"I need to schedule a wake up call, for 7:30am" "So like in an hour?"

Well today marked my first real goodbye. I had to say goodbye to Karen who i will not see again, in person that is, before i leave. We got to spend a great week together though and that is where this blog will start.

My last blog was from the Denver airport, and that night i was reunited with Tone, and it was epic. San Diego is very nice but it was even more amazing to see Tone, even though i arrived so late that we ended up pretty much going to bed after catching up. Monday morning Karen joined us and we had a great lunch at Urbane Cafe, which i would highly recommend. Unfortunately Tone had to study for his Law School finals, but Karen and i utilized this free time for some shopping! New swimsuit was purchased after hours of walking around the outdoor mall :) Finally finished the day with some Joe's Crab Shack and Golden Spoon frozen yogurt before staying our final night in San Diego. The next day we left and headed on what was a perfect day.

Driving north from San Diego Karen and i set off for Malibu. We made our way up the coast and stopped for food in Malibu at Cafe Marmalade, where we had to to die for veggies sandwiches and black bean soup, i still dream of that meal :), we went to the beach, drove up through the hills and made some shopping stops, and ended the day by stopping at the grocery for some hummus and veggies, and turned in at Karen's in Santa Barbara.

The next day we woke up again bright and early to get some sight seeing done in Santa Barbara, we spent the day shopping on state street and ended up both purchasing a dress for vegas, both of which were amazing, and i'll add pictures later :) We ate some dinner and went to the movies, seeing Something Borrowed, before heading back to Karen's to shower and pack for Vegas, which is where the true craziness begins.

Starting the morning off bright and early with some Starbucks, the journey to Las Vegas began, and oh what a journey it was. We made the drive in 5 and half hours, and lugged all the crap into the hotel room, we were shortly after joined by Kirsten, Kayla, Kraft, and Lindsay and we all headed to the pool! It was so much fun! My friend Jess from college also came, she now lives in Vegas. We went out to Pure, which is the club at Cesar's palace where we had a VIP table and private service! It was seriously so amazing, and a great way to kick off our trip. The next day the pool at the Tropicana was calling our name, considering we had a private cabana, and after spending the entire day in the sun we made our way back to the Mirage where we ate at BLT Burger our Vegas tradition, before showering and heading out on the town, Haze at Aria is where we found ourselves on Friday night, and finally turned in as we watched the sunrise. The next day was full of slot machines, and other Vegas fun, before we found ourselves all over throughout the Mirage including a penthouse suite :) where we raided the mini fridge before heading to blackjack, ending the weekend on a "WINNING!" note! Finally getting back to the room well after the sun had risen i called down to the front desk to set our wake up call, seeing as we had to be at the airport at 8:45. I quote, Me: "Hi, i need to set up a wake up call for 7:30." Front desk lady, "So like in an hour?" hahaha, after short cat nap we packed up the room and i had to say goodbye to one of my best friends, seeing as i had to catch a flight to Maui, and Karen was driving back to California. This trip was the best yet, i couldn't have asked for more crazy and amazing times, and it is so sad to think that these trips that i have been looking forward to are starting to end.
It is bittersweet because i am very excited about my move, but i really wish time wasn't flying so fast! This last week has been one of the best of my life, and i couldn't ask to have spent it with better people. I am so sad to end such a great week, and say goodbye to Karen even though we have talked mucho since i landed in Hawaii.
Which brings me back to my present situation, i am sitting on my massive balcony in Maui, listening to the ocean waves, looking over the pool and off into the ocean, and can't believe i am so lucky. I get to spend the next seven days with my amazing family, thinking about how amazing my last week was with my friends....

I can't believe that i get to live this life, and this is exactly why i am going to the Peace Corps, i want to be able to help others, because i am truly blessed.
Until next time, creep on my facebook because i have been uploading some amazing photos of my journey :)

"May Madness"

So this weekend has been somewhat hectic. Waking up in a hotel room in Mason City Iowa Saturday morning marked the beginning of a great weekend. In Mason City to celebrate my grandparents 60^th wedding anniversary and both of their 80^th birthdays, Saturday was jammed packed with talking to distant relatives and family friends. It was fun to explain and discuss my Peace Corps assignment with all of them, not…well for some it was, for some they didn’t understand what would drive me to do such a thing. Many gave me long hugs as it would be the last time I see them before I depart, so it was a bit awkward. It made me realize how little time I have left. It is weird to think that you won’t see someone for over two years, but it is something I will have to get used to. Overall the weekend was great though, we played some croquette, ate way too much, and celebrated lasting love, I don’t think you can ask for much more in Mason City.

Like my family, my friends are starting to get sentimental, as am I. I find myself doing something, and thinking “this will be the last time I do this..” Kind of crazy.

Right now I sit 30,000 feet in the air on a flight to Denver

Out of my window :) :)

My flight with a 4 year old boy kicking my seat relentlessly. A joyous experience let me tell you. However I just keep thinking that soon I will be on my connecting flight to San Diego and that much closer to seeing Tone, and that is getting me through…oh did I mention about every 10 minutes he yells “choo choooooooooo” I don’t know if he thinks we are on a train or whats up, I just want to be like, “kid, this is not a train, this is a plane…” The grandparents don’t seem to realize that he is bugging everyone. I may slip him a sedative here soon…

I’ll update more on the next flight, for now I will flip through the sky mall, picking which Item I would want most on the page…actually extremely entertaining.

LANDED AND ALIVE J

Sitting in the Denver International Airport waiting for my next flight…so close! Flight departs at 9:55pm, which is almost exactly an hour away…

Love sitting in airports trying to figure out where everyone is heading, making up stories about the adventures they are going on…a lot of couples traveling this Mothers Day…boo, the people who sat next to me on my last flight were about to go on their honeymoon!

Now I’m sitting with my black mango iced tea eating an apple, and this blog is helping me to pass the time.

I’ve started being even more of a creeper with all this spare time I have had waiting in airports and riding in cars from destination to destination, the Peace Corps Peru 17 wall and all of those who are members have officially been stalked! I am not wishing away my days left in the US, but I feel like I want to get to know everyone, there is so much time for me to over analyze everything, so much excitement building. However that is also the boredom of car rides and airports….this weekend was great and I cannot wait to get to San Diego and smother Tone, who I haven’t seen since January. California here I come J

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!!!

It hasn't been that long since i last posted but so much has happened. Where to begin?

Friday April 29th, was my last day of working at US Property and with Eric. It was a sad but great day. There were some tears, the US property office gave me so many cool little presents like itunes giftcards, a pocket knife, a hat and a nice donation to my "Peru Fund." It was so kind of everyone, and it was a sad day when i drove away from the Grand Manse (my home for almost two years and then working their since October.) It made me realize that my departure for Peru is coming quick. Only 37 days until i'll be heading off on this crazy adventure. I'm starting to freak out a little bit, but i have a feeling i am not the only one, some others have expressed the same feelings on the PC 17 wall, so i'll have some others who will understand what i'm going through.
This weekend also marked a big step for me, my clothing auction. Sunday May 1st started bright and early around 6:30am all my friends and family got dressed up in our "Peace, Love, Run" shirts and went out to support my dad, cousin, and uncle in the half marathon.

We followed them throughout the race and cheered them on! It was the perfect start to the day. After a quick lunch we all went back to my house where the "fun" began. I had prepared a clothing extravaganza.

The clothing auction was fun and depressing at the same time. All my friends were able to go through all of the clothes i wasn't taking to Peru. Though some may think this isn't a big deal, they obviously don't know me, and my closet. I rubbermaid containers, clothing baskets, closets, and dressers full of clothes. At one time over 80 dresses, now 1/4 of that remains. It was fun to see my friends looking through  my clothes, with things they knew they wanted. I quote, "i will murder someones ass if they get that..." or "there will be blood" (not the movie!) It was funny, and it felt good to know that my friends were going to be taking the things i would not be using, all my beloved things got a good home. The cutest thing was when a few of my friends, asked specifically about my ASU sweat pants, which have been worn relentlessly and are covered in dye, from camp tie-dye. "Are the ASU sweatpants going to be in the auction?" I responded, "No! They are covered in tie-dye!" Friends "So i want to keep them while you are gone!" I had three people say that they just wanted the sweatpants as like a little piece of me while i was away in Peru...it was comforting and really made me feel loved.

Monday morning i woke up and walked through all the rooms on the second floor, and the left overs from the auction, were scattered...it was sad to see so many things i loved gone, but it is just another step i had to take to get this journey started. Probably one of the most difficult in the sense that fashion is a huge part of my life, but at the same time i know that my friends love the things they got, and i can't wait to see pictures on facebook and think to myself, yessssss that is my dress and it looks oh soooo good :) ha ha

This week is also completely different because i am no longer working, so i am getting myself ready for my "May Madness" which starts on Friday. I leave for iowa then off to cali then off to vegas then off to hawaii. I wanted to get my "workout on" all week however my foot injury has inhibited me from doing so, i guess i'll be looking sub par in my swimsuit for the next two weeks ha ha.

I also just finished my clothing inventory for what i am packing to take with me to Peru. We laid it all out on the dining room table, and are going to attempt, "pre-pack #2" tomorrow. I am hoping it will all fit and weigh under!! I guess we will see :)

That is all for now, have to go hang out with Karen because our days together are dwindling down :( but we will make the ones we have left count!

tHe yEaR of "23" WiLL Be FuLL Of gLEe!!!!

So much has happened in the last few weeks, well since my last blog post. The Peru 17! facebook group is literally the most amazing thing....seriously the information that i am getting from this group (full of Peru 2011 vols, but also current PC vols that are serving in Peru!!!) is so helpful. I have learned so much, especially about packing, concerns i had perviously, have vanished!!
It was also my birthday, turned 23, which i have decided is going to be the craziest year of my life. Heck, i'm moving to Peru...can't get much crazier than that! I have the best parents in the world, and was supplied with so much cool stuff to take with me to Peru! For example the most amazing flashlight/world clock/alarm thingy...going to be sooooo useful! My headlamp, which was thoroughly inspected by the headlamp master (my dad), and was approved! I got my new birkenstocks, which are amazing which will be my go to shoe i have a feeling....i also stocked up on some more shoes actually, im pretty sure it will be most of my 80lbs that i am allowed to take with me...new neon converses, shox, and some blowfish flats for business casual!
Tonight we actually tried to pack all my stuff, which occupied the entire dining room table, and it almost all fit into my rolling duffle, which is amazing!!! Super excited because it weighed under 50 lbs too! I can't believe it, best thing ever.
Tomorrow i start my last week of work, which is seriously crazy that it is already the last week of april!!!
I'll update again soon, until then off for the craziness that my 23rd year is bringing....

My First Friend!

Today was a beautiful day in Lincoln, it is 10:45 right now and it is still 63, i don't know how that is even possible. Besides the amazing weather today was awesome. After work i made some chicken and sat down at the computer to read through the posts on the Peru 17 wall, to get updated from the weekend. Lucky me, just happened to be on the computer at the same time as one of my fellow Peru volunteers. Thus began the beginning of a b-e-a-utiful friendship, or so i hope. Chris will be in my training class down in Peru, we had a great chat today about all things Peace Corps. It was so nice to finally get to talk to someone that is going through the same things i am. My friends and family have been super supportive throughout this whole process, but it was really nice to finally be able to talk to someone that will be going on the same crazy adventure as me.

Chris is from Tampa, and found out he is going to Peru just a little bit ago. His job title is, youth development facilitator, so he is in my program but will be doing something way different than myself. It was nice to finally talk out the packing woes i have, and bounce ideas off each other. He informed me that a hammock is necessary, so i'm putting that on my "maybe" list. Chris has been to Peru, so he had some helpful hints on the packing, i'm no longer as worried.

We both are concerned on how "rusty" our spanish is going to be, but i have a feeling we will catch on quickly. I'm going to start working on it with my friend Erin through the library, they offer an online thing for free, so we will see how that goes.

The conversation also turned interesting when we turned to the subject of food. Like i said earlier, Chris has been to Peru before, and on his blog he said that they eat soup a lot. Obviously anyone who knows me, knows that i have an obsession with soup, so this was the best news i have heard about Peru!! However this was the only comforting thing that he said. We discussed the Peruvian delicacy of Guinea Pig. Now, i will try anything once but this just gets a little intimidating. Chris said it tastes like chicken, which is obviously a good thing, however he threw in a curve ball. And i quote, "it tastes like rotisserie chicken, but looks like dead rats."  (yay dead rats!!) He said they keep the head on when they serve it, but it tastes good. That is somewhat frightening, but hey, when in Peru do as the Peruvians. Next we discussed the slaughtering of chickens, which also threw me for a loop. Chris discussed the proper way to kill a chicken by swinging it around and then proceeded to discuss the defeathering/gutting process. I explained to him that he would get a good arm workout because he would have my chicken in one of his hands. I'll eat anything at least once, but i am not too sure on this killing what you eat thing.

Chris also directed me to some amazing videos of Peruvian PC volunteers, the videos are from the group that is in Peru right now. These volunteers are amazing, and it is really cool to see videos of them explaining life in Peru. They make the best of everything and you can really tell that they are taking everything in, and are truly appreciative of their time in Peru. This group, Peru 12, has made some hilarious videos, including a segment called Peru Cribs...follow this link to see where one of the PC volunteers lives, while he stays in Peru. After this video is over there is another funny one that should be the first link on the right hand side. These guys are pretty funny, and though they are "roughing" it, i love the fact they made these places their own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5KjOeNNSiM&NR=1


Today made me extremely excited for my journey to Peru, i'm glad i've made my first PC Peru friend. I'm guessing you will probably be hearing more about Chris throughout my blogs, and all the other amazing people i hopefully will continue to meet!!!

Until next time :)

New Intern

Today is the first sunny day in a long while for Lincoln. So pretty sure not much could get me down today.  I'm not even super sad that the new intern (the girl that will be taking my place at US Property) started her first day 17 minutes ago. I guess it just goes to show, my time here in the United States is quickly disappearing. My last day of work will be April 29th, and there is even a big chunk of April that i won't be working due to my volleyball trip to Minneapolis and my birthday. I think this month will fly by quicker than i realize. Before i know it, May will be here. May brings a lot of traveling, Mason City, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, and Hawaii!!!

I know my time left will be over before i know it. I'm trying not to wish it away, trying to live each day to the fullest, to get the most out of the time i have left. 

On another note!! 

Seeing as my birthday is coming up i am starting a birthday list, full of ideas of things to get me for the fam, all of which are Peru related :) Starting to realize I have no idea what i truly need...i have a feeling this weekend will be full of research on blogs and Facebook of past/present volunteers. 

All i know is headlamp is first on my list. My dad already informed me i could find one at Scheels for $20, glad he is in the know :) 

Scary to think 67 days from now i will be packed up and headed on a journey of a lifetime...

WOot WoOt First Post!

Seeing that is it almost April I figured I should create my blog. This will be my lifeline to all of those back in the United States when i start my journey to Peru. I hadn't really had much time to think about it, but yesterday i found a Facebook group specifically of people that will be in my training class! I am super excited, i hadn't really been able to find anything or connect with anyone who was going at the same time as me. Now i'm at 7 friends and counting! I already was given the advice to buy a head lamp, and that wasn't on the packing list, so woot woot, something to mark down :) Though i don't want my time in the US to go quickly, i am starting to get excited for my departure, especially now that i am meeting people in my group! Well that is all for now, and i hope who ever follows me throughout my journey in Peru, will find this blog useful and somewhat humorous.