In the beginning

Tuesday March 30, 2010 I picked up my phone to call my mom (to tell her something ridiculous) and noticed I had a missed call from a number with a 201 area code - I wondered if it could possibly be the placement office in Washington. I immediately check my voice mail & I was right! I called them back and they asked if I would be available to leave earlier than August.  I said "sure, I could leave tomorrow" and before I knew it the placement officer said "Ok, I'm going to Fed-Ex the invitation to you today".  At that point, I clarified a few things (the date - May 18th and location - the Pacific), thanked her & hung up to call my family.  Of course my parents didn't answer their phones - but it ended up working out in the end because Heidi convinced me to tell them in person.  It killed me all day, but I waited until everyone got home from work.  I've never seen my parents SO SHOCKED. Once the initial shock wore off, they were very happy for me.  Then the wait began...

I've never felt so impatient in my life.  The package didn't come Wednesday (Lala's birthday) and it made me a little crazier - so I took Thursday off from work to wait for it at home.  By 10am I couldn't wait anymore, so I went to the gym to run off my anxiety.  When I got back, there was a package on the front porch.  I called my mom to see where she was & if she could come home immediately - she was getting her hair done and the color was on, so she told me to meet her there.  I called my dad and told him to meet me at the salon too.  My sisters weren't there, but were able to conference call in to hear me open and announce my country of service.

FIJI!  I was so excited.  It was probably the most exciting moment of my life....I have a pretty uneventful life, so this was BIG.  The strange thing is, when I decided to apply to the Peace Corps, Fiji was the first country my dad and I looked. Daddy is always right.

The list of things to do is a little overwhelming- I cannot even begin to think about packing - every day I think of something else to add to my checklist.

I am very excited about my new adventure & I hope you will follow along with me!