I'm now in the final stages of packing. It seems strange to think of how much time in the past month/(s) have been devoted to this task, but it means so much more than just filling a suitcase. With every item that makes the list it means questioning what I'll really want to have when I am there. It also continues to circle back to the basic point that I have no idea what life will actually be like in Guinea.

What will I really miss most, and be the most sad to leave behind? I think it is a difficult decision because the things I most want to pack are of course those that cannot be fit into a suitcase. I will want those people who need no explanation to know how I'm feeling or what I am really thinking. I'll want the comfort associated with familiar surroundings and actually knowing how to do things independently. Packing, it becomes not such a simple task when each item crossed off the list is supposed to symbolize being one step closer to being ready to depart.

It's been an interesting few months back in Wisconsin. Saying good-bye to life in Seattle was hard. It sucked. It was made better only with the realization that I was leaving for a purpose, so that I could take on a new adventure, even if I had to wait a few months to get started. And the waiting wasn't actually a blessing in itself...for the first time in a long time I was in attendance at all family gatherings, my older brother's wedding, and the full holiday season (complete with lots of snow).

And now...I'm feeling like the time crept by so quickly...I know that 'creeping quickly' isn't a very logical way to reflect upon time. But, it's exactly how things have been going! Looking back this year has been filled with wonderful memories and significant events. Separately remembered, they seems to cover much more than one year. But, when I look back to last January when I filled out my Peace Corps application, it feels like only yesterday.

Perhaps its because I am as excited to be starting this adventure now as I was a full year ago, and perhaps its because I am trying to convince everyone around me (and myself) that two years will fly by...Even if I have very little idea of what will be occupying that time.

Guinea...8 days...Here I come!!

~amy