It's been an amazing 6 months since I've last made a blog post. Whoopss.
I officially leave in 23 days. Although I am dreading the three days of travel it will take to get to Malawi, I am super excited.
The question I get most often however is "are you nervous?" I know I stumble over the answer to this question nearly every time I am asked, but to be honest I'm full of so many emotions that it's hard to express what I really feel.
Let me break it down: I was extremely nervous and excited let's say around August of last year (right before my last post) when I thought that I was leaving before 2012. Since things changed so much and so suddenly and I've had all of this "free time" I guess I haven't really let reality sink in. I'm so excited, I really am, and yes, I am nervous, but I'm more nervous about stupid things, like what am I going to wear, and am I going to be sleeping in a hammock for 27 months, than the bigger picture. (biggest run on sentence ever) I guess when I face the real reality I will be nervous, or the day I get on that plane in Grand Rapids, or maybe even next week at my "going away party" when I'm crying the entire time.
I am nervous to leave my cozy little home, and this super small town, binge eating for the last six months and the comfort of my parents (especially since I've gotten really used to being so spoiled), but I'm really ready to get going, to cross the ocean, to really try and make a difference. Like everyone who has ever been a peace corps volunteer (PCV) suggests, I'm trying not to have expectations, and maybe that is the real root of this un-nervousness. I guess we will find out in the weeks to come when I do a 180 on my emotions.
My goal is to make 23 the best year of my life thus far (16 days away) and really embrace a new culture, a new way of life, and new expectations. I feel really blessed, and I'm ready to try and give that feeling to someone else.
On a side note, I am going to try to be more diligent about writing posts while I'm in Malawi, so stay tuned, don't lose faith in my blogging just yet.
On an extra side note, If you want to send me packages, letters, love, ect, my address has been updated
--> and you can send them now, I'll probably beat them there since it takes a multiple weeks for them to arrive.
