Update from Jade

It's been a year and a half since either of us has written on this blog and A LOT has changed. I'll let Sputnik fill you in on her own life but this post will let you know what's going on with me and what you can expect in the future.

Last June I moved away from Louisiana after 3 years of teaching. It was a difficult decision to leave the students and state I loved but I had to look at what was best for me long term. My darling brothers came all the way from Seattle to help move me up to the DC region. I will have to describe that trip in detail another day. I ended up living in Northern Virginia to pursue my masters degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at George Mason University (GMU).

One of the main attractors of GMU for me was their participation with the Peace Corps in a program call Masters International (MI). MI students spend some time (usually about a year) in a graduate program, go into the Peace Corps for a full 27 month service, then return to their campus for a short period of time. Their service assignment is related to their studies and incorporated through a project.

Botswana is the dark blue country.

I am now approaching the end of my second semester at GMU and a little over two weeks ago I was officially accepted into the Peace Corps as a MI student. I will be serving in Botswana working on a HIV/AIDS capacity building project.

It probably goes with out saying that I am beyond excited about this. Serving in the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine since I was a child. I think it's fair to say that I am realizing one of my life goals.

With this life changing event comes a fair amount of preparation. There is the usual amount of doctors visits, etc. that come with traveling overseas in addition to specific requirements which must be fulfilled for the Peace Corps as well as final papers and presentations for my academic life.

One of the Peace Corps expectations is that you will prepare your life for the full 27 months of service. This is no easy feat. For me, a big part of this is basically as soon as I finish with classes moving everything I own from Virginia back to Seattle so I can store it with my family. The big move will be taking place May 29th.

After that I'll have a few months to spend with my family before heading to Orientation (which takes place in the US) on August 12. Immediately after that (August 14), I'll fly to Botswana to begin my Pre-Service Training.

This is a very exciting and busy time in my life which I would like to share with everyone. I intend to use this blog as a means for updates about the whole process. Since Sputnik and I have already established its theme as travel I will do my best to focus on that aspect of this adventure. While I'm still stateside you can expect updates as things occur (shots, acquisition of items, the big move, etc) but once I get to Africa it is entirely possible that my internet will be spotty at best. That is an issue I will have to tackle at a later time.

Today I shall leave you with a picture of the only purchase I have made thus far in preparation of departure (to the right).

~Jade