leave for an adventure of a lifetime

Tonight is my last night in the United States. 5,967 miles away in Port Vila, Vanuatu. This may seem like the beginning of my 820 day adventure but it really began when I applied in mid January. Of course the humanitarian side of me would like to say that I decided to join the Peace Coprs to make a difference in this world and of course it partly was but to be hones it sounded like an exciting and amazing adventure that would be a once in a lifetime experience. After the months of waiting I received my invitation to Vanuatu in the Pacific Islands. Only 3% of PCVs are posted in the Pacific Islands and I'm sure it seems more like a vacation but I can assure you that I won't be hanging by the pool with a margarita. (Background: Vanuatu is located in between Australia and Fiji - vacation anyone? My hut is your hut! And now the time has come to say my goodbyes. This morning was hectic to say the least - I have packed and repacked my bags more times then I'd like admit and had to make some tough choices on what would go and what didn't make the cut. I am only allowed two checked bags - 124" linear dimension and a max of 50 lbs for e/bag. Finally after getting rid of the sleeping bag/pad and about 1/2 my toiletries - while keeping my stuffed animal (yes 26 y.o. but you want to have something that gives you a little home comfort), 5 Oxo potato peelers and Obama buttons for gifts and mass amounts of electronics (I know I'm supposed to be roughing it but seriously 2 years w/o my ipod/kindle - no way) -in the end my bags weighed in at 96 lbs total.

It was hard to say my goodbyes - lots of tears - and for those who I wasn't able to say to in person or over the phone "Tank yu tumas for all your support and love".