last days in the states...

"Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?"
                  -- Bob Marley

Bem vindo!

In about 5 days I will fly on a plane for 15 hrs with a group of 70 other health and education volunteers to the beautiful country of Mozambique! Bordered by Tanzania to the north, and South Africa along the southwest. Moz will now be my new "home." How do I put that into perspective? Well let's just say I'm feeling a BAG of emotions, but after an application process which seemed like forever, I am ready to begin a new challenge.

"So why the Peace Corps? What will you be doing?" I will be a Community Health Promoter for HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Project. Its my job to work alongside members of the community organizations and/or NGOs to strengthen their HIV/AIDS outreach programs. Not knowing the full details of my assignment, I anticipate a great amount of patience and hard work. Also within the three months of training, I'll be learning Mozambique's official language, Portuguese.(thank goodness for Spanish background!!) And of course I'll learn some of the local languages that are spoken. I love learning new languages!

Though the initial shock has worn off, I still cant believe I was "chosen" for this assignment. On a random day, I had a gut feeling that my e-mail inbox was going to "wow" me, so I logged in and saw that I was invited to serve in the Peace Corps. I was shocked......really shocked..... And well six weeks later here I am. Never thought twice about my decision to join. Its hard leaving ppl you love, your comfort zone, and your familiarity, but I look at it like this: you only live ONCE! So embrace every opportunity that you're given. To give two years of my life to helping others, seeing and living in a world other than my own, and becoming part of a community is priceless to me. Its a beautiful EXPERIENCE! So I hope throughout my blogs you feel what I feel.....I'm sure you will.

For my last few days in Americaland I will lay around the house, eat as much pizza and junk food as I can, and make my last minute phone calls to friends and family. And well, I guess this is it. The best is yet to come. A great challenge lies ahead....


Next stop....the motherland.
Are you ready?