I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane

Tomorrow is my last day in St. Louis. Leaving is definitely bitter sweet. Its hard to say good-bye to all my family and friends, but I'm very excited about starting this new journey. I've been trying to fit everything that I need into the two bags I'm bringing and pack up everything I'm not. My sister has been great about letting me leave my extra stuff in her garage and my furniture in her extra bedroom. I was told to try to pack as though I was going on a two year camping trip. Since my living conditions could be anything from a place without electricity or running-water to a place with central heating and several bathrooms, I think that was good advice.

Last weekend, my wonderful family threw me a great going-away party. It was so much fun! I had friends from work, college, and even elementary school come. Added together with my enormous family, it was a big party. It was a wonderful way to say good-bye to everyone. My relatives even got together and got me an Amazon Kindle, so I could bring a lot of books with me. It was a great present and I'm sure it will be invaluable when I'm there. Plus the wonderful cards, gift certificates, and photo albums were great too! My mom even spent hours putting together an incredible scrapbook with pictures from the party mixed in with scenes from my childhood. It was a great gift and will be a wonderful talking point when I get to Morocco.

I have been packing and repacking my things for several weeks now (which my sister Emily has teased me about to no-end....what can I say, I can't help planning ahead. I'm a nerd about stuff like that.) It is incredibly hard to pack for two years! I asked everyone I could for advice, and read all sorts of books and blogs on Morocco. I'm sure I'll be surprised by what it is actually like there, and that I'll have packed things I don't need and forgotten things I would use. As my friend Courtney, who is in the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan, told me "Don't worry, Anna. No matter how prepared you are, there are always surprises." I'm trying to keep that in mind and try not to sweat the small stuff so much.

I've also set things up to be pen pals with all three fourth grade classrooms at my mom's elementary school. I went and talked to the kids last week and told them a little bit about the Peace Corps and what I'd be doing in Morocco. They had some funny questions and some very insightful ones. One classroom even asked me about ten questions about what socks I'd wear and how Moroccan socks are different than American socks. I told them I'd have to let them know once I got there.

This will be such an adventure! Morocco, here I come!!!!