In a little more than twenty-four hours, I will be leaving the summer for winter.

**I am horrible at beginnings, so true to my nature this first entry is going to follow no logical sequence, and you'll receive a gold star if you're able to follow the nonexistent transitions. 

When Brittany offered to pass this blog onto me, I was really pumped. For one, it meant that I could avoid the not-so-complicated-but-I-would-find-it-challenging process of creating my own blog, and secondly, it is far more meaningful to know my stories are a continuation of her experiences in Moldova, only in some parallel/alternative universe known as Swaziland. 

For all those interested, here's a map! 

It's actually a kingdom, just in case you were curious. Also, I feel super-fancy for inserting a picture.

I can never really get over how quickly you can travel from one place to another, that in a matter of hours, I'll be transplanted to a place I can't really even fully picture. I suppose things were much different when boats were the primary form of travel...

Anyways... 

In all honesty, I am so excited for this incredible opportunity.  I've been wanting to join the Peace Corps for several years now and am thrilled to finally be embarking on this journey. 

I just spent the past year at SIT Graduate Institute working on my master's in intercultural service, leadership and management. My time in the Peace Corps will actually count towards my master's degree, serving as my practicum. This means at some point, I will be writing a fifty page paper. WOOO. But I am pumped and ready to take all of the pearls of wisdom I've gathered from grad school with me to Swaziland, and at the same time fully prepared to throw everything out the window once I'm there. The fact that there's so much I don't know is less daunting than it is thrilling... and clinging to this mentality is the best way to ensure I keep an open mind, or at least handle anything that comes my way with a smile. While I could use this as a platform to rant about uncertainties regarding development... I think it is important to take this opportunity for what it is, and know that I am making the most of it. It's time to shape my experience, yo.

I'll be working in the youth development sector, which is coupled with health education.  After having spent the last three summers working as a camp counselor, I'm ecstatic to be working with youth again--bring on the ice breakers, ridiculous games, and bottomless creativity. 

I'm also looking forward to breathing some fresh air.  Although I've always found the song "Blacking out the Friction" by Death Cab for Cutie really intriguing--"I think that it's brainless to assume that making changes to your window's view will give a new perspective", I think sometimes it's too easy to fall within a specific frame of mind, and let that guide how you see everything. While I don't know that I need to be in a new place to bring on new ways of looking at life, (perhaps the critique embodied in the song), I think it's crucial to embrace movement, and everything that comes with it.

While I'll definitely always be woods forever (words from one of the most ridiculous songs of all time)...

One of my favorite places in the 603

It is hard to ignore the fact that for the next 27 months I am going to be calling somewhere in Swaziland home. And that at some point, unpredictable to me now, and probably unrecognizable to me then, I will be looking at places once unfamiliar, as if life would be abnormal without them. 

**I would like to note that the more tired I grow, the more laughably philosophical I become... 

I think I'm going to leave it here for tonight... seeing as I'm supposed to be awake again in 3.5 hours. Oops. I thought it would be wise to relax a little after wrestling with my suitcases for an hour. Somehow... at least according to my scale... I've managed to be well below the weight allowance (HUZZAH). I've definitely looked at the contents of my suitcase/giant backpack enough to know what I've packed, however that does not bring any sort of reassurance that I've packed anything that I am going to need or use... I tried to follow some advice from my friend Aidan, who did PC in the Dominican Republic... in essence, he said to think about what I use on a daily basis, and compare that to what I pack. So, going off of that, I have everything--and more, than I need, fo sho. 

In closing, I dedicate this entry to Philly. 

Until next time, 

Pam