Making Arrangements...

So plans are being made, things are moving faster...

September 3rd: Going away party with the youth

September 6th: Moving out of my apartment to my parent's house

September 18th: NKOTB concert in Toronto with Amy

September 20th @ 8:05am: Fly from Traverse City to Philadelphia (with a stop in Detroit, of course. Why would there be a direct flight?)

September 20th & 21st: Staging (orientation)

September 22nd: Travel from Philadephia to New York City

September 22nd @ 9:35pm: Fly from New York City to Frankfurt, Germany

September 23rd @ 1:45pm: Travel from Frankfurt, Germany to Baku, Azerbaijan

Then training will begin...

The Countdown...

So it's been awhile, but I've been busy. I was done with work at the bank on July 3rd - I know that might seem really early since I don't actually leave until September 21st, but I've had a lot to do since then. For the week after that I counseled at High Adventure Camp in Pentwater. It was great! I haven't been at a mainstream camp in years and it was a nice break - can I do two camps every year? Oh wait...

Then I was home for a week. I worked on recruiting staff for Camp New Day in August and on being lazy... Then I went to Family Camp with church and had a great week with friends and the youth. It was amazingly relaxing...it was an odd sensation at camp, especially since it was at the same place where I had just had an action-packed week a couple weeks earlier.


Then back home for another week. That week was major Camp New Day prep.! Finalizing staff, preparing supplies, deciding on evening activities, and on and on. It was a great week...not without troubles and a couple of high maintenance campers, but hey, that's camp. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end the experience. After last year I was questioning whether I would even return, but I did and I'm really glad. They're currently looking for a replacement for me, but no one yet, so right now I'm organizing all of my materials to leave for them since the odds are that I won't be reviewing it with them in person.


So after camp was Michelle's wedding - what a great weekend! I'm so glad I was still in the country for it...it was a beautiful day and I saw people I hadn't seen in a long time. Michelle was beautiful and everything went off without a hitch.

So now reality is sinking in...I'm packing and organizing camp stuff. I'm making lists of everything that I need to do before I leave. I gave notice at my apartment. I'm planning to see people for the last time. I went and renewed my driver's license early so that when I return in 2010 I'll have an unexpired license. I'm in Jenison for a little over three weeks. Then two weeks at my parent's. Then it's off for parts unknown...

5 weeks, 2 days...

In My Spare Time...

So here's a quick note to update everyone on my status. My last day at work is the day after tomorrow and I still have a TON to do (I'm going to stay and work at church through the end of the summer, though). After that I'm counseling at a camp in Pentwater for a week. Then I have three weeks before the next camp, Camp New Day. I'm actually in charge at Camp New Day and will have lots of preparation things to fill those three weeks - picking up craft supplies, assigning cabins, making last minute adjustments to the evening activities, etc. Speaking of which, do you know anyone interested in being a camp counselor?

I haven't started my language lessons yet - I figure I'll have plenty of time after the first week of camp is over. I got as far as finding out that there are no w's in the Azerbaijani alphabet. That should be interesting considering my name. I have met some of the other volunteers that I'll be going with (online, not in person) and they're from all over the country. But so far I've just met people who will be in the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and Youth Development programs, none that are joining me in the Community Economic Development program.

My list is started and I've done some shopping (which means I've gotten as far as purchasing my luggage).
So the next couple of months should be interesting! Stay tuned!

The Right Thing To Do...

So I gave my notice at work earlier this week. It went about as smooth as it could go for someone who's been there almost six years (it was hard, but exciting at the same time). The next day the announcement went out that I'd be leaving and my last day would be July 3rd. The phone started ringing and email replies started popping up in my inbox right away...It was quite the shocker to send out, even more so since it was in first person - coming from me about me, the HR person. There were lots of congratulations and good lucks, along with questions like "Where is Azerbaijan?" and "What will you do there?" and "Do you have to go through training for this?" I think my favorite was having to tell someone that no, this is not a test to make sure you're reading your announcement emails.

It was great to get a response like that - and it reassured me that I'm doing the right thing. Most everyone was surprised, but after the shock wore off multiple people were telling me that they could really see me doing this, that it suits me. That was great to hear and seems like a great premonition for the future!

On another note, I'm already stressing and making tons of lists about all the things that I want to accomplish at work before I'm done...I don't want to leave them in a bind!

The Mission

For those of you that are not familiar with the Peace Corps, here is some basic information and the link to their website.

The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:

• Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
• Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
• Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/