Mike again. Less than 2 days. Everything's wrapping up. Parties are over, cd is recorded (completed lost 80 cd, coming to a stereo near you in late 2054!), preparations are made. Wait...I forgot to pack. I had to say goodbye to my other sister today. The last month or so has brought all the negative aspects of leaving to my attention. I knew it would be tough, but part of me can't wait to be in Mauritania so I can begin our Peace Corps experience and get my mind occupied on something positive and challenging. I want to see what's on the other side of the curtain, you know? Over a year and a half of waiting is finally coming to a head.
We still have a lot to do, so I'm signing off. Happy birthday Annie, happy father's day dad, David, Monte, Steve, Dennis, Ryan, Stud, AB (there's got to be at least one out there!), and anyone else I forgot.

Later

See you in two years!

We had our farewell party this past Friday night at Mike's parents' house in Kansas City. It was really nice to see many friends and family together for the last time before we depart for our staging. Amazingly, the turbulent weather we've been experiencing in Kansas of late took a breather, and we had a beautiful night to enjoy with everyone.

Mike and I have frantically been trying to tie up all our loose ends. Hopefully we've gotten all the addresses changed, the finances in order, and the supplies we will need for our two year journey. I still have a to do list that makes me very nervous, but I'm confident we'll get everything together in time.

On Tuesday (Mike's 28th birthday) we'll be flying from Kansas City to Atlanta to start the "staging" process with all the other Peace Corps volunteers going to Mauritania this year (we think it's about 70 or so). Staging will consist of many hours of review of all the Peace Corps rules/procedures as well as a health clinic day where we will have our final medical check-up and get more shots than we've ever had in our life. It's possible we'll have some Internet access at our hotel in Atlanta, so we'll post from there if we have a chance.

On Friday, June 20th, we depart from Atlanta and fly to Dakar, Senegal overnight. From there we will be loaded onto a bus and will travel just across the border to our home for the next three months, Rosso, Mauritania. At this point we will probably not have much time or access to the Internet, so you may have to wait for an update for a while. We'd really appreciate hearing from you by mail though...so keep the letters coming!

Thank you very much to everyone who has been helping and supporting us through this transitory period, especially to our families for all their support. We'll be thinking of you all the time!

P.S. Happy Birthday Annie!

Send us mail!

Okay, so I was wrong when I said I wouldn't be posting again, because here it is one day later and I have something else to write. I just wanted to let you all know that you can start sending us letters NOW!!! Peace Corps has told us that mail service from the U.S. to Mauritania can take up to 3-4 weeks, and seeing that we will be there in less than two, I want to encourage you to start writing ASAP. We've heard the first few weeks can be a difficult adjustment, so any encouraging letters from home would be greatly appreciated!

Our address will always remain on the right hand margin of this blog but here it is again:

Katie & Mike Yunghans, PCTs
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 222
Nouakchott, Mauritania
West Africa
Par Avion (Air Mail)

Here are some other helpful hints about sending mail:
1. Address the envelope in red ink.
2. Draw religious symbols (any religion is okay) on the outside of the envelope.
3. Don't include anything valuable inside like checks or cash.
4. Number your letters so we know if they arrive out of order or if one is missing.
5. If sending a postcard, put it in an envelope, as they tend to get lost or stolen.

A number of you have mentioned wanting to send care packages, but for now just focus on letters. They will arrive much faster and give us a good boost in morale, which is what we'll be needing most. Hopefully if we pack well enough, we should have all the supplies we need for a while, and care packages will be much more useful down the road a bit.

I'm not sure how much postage is required on a letter to Mauritania, but make sure to send by AIR MAIL because I've heard that ground mail takes months to arrive instead of weeks. We look forward to hearing from all of you!

12 more days!

Hey everyone!

Sorry we haven't posted anything in a while. It's been a little busy around here. Last Friday Mike and I successfully moved out of our Lawrence aparment and moved all our stuff to Bob & Karen's (Mike's parents) house in Kansas City. Big THANK YOUs go to all who helped us get our stuff together and moved because it was a very big job.

Mike and I are now living in Piper (AKA KCK) with his parents. We joke that it is kind of preparing us for Mauritania in a way since they have no cable tv and only dial-up Internet access. However, it has been really great to spend time with our families before our departure on June 17th.

Over the past week we've been taking care of some important pre-departure activities...shopping, changing addresses, organizing all the stuff from our apartment in the Yunghans basement, and seeing Sex & the City and Indiana Jones!!! Next Friday we're having our going away party and it looks like many friends and family are planning to attend.

The next week and a half will probably be pretty busy for us, and with the limited Internet, I'm not sure if we'll have a chance to post again before we leave. So possibly the next time you hear from us we'll be on the road, either in Atlanta or Africa!!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!
Katie

hmmm...remember when Homer Simpson cloned himself to get more done?

Hello anyone, 

This is Mike.  One month to go.  Our apartment looks like all the rooms simultaneously threw up.  But I guess that's part of packing.  We've purchased many fun new items: mosquito tent, solar shower, shortwave radio, laptop computer, Africa guitar (thanks Chuck), and my favorite, a leatherman multi-tool.  I now carry a tool on my belt like a tool.  I've also taken many steps to end my tenure as a guitar teacher in Lawrence.  It's been hard letting go of many students.  It's a weird job to have and even more strange when you have to quit.  It's like having 40 bosses you get to teach and you enjoy their company.  

We have also had many events and more to come.  The most exciting for me, was my sister's wedding.  Regina and I were only a year apart growing up so we are extremely close.  She was married to Chad Kraus (another NY architect) on a ranch in the Tall Grass Prairie.  It was a ballsy move, but they had a perfect weekend weather-wise (look for the pictures).  We also had Katie's sister's graduation and my two engaged friends' (Casey and Jenny) graduation.  That means all we have left is:  Ben and Amber's wedding, Brendan's 30th b-day, Adam's wedding, a family reunion, 4 going away parties, moving, oh and record a cd with my band.  Gotta go.

Mike  

Round One

We just had our first round of good-byes with family :(  Mike's sister, brand new brother-in-law, and his brother's family will not be seeing us again before we depart.  It was rough...and made even more difficult knowing that we will have several more tearful partings to get through before we go.  But...that's to be expected I guess.

On a more happy note, we've had several fun experiences over the past couple weeks to recount.  First, my sister Annie graduated with her Master of Science from Illinois State University (Go Redbirds!) on May 10th.  Mike, William, Dad, Aunt Liz, Momo & I all joined Annie in Normal-Bloomington for the commencement ceremony and had a great time (pictured are Annie and Will).  Mike and I also were able to make a short side trip to Champaign, IL to meet a fellow PC RIM invitee named Becky Robinson.

This past week we were able to spend a lot of time with Mike's family in preparation for his sister Regina's wedding on May 17th.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful and took place outside on the tallgrass prairie near Council Grove, KS.  The reception was also outside at Mike's parents' house in Kansas City.  I have a few pictures but they don't do justice to the beauty of the actual experience.  

We'll also take this opportunity to introduce you to a new feature of our blog: Our Photos.  I've uploaded several photos both current and past to this site.  Hope you enjoy browsing through them.  There are several of Regina and Chad's wedding, although I didn't take any of the actual ceremony or at the reception because I was too busy enjoying the experience.  

I've been trying to get Mike to post again, but it's kind of like pulling teeth so far.  Maybe he'll have something to say about the wedding?? (Hint Hint Mike)

Comments Needed

Please let us know you are reading our blog by leaving us comments!!!   We really like them :) and are happy to know that somewhere out there, someone is paying attention to what we write here.  We'd also like to know if there are any particular topics you'd like us to cover or questions we can answer for you on this blog.

I'm currently procrastinating from packing up the apartment...so I'd better get back to work.  Our lease is up at the end of the month and then we'll be staying with our parents for the first couple weeks of June before we leave.  Yikes...lots to do.

Hey, does anyone know someone that needs a car?  I'll be putting my Scion on the market soon!