Let's start at the very beginning.

Pinch me. 

Somebody freaking pinch me.

I am currently sitting in Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia writing about my first week in the Peace Corps.

Is this real life? 

Seriously though I cannot believe this is my life right now.

So lets start at the beginning. I landed right around a week ago in this beautiful country. The first few days were spent drinking copious amounts of buna (coffee for those who didn’t become fluent in Amharic over night….aka me) and learning the framework for our projects. The majority of the time we spend in lecture at the hotel. The first venture out was to walk to the Peace Corps office but it wasn’t too noteworthy. Friday night was the first night we were given the chance to go out to dinner with a few of the current volunteers. We were broken down into groups and given a choice where we wanted to go. Naturally I picked the group that when the farthest and required the use of public transportation. Now let me just clarify something real fast for you. Public transportation has no comparison in the states. The only way I can think to describe it is 20 people piled into a minivan that was made to seat 8-9 people at most. In Ethiopia it is an urban legend that opening the windows in a moving vehicle spreads TB. In the western world we know the opposite to be true. So just imagine your first time riding a bus where someone is sitting on your lap, its 70+ degrees, you only know how to say the word for coffee in the language, and the bus driver is yelling at the only Amharic speaking member of your group trying to charge her 3x the amount it should cost for the trip because we are all Ferenji. It was just a situation that you have to sit back and laugh. To make this trip even more adventurous the restaurant where a reservation was made for the group of us to eat decided to do a Valentines day special, meaning we couldn't eat there. So we moved on and got some food. The next morning we had to be up at the crack of dawn. THE CRACK OF DAWN is not an understatement. around 4:30 am we were eating and getting ready to head off to our demistification trip.

My group was one of the lucky groups that were sent to a region that was far enough away that we had to fly. A 45 minute plane ride got us to the city of Bahar Dar. In Bahar Dar we meet up with the girl whose site we would be visiting. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. 

This is where we will pause for a slight lesson on things that could happen in Ethiopia.

Although the people of Ethiopia are extremely kind and generous they also tend to be a bit shale we say..explosive. It wasn't until Kirsten (whose site we were visiting) was blocking my head from a chair that almost smacked me that I truly understood this. Our waitress had gotten in a fight with her boyfriend that went from yelling to a chair being picked up and swung in a matter of 45 seconds. Shortly after this fight broke out it was over and everything was normal again.  A short 3 hour bus trip later and we were in the city of Gimjabet. This is the town that we would be demistified about the Peace Corps experience in. Shortly upon arriving in the town I quickly grew to love it. The people were kind and there was virtually zero harassment. After eating some dinner we walked to the top of this hill side to watch the sunset. It was absolutely breath taking. 

The next morning we woke up and had some delicious pancakes. After that we ventured off to Lake Zengena for a hike. Lake Zangena is said to have the devil living in the water. All I can say is damn the devil picked an amazing spot. 

The first picture is of the lake that we hiked around. The second picture is the view from the hill of the lake looking into town. We spent the rest of the day returning to town eating some dinner, drink some Ethiopian beer and sleep. Breakfast the next morning was an interesting start to the day. We had breakfast at the restaurant next to our hotel. The owner came out and insisted on taking our picture. After taking a group picture of the 6 of us he insisted that he be in a picture and then walked around and room individual pictures of each of us. In Ethiopia ferenjis are movie stars. All ferenjis.

The last day of demist was spent visitng the ag office and a small NGO the was increasing fruit production in farms by means of using plants that will not only benefit the farmer but also the soil. After visiting the ag office it was interesting to see the effects or lack there of that NGOs have on a community. They often drop off expensive equipment without training anyone in the community to use it. After these quick visits we returned to Bahar dar. Spent the afternoon sitting by the famous Lake Tana with other voluteers from the area. 

This coming weekend we will meet our host families and prepare to move on with them.

We did it, we did it, we did it hooray!

This is real life.

I'm sitting here eating breakfast at the King hotel in Addis Ababa with 70 other Peace Corps Trainees. We will not be offical volunteers until we are sworn in three months form now. 

This is our group known as G10. After our safe arrival at the Addis airport. I am so incredibly impressed with the talent and travels that this group is made up of. Everyone holds such a different story but at the same time has a very similar mindset. I guess you have to in order to do this. Were all a special kind of crazy.

The hotel that we are staying at is absolutely beautiful and the staff is incredible. I can already see a glimps of the spirit of the Ethiopian people and it makes my excitement grow.

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face knowing that today I imbark on the greatest journey of my life this far.

This is a picture of the view from my room.

This blog post isn't my best writing but I am still kind of out of it from a lack of sleep. 

I will post more before we leave Addis for training :)

One sleep people.

So I officially leave for Philadelphia for staging tomorrow.
That is one sleep.
Not that I will be sleeping tonight.
If there were a math equation sleep would be an imaginary (i) number between now and the time I leave.

So what whitty and insightful things do I have to say about tomorrow?

Ummm I should start to pack.....

Yes, you guessed it I have yet to pack.
I'm moving to a different country you think I would have my ducks in a line.
I do feel however that any doubts or nervous energy I have, have passed.
I am in the "OMG IM MOVING TO AFRICA" phase again.

Now that the nervous energy is gone I am pushing good juju into the universe.
This has already begun to be one of the best years of my life and I am hoping to continue
the trend.

This is the final countdown

Picture this: 

Rocky, never feeling more on top of his game comes to that final staircase.

The staircase that had defieted him so many times.

He begins to make his way up the stairs and before he knows it he is standing at the top thrusting his fists into the air.

He was ready for the fight of his life.

In my story my suitcase is the stairs. 

With every item I pack I am making my way to the top of the stairs. In just a few short days I will reach the top. With fists thrown in the air I will complete a victory dance that will someday be a vital scene in the movie of my life. I am preparing for the biggest fight of my life, and I too will be victorious. 

T-minus 6 days and counting. 

Wind beneath my wings.

When I offically submitted my application for Peace Corps service one if the first questions that came to mind was how everyone in my life would react.

Would they think I was crazy?

Would they understand?

I can honestly say that from the day I submitted my application I have felt nothing but support and love from everyone in my life. I am less than two weeks from departure now and the amount of comments I receive increases everyday. People who I haven't spoken to in a few years are messaging me telling me I inspire them to follow their dreams. 

Peace corps service is so much bigger than I thought it would be. It really does touch everyone in your life.

Last weekend my friends through me a surprise going away party. Part of the surprise was this video.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JZg0l6KkRSc&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJZg0l6KkRSc%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

If you are considering applying for the Peace Corps just know that it does effect every one in your life. You are not the only person who will change during your experience. 

I am so thankful for this experience and how much closer it has brought me to friends and family already.

I can't wait to see the effects when I return. 

I am because we are.

I should start off with the fact that I am not an attractive cryier . Hollywood can go fuck itself making people think that crying is an art. Well it may be an art but one I have yet to perfect.

This weekend was full of tears. Large, loud, heartfelt tears. Some of joy. Some of pure panic. 

Honestly though how many people can say they had a group if 15-20 friends who showed up to surprise them for any occasion? What did I do to earn these amazing people in my life? I don't understand it. I probably never will. Lord knows I'm not complaining one bit though. 

The suprises started moments after arriving to Portland and continued the whole weekend. It was honestly one of the craziest emotional roller coasters I have ever ridden on. If there was a warning sign posted on this ride it would look a little like this:

Warning: this weekend is not for the faint hearted. Riders will be subjected to extended periods of crying followed by more crying. It is noted that when the rider assumes the ride is close to over a second lap will occur. Panic attacks may occur at any time. 

In all serious though I have never felt so loved in my entire life. Do you know what it's like to be in a room with 20 of your closest friends watchin a video full of even more people who wanted to wish you good luck in life? It's the most overwhelming amazing feeling that anyone could ever experience. I wish I could take that feeling bottle it up and sprinkle it on the world. That is how true peace would be reached. 

These are two of the culprits behind this weekend. If it were not for these two truly amazing people I would never have had the courage or confidence in myself to embark on this journey. I owe it all to them and their love and constant support. They saved me. Plain and simple they are my people. 

To everyone who had a part in this weekend I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you all.

I am because we are. Without you I am nothing. 

Wine and waterproof mascara.

This weekend I am going to Portland for a last hoorah with a few friends. I am beyond excited to see them and get to hangout... But I also can't shake this over whelming sadness.

Don't get me wrong I am beyond excited for the next two years of my life and all that is going to come with it. It's just that I have finally found my people.

The people who get things about me that I don't even get. The people that can make every darkness in my world have a glimmer of hope. I have never had this before. Not like this. Being away from them for two years is scary. In all honesty it is the hardest part about leaving. 

This weekend is a reminder or what I will be leaving behind but it's also a reminder of what I have to come back to.

I am lucky to have found the most supportive and encouraging people in the entire world.

So this weekend I am packing a bottle of wine and my waterproof mascara. 

Time to leave with a bang!

Bring it on portlandia!