A new gadget and a new friend.

Well today was quite an eventful day, as far as my last days in America go. Today I went to lunch will a fellow Mizzou Alumni, TJ Graven who is also leaving for the Peace Corps.

First off, we went and got Indian food and we enough naan to hold me over for a little while at least. Then we took a trip to all future PCV's favorite store, REI, where we found lots of nifty gadgets and plenty of backpacks with enough straps to make any true outdoorsey person go crazy. From there we headed to the world famous (or at least Mid-West famous) Ted Drewes frozen custard for a Cardinal Sin. All-in-all the lunch meeting was quite successful and it was nice to talk to someone who is in the same boat and is going through the same things I am.

TJ is leaving for Madagascar a week from today. While Madagascar sounds like a great place to visit, especially if King Julian and the Penguins are there to greet you, the harsh reality is that Madagascar the movie is not the same as Madagascar the country! I wish TJ the best of luck and I know he's going to love it there! The diversity of plants and animals alone is enough to make any scientist drool, and the prospect of adopting a lemur as a house pet could make the lack of electricity easier to overlook.

If you want to follow his Peace Corps adventures. http://www.tjargon.com/index.html

After I got home and took a much needed nap, I woke up to my Kindle on the kitchen island :) Yes, I broke down and bought the second generation Amazon Kindle. This way I am not using my very limited weight limits to bring books, instead I can bring hundreds of books in my purse.

I just started downloading books, but so far so good. I can keep you posted on my first impressions of the Kindle if you are also interested in getting one.

All-in-all it was a great day and I look forward to the going-away party this weekend :)

Fighting the good fight.

I just wanted to use this opportunity to promote a great cause some great women are fighting for.

In September of 2009, our amazing friend Sarah Jo lost her life to leukemia. Sarah Jo was a person you wanted to be around and spend time with. In addition to being awesome, she was also extremely intelligent and we miss her sincerely.

To honor her memory, two Kappa Delta women have decided to run a MARATHON, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I just wanted to use this time to thank them so much for all they have done to honor Sarah Jo's memory and to help find a cure to these terrible cancers. I am very very proud to call both of them friends and sisters.

Here are their pages if you want more information!

Thank you Ali and Keira. AOT.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/mid/rnr10/kstory

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/cmc10/agabel



Sarah Christopher, myself and Sarah Jo early in the morning at the 2007 Homecoming Parade.




Our retro themed sorority party!

18 days.

Just 18 days left in America, wow. I cannot believe it.

I just got back from one final south Florida trip and overall, was one of the better flying/ vacation experiences I have ever had. I am hoping my good fortune continues for my upcoming overseas adventure. First of all, Atlanta's airport was seemingly more organized and less chaotic, which seemed to help the overall trip experience. Perhaps the 2 feet of snow on the East Coast helped calm things down, but in general AirTran worked out well, despite its past record of numerous failures.

There is quite a lot to do in the coming weeks. I went and saw my Grandparents in Sebring, Florida one last time before my journey, and all in all, I enjoyed getting a small glimpse into their lives. Now I have Mardi Gras this weekend, my cousin Nick's birthday party, some shopping, quite a few dinners out, my going away party and hopefully a final trip to CoMo (Columbia, Missouri) to visit my BELOVED Alma Mater and my siblings.

RIght now I am watching every episode of The Big Bang Theory and trying to get all my loose ends tied up and make a final packing list. The last big decision is one bag or two. I guess we will have to wait and see....

Stay tuned :)

Things to do.

Just under 5 weeks until I leave for Morocco and boy, is there a lot to do!

In addition to attaining medical information about every shot I have ever gotten since birth, trying to find a way to leave for Morocco debt free and making plans for my last month, I realized there is quite of lot of "America" things I want to do.

Here's a short list of "America" things I want to do one last (or more) times:
-Watch the Penguins during the "March of the Penguins" every Sunday at the St. Louis Zoo.
-Eat some yummy Fortels pizza.
-Enjoy a "Cardinal Sin" from the one and only Ted Drewes Frozen Custard on Chippewa.
-Finally get a reuben sub from Mom's Deli.
-Eat as much Mellow Mushroom Pizza as humanly possible.
-Make one last trip to Florida, this time actually making it to the keys.
-Go up in the Arch just one more time.
-A Gus's pretzel bratwurst
-Go to a play at the Fox Theatre.
-Helen Fitzgerald's chicken wings.
-A Thursday night at Harpos!
-One last walk through the quad.
-See all my friends!

Right now I am watching the State of the Union, which is about as American as apple pie, and trying to celebrate the little time I have left :)

Hope to write again soon!

Packing and Preparing.

I am truly convinced that the hardest part of any journey is the preparation and packing. Due to the stress that I can already feel building, I have decided that I am going to take a "no stress" attitude towards this process meaning that I will bring what fits and whatever I don't bring, I can buy while I am there. I am hoping this theory works out but for now, its what I am going with.

Some things that are DEFINETLY coming with me are:
- All of my seasons of The West Wing
- My Apple Macbook.
- My green JCrew floral pullover
- LOTS of pictures from home
- My new Chaco sandals that were a great Christmas gift.

Other than that, the bag has some more room so I will be bringing more, but exactly what I am not sure.

Also, I need to get cracking on the language learning. I think my first few weeks in Morocco will make me wish I studied harder while I was in the U.S.

Well thats all for now!