Hey all- thought I would write a little update if anyone out there is reading this at the moment.
I am still anxiously awaiting any and all news that the Peace Corps is willing to send me, and in the meantime I am trying to see all of my friends and spend as much time with my family as possible. I just read my last post and realize that when I wrote it I was still working at Lochner. I have since quit there and am currently working as a substitute instructional assistant (teaching aid and/or assistant) for both general education classes and special education classes. Other than being a lot of fun ( I can't believe they pay me to do it!) I am also learning a ton of things that will be really helpful to me both when I have my own class in Africa and when I teach in the future. Subbing has really been helpful for me, in that it has helped me figure out that teaching really is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Subbing also gives me the flexability to NOT work when I want to. For example, this weekend my step-brother Brian and I took a little roadtrip to California, so that he could look at a school that he is going to there and so that I could see my good friends Nikki and Camille. With a "real job" there is no way that I would be able to do that and having that kind of flexability when I am planning on leaving the country for such an extended period of time is really excellent.
Speaking of my friend Camille, she is also going to Africa with the Peace Corps this February. She and my friend Chris are both leaving next month and seeing them gearing up to go has really started to make the whole thing closer to reality for me. While at times leaving still seems like a pipe-dream, when I am talking to them (even about things as mundane as the endless paperwork) it somehow comes closer to fruition in my mind. I am really excited that I will be able to share (as much as anyone can) this totally amazing experience with two such amazing friends. As both of them will also be writting blogs (Camille in Senegal in West Africa and Chris in French Guyana in South America) I will also add links to them here (as soon as I figure out how!).
I am also trying to put together a list of what to take, that I will hopefully be posting here soon!
