Hello!

Welcome, devoted followers, to my blog about my experiences in the Peace Corps!  My mother would like you to know that she came up with the the title.  My father would like me to not post personal information on the internet. 

Today, I still have 2 weeks before I fly off to Philadelphia for a day to get oriented with my fellow volunteers, and so hopefully you will all get a few more exciting posts before . . . dun dun dun . . . I leave for Malawi!  Check out the link to my Timeline at the top of the page (I'm really proud that I figured out this whole multiple-pages-within-a-blog thing; you should also check out all the nifty gadgets like the map of Africa I stuck on the side of this page.  Technology is cool) for more specifics about when and how this whole Peace Corps process took place.  I also cleverly added a Contact page, because I'm going to miss you!  And be lonely!  And need support and love and candy!  Eventually, I plan on making a page with a wish list of items for those of you kind enough to send me a package, probably full of things like non-perishable food and educational materials, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.  I'll update that when I get in country and realize that I cannot possibly live without cheese, even if the only possible cheese that will make it to Malawi is velveeta.

Anyways, hopefully this blog will be a place where I can share stories, photos, and videos of my adventures!  Since the Peace Corps hasn't assigned me my final placement yet, though, and won't until I'm partway through my pre-service training, I really don't know how often I'll have access to the internet and electricity.  Therefore I'm semi-expecting/hoping to be able to update once a month or so.  However, I have this long list of semi-expectations that I basically expect to all be shattered once I get to Malawi and see how it really is.  So who knows.

Here's what I do know - a lot of people have asked me why I want to do Peace Corps.  That's a difficult question to answer, since I have a lot of little reasons that add up.  I love to travel, and I want to see the world.  I am passionate about learning about other cultures and societies, and I think that's the only way that we as a humans can become more peaceful and understanding of one another.  I believe strongly that it is important for the United States to have a positive presence in the world.  I personally want to have a positive presence in the world.  I also graduated from college not positive about my next steps, and this seemed like a good way to take a couple years to decide on those next steps, instead of sitting at home with my parents, unemployed, or working a mediocre job that won't end up advancing my career. 

I believe that the Peace Corps will change me as a person as well as my personal paradigm, and help me to grow in unexpected ways.  I'm trying not to have expectations or goals, at least not yet (hopefully in a year I'll have some goals for the rest of my service!). 

So . . . Let's see what happens!