring books, crayons, and other little nicknacks for kids.

Journal
Small bag of toiletries
2 Pairs of glasses
contacts and solution

One More Week!

I just wanted to do a little test post to make sure I know how to use this site. I guess I will start my blog from the events of this week and try to update it every week (or whenever I can) until the close of my Peace Corps Service in May 2010. If you are reading this I assume you already know I'm leaving Monday Feb. 25th for "Staging" in DC and then the 27th for Training in Costa Rica to be a Rural Community Development Volunteer for the Peace Corps.

Well whats new this week..? I'm finally done working for the state, Woo Hoo! no more hour long commutes in the snow every morning! I visited my old stompingrounds of PSU to say goodby to everybody, then went to Old Gregs Place and drank Baileys from a shoe. My dad and I have been going to the gym the last few weeks...it feels good to workout again but also kinda wierd since I've lost over 20lbs of muscle...but whatever. Its pretty funny, still the same old faces there since high school. My mom and Jim are getting married tomorrow, so that should be fun...looks like the weather should be good. Oh yeah... when I came home on monday I had a new sister: a little Pomeranian puppy! I definitely didn't expect that but its really cute.
I have been reading a lot. I just started/am almost done with "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, it's a great book. I think we can all learn a lot from Chris McCandless, especially about taking initiative with our own lives and not losing the spirit of adventure. It kinda makes me want to hitchhike down to Costa Rica :)
I really want to go skiing at least one more time before I leave but I don't think its gonna happen...its probably for the best, I've made it through the winter so far, it wouldn't be good to break myself right before I leave. Well anywaw....I can't think of anything else to say ringht now so I will update next week before I leave.