25 or 6 to 4

I can't believe there are only 25 days left before I leave! I haven't really been paying attention or counting down, and when I found out today there were only 25 days left...well, lets just say I definitely felt the butterflies start fluttering around inside of me!

Everything is going pretty great though! I had to re-do my dental and the paperwork that goes along with that and re-send it in. Thankfully there were no issues and Peace Corps responded super fast - it was cleared within a few days. I have gotten a ton of emails from the Ukrainian headquarters regarding staging information as well as  PDF's and links to websites full of helpful advice and facts/statistics on what to expect living and working in the Former Soviet Union. Yesterday I called the Peace Corps travel agency and reserved my airline ticket to D.C for an early Monday morning flight on the 12th. Things are happening and happening quickly! I can't even believe it.

So now I have 25 days to start gathering my life together and figuring out how to pack it into a few suitcases. I am trying to eat as much Chick-fil-a, chinese food and tacos as possible before I am faced with the daunting task of eating beets and  meat jello on the daily ( I kid you not- its jello with chunks of meat in it...please see attached picture). I am drinking rum and tequila before its vodka central (which really isn't a big deal, lets be real), and hitting the beach before I am 27 inches deep in snow haha! Living it up here in sunny Florida makes it so much easier to dive into this crazy, exciting adventure head first with the biggest smile on my face. Although I  love Florida so much, I truly can't wait to begin my Peace Corps journey!

 I will be updating again soon closer to my departure! Time to buckle down and start preparing! Ah!!

Mmm! Meat Jello! Yumm!

p.s.-bonus points to anyone who knows where the title of today's blog comes from!

40 Days and 40 Nights

I decided that although I still have a few weeks to go until I depart for the Peace Corps, I might as well get this blog thing set up and running. I really am challenging myself to keep up with this blog so I can document this amazing journey I am about to go on as well as share with everyone back home my new life in Ukraine! I mean, I'm pretty terrible at doing the whole journal thing, but I figured its worth a try!

I'm still having a hard time believing that I am really leaving...maybe because I have been in this spot before...My original invitation was to Guatemala leaving January 3rd 2012. We were called 17 days before departure and told that they were cancelling our program due to how unsafe and unstable the country was. Yeah. That sucked. I know it was for the best and everything happens for a reason and all that jazz, but it still was terrifying to feel like I was suddenly having to start over. Thankfully the Peace Corps reacted like pros and I received a new assignment pretty quickly. So now I am off to Eastern Europe! The entire process that has been my Peace Corps journey has been such a crazy and emotional ride. I get asked all the time if I am nervous or scared, and to be honest, I never have been until this past week. It really hit me that this born and raised Florida girl is moving to weather that has been hanging around -17 degrees for about 5 days. THAT'S what I am scared about! The whole cold weather and layering clothes and proper shoes (aka not flip flops) thing...ah!! Hahaha! But in all honesty, I am not at all nervous. I'm excited. A little overwhelmed. But more anxious than anything. I want to be there and learning new languages and ways of life and meeting people and laughing at how ridiculous I will look in 38472 layers! I am beyond ready to finally DO it. So, 40 days to go before I finally get to begin my dream of Peace Corps service. But who's counting?