Vol. II has left Nicaragua!

Hey all,
Lauren let me know that yesterday Volume II was posted off to Kelly in Guyana! 

Exciting Times Ahead

As I read and know that many people within this project are possibly a few months into service or working toward finishing up PST, I am very aware that some of us have yet to leave for staging.  Just a few more weeks and all of us will be well into our own journeys with everyone facing new and exciting changes. This week has us saying safe travels to Riah W. who is leaving for Tanzania and Luba V. who is off to Burkina Faso.

Volume III is on the move!

Volume III has finally made it safely into the hands of Judson in the Kyrgyz Republic!

Snapshot: Pre-Site Placement Jitters in Ukraine

Here I sit, on the eve before I find out where my next two years in Ukraine will be spent. We PCTs in Ukraine have it a little different from PCTs in other countries from what I have seen. While many find out where they will be living and what they will be doing weeks before the end of their training (and even get to visit their future site), I have the pleasure/anxiety of not finding out until our Swearing In Conference! I had my site placement interview on May 25th and they knew where I would be going by the end of the day on the 27th, yet I have to wait until tomorrow to learn about my new home. Then I meet it on Thursday, maybe even Friday depending on how far it is from Kyiv.

So what is going on in my head? Currently my thoughts are:

• I hope I live alone. Why did I not say that was a preference during site placement?!
• Please have a nifty counter-part!
• Specialized school? Pretty please!?
• Holy cow, I am not going to know ANYONE! Well, except my counterpart.
• I wish I spoke Russian better. Please let people have patience with me. Also, please let my confidence in speaking Russian improve.
• I hope I am not TOO far from someone I know in my training group. I have not exactly met all 105 people...
• I hope I can get a kitten for cuteness and sanity sake.

Repacking all of my belongings has been a bit, uh, difficult? We get a 100lbs limit and pack our bags to the max. Then when we are about to leave our training site, we need to figure out how to include the many pounds of language and other PC materials in with our stuff! My suitcase that I used for a carry-on is now no longer being used for clothes. That is where my PC materials are currently living. Makes me glad I brought tote bags and Space Bags. Did I mention that as we are about to leave, we also receive a fire extinguisher, smoke/carbon monoxide detector, and portable heater. Ух ты! 

I am also currently amused that it has been raining today. Seems fitting since it was raining when I arrived here in Obukhov, Ukraine nearly 3 months ago :)

PC's in the Air!

This is going to be an active month for staging.  Five future PCVs leaving just this week for staging!  Kelly S. is headed to Kenya; Katie W. is going to Ghana; Jessica W.'s destination is Moldova; Jenn B. will be in Swaziland; and Kim A. will soon be in Peru.     Safe travels to all.

Will be checking blogs soon to see who has completed their swearing-in.  I think time is going by quickly for everyone no matter which stage of the process you find yourself!

Vol II has finally made it to Nicaragua!

Volume II has finally made it to Lauren in Nicaragua, next stop Guyana! 

Time is Flying!

Lots of folks leaving!  As Ashley said in last posting, I'll post departures for the next few weeks.  This is just a quick and short entry to make sure my access to the system does work before Ashley gets too far away... :-)   Stay tuned for more!  Susan N.