Countdown

I've been meaning to add another post for a while now since I really dislike seeing the words "Check our our wishlist" at the top of our blog every time I log in.  It seems especially callous given that international news reports indicate that many Mauritanians are struggling to provide basic needs for their families due to the sky-rocketing prices of grain, rice and other staples.  There is a very good article and video from the Washington Post discussing the severity of the current situation in RIM.

Today is also my 27th birthday and it is amazing for me to realize that if everything goes as planned I won't be celebrating another birthday in the U.S. until I turn 30!  Now that it is almost May, we are definitely entering the countdown period.  I only have seven more scheduled nights at work, partly thanks to some vacation days I'll be taking in mid-May.  We'll be using that time to celebrate some important family events, my sister's graduate school graduation and Mike's sister's wedding, to attempt to pack up our apartment, and to enjoy the beautiful springtime weather.

I'll stop there, as I have to make a conscious effort to keep things short since I have a very bad tendency to ramble.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Thank you so much for reading our blog and I hope to see you before we leave Kansas on June 17th (Mike's birthday)!  We have a going away get together in the works for June 13th, so put it on your calendars...and yes, it is a Friday, but Friday the 13th has been good to us (Mike proposed on Friday the 13th and we almost got married on a Friday the 13th also).

Check out our wishlist

Wow...the title of this post makes me sound really greedy.

Actually, I'm posting this because we've had several people asking about what we need before we leave.

You can get to our wishlist by clicking on the title of this post or by using the link on the right hand side of this page (just click on the word "Wishlist" over to the right).

If you have any questions about the list or about where/how to send items you can leave comments on our blog, email, call or talk to me in person before we depart.

Hope this is useful for everyone!

P.S. I just can't resist blogging about how incredibly AWESOME it is that KU won the NCAA National Championship right before we leave! We are going to be seriously deprived of KU basketball while we are in RIM...but I think that AMAZING game will keep us on a high for quite some time. Hopefully it won't have to last another twenty years though :)

Contribution Schmontribution

Yes it's true. I'm not the best on following through with my computerized communications. However, I am contributing to the blog now (2 months before we leave) just to get off to a good start. Even though Katie and I are probably the only people reading this right now. So Katie...this one's for you. Each day brings us closer and closer and I become more nevous and excited for the unknown. I'm glad you are preparing both of us with your research, planning, and list after list after list. I like to think I contribute in my own way. Or at least I will; when it comes time to move; and I will lift many heavy things. Mike out.

Getting started

We are down to less than three months left before our departure for the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (RIM). Mike and I have so much to do before June 17th it makes my head hurt, but I know we'll manage to get things done somehow. Right now we're trying to brush up our very rusty French skills with daily lessons on Rosetta Stone. I've also been making numerous lists of things to pack and take care of before we leave.

Although I'm very nervous about our upcoming departure, I am also very excited and ready for a change. I've been working night shift for the past three years, and it is really starting to mess up my internal clock. Although I dearly love everyone at the Birthplace, it will be nice to get back to a more regular schedule again.

However, I'm trading one difficulty in for a multitude of others. Mike and I will not only be learning a new language, we'll also have to adjust to a completely different climate, a new culture, and a drastically different standard of living. But as they say...nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Mike and I hope to keep this blog updated throughout our 27 months of training and service with Peace Corps in RIM. Once we arrive in Africa though, the posts may become a bit sporadic as I'm not sure we will have electricity, let alone Internet access. But according to current RIM volunteers that we've heard from, even those at sites with no electricity get to come in to the capital city once in a while for inservices, vacations, etc.

It's now almost 8:30 am and I have been up all night...so it's time for me to go to bed! We'll be posting more soon (and hopefully Mike will be an equal contributer...we shall see)!
Katie