2 days left

First, let me say I had a blast in Washington DC. I know, right after I arrived home from Alaska, a few days later I turned around and flew the other direction. A friend of mine lives in Arlington right near DC, where he works, and I went and visited him for 5 days. It was fun. I have never been to DC and I had not seen Brandon in a long time, so it seemed fitting to visit him and get to see all the fun sites right before I left. The weather was perfect, not typical DC weather; 80 degrees, not a cloud in sight, and no humidity. I loved walking around seeing all the monuments, my favorite was FDR's. I loved the National Archives. We saw the Constitution, the Declaration, one of the 4 original copies of the Magna Carta, and the Louisiana Purchase. But I would have to say my favorite part of the whole trip was the football game. Brandon had tickets to the Redskins football game and the best part? They were playing the Seattle Seahawks. I loved it. Seahawks lost in overtime, but it was a great game and just a fun experience.

So, I think it has hit me these last few days how little time I have left. I remember when I was still working at True Value, and one of my co-workers and I were counting down until I left and it was 191 days. I can't believe it's 2. 2 full days, since I leave early Sunday. In less than a week I will be in Samoa. We leave Tuesday evening for Samoa.

I think my stress level is what's getting to me now. Trying to pack; we are allowed 2 bags which cannot exceed 80 lbs combined and no one bag can be heavier than 50 lbs. It's hard to be sure what I will need. We can buy a lot of clothes in Samoa and even have them tailored for fairly cheap, but how long until we have that opportunity. I keep waking up in the middle of the night remembering things I want to bring. Then once I try and pre-pack, it exceeds 80 lbs. Trying to pack up my room; mom doesn't want a lot of things of mine lying around while I am gone. So we have a storage unit that I have been running back and forth between. And I think the thing that is the hardest for me is realizing that my grandpa (who is 101 years old for those of you who don't know) probably won't be alive when I return. I used to think without a doubt he would be. Until very recently he was still mentally and physically kicking. But he's getting worse, although he does have better and worse days. So that's been a little hard.

But I am excited. I was reading through my Welcome booklet and reading stories of other volunteers and that got me really ready to go. I've spent so much time getting ready to go, and now it's here. I promise to post my address the second I get it. And if I don't because we have a lot happening during the pre-training, my parents will have it and feel free to contact them and get it. And it won't change the whole time I am there, even though I might move, our mailing address is a box number at the PC office in Apia, regardless of what island I will be living on in the end.

So there it is. The next time I post might be awhile, and it will most certaintly be once I get to Samoa. I promise to continue to keep everyone updated, although right now I am not certain how often I will have that chance.

Tofa! ( That means goodbye)