and I'm off...

I have spent the last couple of weeks exploring DC with my family and visiting friends and have successfully finished my DC "bucket list". If you don't already know, I love making lists-things I want to do, things I have done, anything really.  Now, I am off to South Africa to begin my Peace Corps journey. Why not start it off with a couple of lists?

The plan:
1. Train from DC to Philly departs at 8am tomorrow (Tuesday).
2. PC staging starts at noon.
3. Drive to JFK at 1am.
4. Fly to Johannesburg, South Africa departing at 10:40am on Wednesday and arriving (after 15 hours of flying and skipping several time zones) at 8:35am on Thursday.
5. Drive to Pretoria for training.

A couple of my "lasts":
Last home cooked meal: Guacamole burger, fries, wine, giant bowl of chocolate/peanut butter ice cream.
Last TV show watched: How I Met Your Mother
Last time to drive (for possibly 2 years): Last monday, taking my roommates to Dulles Airport
Last purchase: Melotonin (to make the 15 hour flight pass in happy dreams)

What I'm most exciting about:
-Meeting new people
-Learning a new language
-The beautiful awkwardness of embracing a new culture
-Experiencing the things I can't even imagine

On that note, I'm off! Don't forget to write!

20 Days Until SA

Some important dates:
- Jan 25: Leave for South Africa
- Jan 26: Start community-based training outside of Pretoria
- Mar 22: Start living in my permanent site (TBD)

Greetings in the 4 languages I may learn:
1. IsiZulu: Sawubona or Sanibonani
2. Sepedi: Dumela
3. TshiVenda: Ndaa or Aa
4. XiTsonga: Avuxeni

Unfortunately, I don't even know how to pronounce the language names, let alone the greetings...One step at a time!

Fun Facts:
- South Africa is a little larger than California and Texas.
- South Africa is said to have a "rainbow" of cuisines.
- South Africa has the longest bungee jump (703 ft).
- You can scuba dive with great white sharks in South Africa.