Greetings!

An infected foot has brought me to Freetown this weekend, and thus regular-ish internet access (as regular as internet can be in this country).  This plus being confined to a couch for 3+ days straight has created an ideal environment for making an attempt at a blog post.  A lot's happened over the past few months, but I think I'm starting to develop somewhat of a routine.  I'm amazed every by how much there is still to learn about this country and my community, but certain things are starting to become familiar.  Though my skin will never turn completely black and I will always have "opoto/pumoy/white uman" (all words for a white person) yelled at me most places I go, I'm feeling less and less like a foreigner as I move about this country.

Home is now a village called Kamabai, located in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone (where the mountains are!)  Though I don't have mountains within visible range of my site, I am surrounded by large, lush hills scattered with smooth granite exposures.  It's one of the prettiest places I've seen in Salone, and probably anywhere I've ever been.  Depending on my current view and the time of day, which determines how the light from the warm African sun illuminates the landscape, I have the soundtrack to the Lion King intermittently playing in my brain.  I've already got a number of hiking parties planned with fellow volunteers once the dry season hits and things are altogether less bushy in this country.  So, if you'd like me to save you a spot, book it now!  Be forewarned:  the devil apparently lives at the top of every hill so there is definite risk involved.  I've tried to determine if he's on a weekly rotation or something to better determine how I might avoid confrontation, but this usually just results in a lot of puzzled looks from the locals.  Moral of the story, this place is beautiful which is going to serve my mental health well over the next two years.

School started in September.  "Started".  To this day it's still difficult to be entirely sure that it's running.  I'm teaching at Kamabai Secondary School, which is split into a junior secondary school (the equivalent of middle school in America) and a senior secondary school (the equivalent of high school in America).  I teach Integrated Science to JSS 3's (8th graders) Chemistry to SSS 1's and 2's (freshmen and sophomores), and Biology to SSS 3's and 4's (juniors and seniors).  School, for various reasons, is usually more frustrating than enjoyable. That being said I really love teaching.  I have plenty of students that don't come to class regularly or are regularly late, but I also have a handful of students that love coming to class and are super involved in what I'm teaching them.  Granted, their learning style (rote memorization) is more or less opposite of my teaching style (yeah, but do you get it?) but they're trying, and so am I.  I'm hoping we can find a style that works for all of us, and by that I mean I hope I can teach them to think so that eventually they'll actually be able to learn :)  If any of you have ideas/teaching aids to recommend, please, pass them on!  I'm in the perfect environment to try pretty much anything.  Unless it involves using resources.  I don't have many of those.

For as frustrated as I can become during the school day with the lack of structure and participation by principals, teachers and students alike, it all flips when I return home at the end of the day.  I love my community and the people that make it what it is.  I have my share of frustrations in this area, too, but on the whole I feel loved and accepted by the people of Kamabai, and I love them back.  I've already made some good friends, and there are always plenty of adorable pikin (children) to hang out with.  The kids here are absolutely fantastic.  They're self-sufficient, intelligent, helpful, and warm.  Don't get me wrong, kids will be kids in any country and even if they do offer to fetch water for you it may take them anywhere from an hour to half a day depending on what they find to play with along the way.  This is annoying.  But they're so cute.

So.  How do my days work?  Here's generally how they go:

1) Wake up around 6:00am and start to boil water for coffee

2) Depending on how much water I have, go fetch a bucket or two of water.  I can even carry it on my head without spilling too much!

3) Get dressed for school

4) Finish off the rice from yesterday's ivin tem chop (dinner)

5) Pack my bags for school

6) Head to the school around 7:45am.  I live on the school compound so it's maybe a thirty second walk.

7) Greet/talk to the kids as they start rolling into school (principals and teachers are definitely not around yet)

8) Sit through assembly, which goes from approximately from 8:00-8:40 and consists of students singing church songs.  Generally the same 4 on repeat.  I say approximately because it really doesn't start until around 8:20 and doesn't end until about 9:00...20 minutes into the first period of classes.  When I teach first period, I'm usually crawling out of my skin during this time.

9) I go to school and teach.  When I don't have class I'm usually in the library writing lesson notes or engaging in educational conversations with students.  It's great, I teach them about science and America and they teach me how to speak the local language and refuse marriage proposals.

10) After school I either stick around to talk with teachers or students.  The school doesn't have a Physics teacher, so a lot of the science students enjoy any informal class I have the time to offer them.

11) When I go home, I usually like to sleep for a little while.  When I grap (get up), I'll generally go keep time with someone.  Usually the woman who cooks for me and is also my best friend in the community.  I eat with her, and then will go do a number of things like play volleyball, go down to the market, make lesson notes, grade papers, get more water, do laundry, or drink poyo (palm wine) with a couple teachers who always have it available.  I'm fortunate to live in a community of Limbas (the tribe name.  No, Chrissie, not "lembas".  The language does sound a bit like Elvish) who are known for being the best poyo tappers in the country, and thus the best drinkers of said poyo.

12) I wash with a bucket of water

13) I read for a bit

14) Bedtime between 9:00-10:00pm

15) Sleep, eat, repeat.

I'll finish off this post by saying that I'm really, genuinely happy here.  This country has a lot of problems compounded by a relatively recent 10 years of gruesome civil war.  I'm still trying to comprehend how the war really affected this country.  I still don't really know which problems existed before the war, and which are a result of the war.  In general, this country is rebuilding itself, and I'm here to help in what small way I can.  It's no easy task and it's really difficult to see progress in this type of environment, if any is actually being made.  There are some serious limitations as to what I'll be able to do here, and those limitations are going to be some of my biggest challenges.  So for me, it's reassuring to feel like I'm falling in love with this country more and more every day.  If I accomplish nothing in the two years that I'm here, I'll still walk away having been deeply touched by the people and culture of a country I otherwise would have known nothing about.

Miss you all and love you much.  Sorry I've been so bad at keeping this updated.  It's not easy, but I hope I'll get better at it. If you have questions about anything, please ask them!  It's a lot easier to do this when I have questions to answer.

Lata!

First impressions of Salone

                So I just got off the phone with my parents, who did a wonderful job of putting this whole blog thing into perspective for me (what are parents for, after all?).  Its purpose isn’t to paint you a pretty picture full of colorful words that describe to you everything I’m doing here on a daily basis.  The purpose is to share with you the moments that make the biggest impressions on me to hopefully give you some kind of an idea of what life is like here.  When put that way, I’m excited to get started!  I’m just going to start writing stories and see where it goes.  Bear with me.

                As I said briefly in my last post, the people here are wonderful, and I feel much of the first impression I give you of Sierra Leone should be similar to what mine was:  the people are welcoming and warm, and socially superior to anyone I’ve ever met.  What I mean by that is that this culture exudes a sort of social intelligence that I’ve experienced among very few people I’ve met in the states.  There is never a lull in the conversation, until everyone has run out of things to say, at which point you sit in silence until someone else has something thoughtful to say.  It’s not awkward, and it’s the most refreshing setting I’ve ever been in.  My head is never searching aimlessly for shallow topics of conversation amongst people I don’t know well.  Instead, I mean what I say when I want to say it and conversation is effortless.  There’s no such thing as weird, there’s no such thing as awkward; people just like to talk to you and be around you.  They like you if you’re quiet and they like you if you’re loud as long as you smile and engage them in conversation.

                Greeting people you pass in the street is a big deal here.  You don’t always have to stop for conversation, but going through the motions makes a big impression.  One of my favorite things about the people here is that they always look so pissed off whenever they’re not talking to anyone.  Without knowing them, you’d think these people were unhappy and hated each other and wanted to keep to their own business as you pass them on the streets.  That is until you make eye contact and smile at them; they’re faces light up as every muscle makes an effort to form the widest grin possible.  It’s amazing.  I absolutely love walking down the street and smiling stupidly at strangers.  They love it too.  The first time this happened to me was during one of our first few days here, and it gave me a feeling of pure connection and happiness I’ll never forget.  Our first actual trip into Freetown from the hostel we stayed in the first week in Salone was to meet the president (pretty awesome).  So the reality of what this looked like was a parade of 5 or so jeep-like Peace Corps vehicles packed with about 10 white people each making its way through the streets of Freetown.  Needless to say, we got a lot of stares.  Some people smiled and waved, while others kind of just stared with that pissed off look on their face.  I happened to be seated at the back of my vehicle where I could watch what we drove by as it passed behind us.  We drove through an intersection and passed a couple guys on a motorcycle who were stopped (or slowed, people don’t really stop here)  to make a turn.  The street was crammed with people, but somehow I managed to lock eyes with the particularly angry looking passenger on the back of the motorcycle.  As we pulled away,  I kept my gaze on his and smiled.  When he realized what was going on, his face broke effortlessly into a giant grin as they drove off in the opposite direction.  So, in the middle of a crowded, dirty city in a country that was still so new and weird to me, and  in the span of a few random seconds, I felt instantly connected to my surroundings.  I wish I could describe it better, but it was one of the more amazing moments I’ve experienced in my life.  Part of me hopes none of these people ever venture to New York. 

                What Sierra Leoneans have in social skills, they definitely lack in their ability to think critically. I don’t mean that to sound derogatory or rude.  They just simply aren’t taught to think critically.  As a science teacher, this is actually going to be one of my biggest, if not biggest, challenges.  Everything is exactly the way it is because of God or Allah, duh, (doesn’t matter which), and witches and dragons are real.  You go to school to pass exams to go to university to become a doctor or a lawyer.  Yes, I’m hard core generalizing, but it’s an accurate generalization.  All material in school is learned through rote memorization and I’m not sure students even understand the concept of a concept.  The government recognizes that this needs to change in order to offer up educated boys and girls to the world, but it’s not easy to change the way people think, and that’s what needs to happen here.  I run into this issue of thinking critically with my host family on a daily basis, and to be honest, it is starting to wear on me.  This Friday I attempted to attain well water to put into my water filter so I’d have filtered water for the weekend.  My sister (about 15 years of age) absolutely refused to let me do this, as water from a well is entirely undrinkable.  Instead, I was to walk from my backyard, across the street and meander through houses to the water pump.  Not only was I unable to explain that the water from the well and the pump come from the same place, I was unable to explain that the explicit purpose of my filter was to be able to turn undrinkable water into drinkable water, more or less regardless of its source.  My family understands that the water I drink must come from my filter (Peace Corps informs them of this), but they’re unable to connect that to what it is my filter actually does.  So, I didn’t get water Friday because I refused to give in and tote a heavy bucket of water farther than I needed to.  After a much needed night out with some other volunteers, Saturday morning I woke up with a nice hangover, and without clean water to drink.  I tried to quietly sneak some from the large tub of well water in the bathroom that we use for washing, but was caught in the act by the same sister.  Visibly frustrated this time around, I tried again to re-explain to her that IT DIDN’T MATTER WHERE THE WATER CAME FROM, I WAS GOING TO FILTER IT, to no avail.  I even told her I didn’t care if I got sick.  Didn’t work.  She wrestled the bucket out of my hands, dumped it back into the tub, and ordered me to go to the pump.  We walked outside to find most of the rest of my family sitting in the yard.   My sister proceeded to tell them what I’d just tried to do, and they proceeded to laugh at me for being so silly and lazy.  Yes, lazy, for not wanting to carry a bucket of water any farther than I had to.  It is what it is, and I genuinely love my family and the people here, but it’s frustrating, and that’s not going to change.

                What else.  I have a mouse that likes to sneak through my door and visit my trash can every night.  Annoying, but not nearly as annoying as finding a giant cockroach crawling up the inside of my mosquito net when I wake up in the morning.  To be honest, I find it’s little nibbling noises oddly, but not surprisingly comforting.  Maybe it’s Kevin reincarnated.  Witches are real here, no reason that shouldn’t be.  One of my friends suggested I trap it and keep it for a pet.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

Oh, my ceiling is currently leaking onto my bed.  Yay rainy season.  Luckily I’ve gotten pretty tight with our logistician, who takes care of any logistical issues during training, such as this.  Should have that patched up by the time I get back from my site visit.

Site visits!!  Last Tuesday we were informed of our site placements, tomorrow we’ll be meeting with our school supervisors, and Wednesday we leave to spend four days visiting our site!  This is a really exciting time for all of us.

This is where I’ll wrap up this post, more about my site visit next time.

In the field

Hi!

First of all, sorry I'm already reeeeally bad at blogging.  It's entirely my fault.  So much has happened already in my first month here and I'm finding it all really hard to put into words.  I've tried to sit down and figure out what to say about this place, but I've only been able to manage a few sentences here and there.  On top of that, Pre-service training is a really busy time, between school everyday and spending time with the host family plus a bunch of other activities thrown in here and there.  I'm probably not going to be posting much during this time because it's going to be too difficult, so I'll update you here and there, but I'm afraid you'll all have to wait another couple months til I get to my site to get a comprehensive explanation of what I'm doing here.  Sorry!  Until my next post, you should know that I'm loving it here, and the people are all wonderful.  I love the other volunteers and I love the people of Salone.  They're warm and welcoming, and it's been easy to form relationships.  I miss you all!!  OH.  Send me mail!  Anything!  Postcards, letters....candy....coffee......But seriously, it's just so nice to hear from you.  I think about all of you often and I get close to teary-eyed when the mail comes in for the week and I've got letters from you waiting for me.

I'll try to write something during the week to post when I get internet again next weekend.  If there's anything specifically you want to know about, ask!

Pre-departure check-in

I leave for staging - and subsequently Sierra Leone - in 9 days, which strikes me as a good time to explain a little more about where I'll be going, what I'll be doing, why I'll be doing it (depending on how easy that is to explain), and how I'm feeling about all of that as I prepare to dump my current life for a new one in about a week.  Hopefully this will provide a contextual foundation for my future posts abroad.

Where I'll be going -

Sierra Leone.  Right.  I said that.  Here's a map:

First fun fact - that little red spot, which I assume you've correctly deduced to be Sierra Leone, is about the size of South Carolina.  Africa is huge.

More facts:

• Located ~8 degrees north of the equator.  Thus, the climate is tropical and hot/humid pretty much all year round.
• Split into a rainy (May-December) and a dry season (December-April).
• Starting from the coast (where Sierra Leone boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in West Africa), the terrain moves from mangrove swamps inland to wooded hills, then an upland plateau, and finally to mountains in the east.
• Former British colony - gained independence in 1961
• The capitol city, Freetown, was the capitol of British West Africa during the 19th century.  It served as the primary site of slave liberation before and during this time, and thus freed-slave settlement.
• Languages - (CIA World Factbook, 2011)
• English (official, however spoken by a literate minority)
• Krio - the lingua franca.  Spoken by the descendents of freed Jamaican slaves who settled around Freetown - an English-based Creole
• Mende - Primary language in the south
• Temne - Primary language in the north
• Ethnic groups - 
• Government recognizes at least 16 different groups, though the majority of the population is split between two:
• Temne (35%)
• Mende (31%)
• Religions - (CIA World Factbook, 2011)
• Muslim (60%)
• Christian (10%)
• indigenous beliefs (30%)
• Currently among the top 10 poorest countries in the world, despite relatively abundant and varied resources.
• Population living in poverty (below $1.25 per day) - 62.8% (UNDP HDI Index, 2011)
• Life expectancy at birth - 47.8 years (UNDP HDI Index, 2011)
• Maternal mortality rate - 1 out of 6 mothers die in child birth (worst in the world) (HDR, 2008)
• Mean years of schooling for adults - 2.9 (UNDP HDI Index, 2011)
• Adult literacy rate (over 15 years) - 35% (CIA World Factbook, 2011)
• Recovering from a civil war that lasted between 1991 and 2002
• Politically, Sierra Leone has recovered relative stability: democracy is being reestablished, and the country has seen two peaceful elections (2007 and 2012) since the end of the war.
• Economically, they're in pretty bad shape and are having a difficult time recovering after the war.  Things are getting better, though.
• Heath and Education systems were also heavily impacted.  Corruption is an issue, but things are improving.

Obviously, I could go on.  Perhaps I'll expand here and there, but I think I've at least addressed the information I was required to provide in my high school Geography research projects.  Mr. Kasun would be proud, and after half-assing Model UN for 4 years, I feel strangely satisfied to have made it up to him.

What I'll be doing - 

Still a little fuzzy to me, so I'll stick to the basics.  I've been assigned to teach Science to high school-aged students.  The school system works a bit differently in the states than in Sierra Leone, so high school itself isn't really a thing.  From what I understand, "Science" could include a number of things:  General Science, Chemistry, Biology, perhaps Math, perhaps all or some of the above.  Having completed my degree in Biology, I'm inclined to assume that that's what I'll be teaching, although this may not be the case.  Honestly, I'd be excited to teach any of those subjects.

After three months of training (job, language, and culture), I'll move to the site I'll live and work in for the following two years.  This could range from a larger, more crowded town to a remote rural village.  It can be assumed that electricity and running water will range from scarce to non-existent, perhaps along the same gradient.  We do get asked what kind of an environment we'd prefer to live in, but ultimately it's not up to us.  Dissatisfaction with the assignment will be dismissed, and whining will not be tolerated.  One of the things the PC has made a pretty big point of over the last couple months...

In addition to my teaching obligations, it will be part of my job to work with my community on any development projects I may be able to offer my skills to.  I suppose this could include a number of things from building libraries to latrines, or educating the general public in health and sanitation.

Lastly, it will be my job to conduct myself as a decent person and American citizen.  To me, this means making my best effort to understand existing cultural similarities and differences, and integrating myself accordingly.  I am what I am as a general result of genetics and the cultural/political/economic/geographic environment I grew up in - I'm an American.  The point of this experience isn't to ignore that for two years, but develop a better understanding of what, as an American, I can offer to the world and what the world can offer to me, an American.

Why I'll be doing it - 

Still a little fuzzy to me, so I'll stick to the basics.  I'll begin by picking up where I left off.  I find the idea of viewing myself from a global, rather than individual perspective intensely alluring at this point in my life.  I just finished undergrad, and, despite all of the worthwhile distractions and overwhelming access to knowledge these four+ years provide to the i'm-not-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman mind and soul, I felt entirely trapped by the expectation that I'd have this all channeled into a better idea of who I was and what I wanted to do with my life by the time I graduated.  The expectation that I was working toward some tangible goal I'd eventually make a career out of.  Whose expectation?  I don't know.  Society's.  My parents'.  My own.  Not sure it matters.  Point is, I didn't have a goal for myself going into college and I didn't develop one while I was there, and now I'm just plain sick of thinking about it.  It's exhausting.  Grad school is something I see myself doing, it just isn't an option right now.  Basically, I'm having a post-graduate first-world crisis; to which the only logical remedy is instead giving myself third-world problems, obviously.

Don't get me wrong, I have a personality, passions, and what many can relate to as an insatiable thirst for knowledge.  I'm intense, driven, and perseverant (which this text editor is telling me is not a word?), I just need an outlet other than myself for awhile.  I'm probably also insecure and a coward for that very reason.  But, whatever.  I'm also 23.  For all I know, I'm not all those things I just said I was.

Okay, so what am I trying to say here?  I joined the Peace Corps to give myself a break from myself, which conveniently seems to be the antagonist muscle to helping others, joined by the bones and tendons of using my education (which I should probably mention I am VERY grateful for) to accomplish both. That was a stupid metaphor and while I hope it serves its purpose, I genuinely hope you don't find it clever.  I hope there will be no more of where that came from.  Anyway, I feel very lucky that, regardless of what else comes from my education, I have at least one way of using it to make a positive impact on the world and those who may never have the opportunity to relate to my first-world problems.

Blah, blah, blah.  I have my moments, but I'm not an entirely selfless person (as many of you probably know) and I hope you're not under the assumption that because I joined the Peace Corps, I am (in case the previous three guilt-driven paragraphs haven't convinced you already).  I'm not sure I fit that prototypical "Peace Corps" type, but that's good, because there isn't one.  Anybody could do this.  And they probably should.  And if I'm going to share this experience, I think it's important to share it from the very beginning.  If I am embarrassed to read this two years from now, I hope it means I will have changed for the...well, for the sake of changing.

How I feel about all of this - 

The past few months have come as close to, what I imagine people mean when they say, an "emotional roller coaster" as possible.  The transition between the idea of moving to Africa for two years and the reality of moving to Africa for two years has been humbling.  To be honest, I prided myself to a certain extent in not being "nervous" after receiving my invitation to serve.  I was slightly apprehensive that I wasn't nervous to some degree, but figured that was because I was hesitant to accept that I knew what I was getting myself into and would never have committed myself otherwise.  Well, somewhere between then an now the idea transitioned into reality, I got scared, and I felt stupid.  Reality hit me on May 18th - the day after the one month mark 'til my departure date.  Months were barriers to reality, and the minute that last barrier was gone, you guessed it - reality seeped in.  I liked my life here; I love my family and my friends, my pets and my things, the grass, the birds, the trees, the roads, the cars, the movies, the food, etc., and the accessibility of it all.  Perhaps had I been more realistic about leaving it for a hut in the middle of nowhere, I would have had more than a short month to appreciate it.  That lasted for about a week, at which point my oscillation between extremes seemed to stabilize to my current reality:  I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm ready.  There.  It's really that simple.  [Something about the unknown and how we're incapable of actually preparing ourselves for it.]

Okay.  Enough of this.  Next post will be from Sierra Leone, and I promise I'll actually have something interesting to say.

Application timeline

Here's a rough timeline of my Peace Corps application process, which will have spanned over a year by the time I depart for Sierra Leone.  I'll do my best to recount these events, although the exact dates are a little fuzzy.

March 2012 - Submitted Peace Corps application

April 2012 - Interview with UW Madison campus representative

May 2012 - Follow-up phone interview with regional (Chicago) recruiter

May/June 2012 - Nomination for service as a secondary education science teacher in sub-saharan Africa

August 2012 - Completed medical pre-clearance evaluation form (online)

October 2012 - Received medical pre-clearance

November 2012-January 2012 - Waited patiently/wondered regularly if the Peace Corps had forgotten about me

December 2012 - Graduated from the UW

January 2013 - Heard from Peace Corps headquarters in D.C., to whom I promptly forwarded my official transcripts and answers to a brief questionnaire, which I can only imagine served to gauge whether my dedication to the Peace Corps had dwindled over the past few months.

January 25, 2013 - Official invitation to serve in Sierra Leone as a secondary education science teacher received via e-mail

January 25, 2013 - Accepted invitation to serve

February 2013 - Received a giant packet in the mail containing all the resources necessary for preparing myself for service (passport application information, volunteer handbook, financial information, etc.)

March 2013 - Received invitation to Google group for all education volunteers, where I informally met my fellow volunteers for the first time

April 2013 - Completed and submitted all immunizations and physical/dental exams

May 2013 - Received final medical clearance

May 2013 - Received staging information and booked a flight to Philly for staging event.

June 17, 2013 - Staging in Philadelphia

June 18, 2013 - Depart for Sierra Leone

Notes:

• The period between receiving the nomination and receiving the invitation is generally long, slow and moderately stressful; but don't worry, they haven't forgotten about you.
• After you receive the official invitation, the PC bombards you with an overwhelming amount of information about the country you'll be serving in and all the preparations you need to make before departure.  After months of hearing nothing, this is quite exciting...until you realize how much there is to do and how difficult it will be to keep your head on straight.  Get the important stuff out of the way first (passports, visas, and doctor/dentist appointments).  The PC will regularly send you e-mail reminders about the littler things.
• Until you receive medical clearance (which doesn't happen until about a month before staging), you can't be 100% sure you'll actually be following through with all of this, even though you're supposed to be making serious preparations.  This will always be weighing on the back of your mind, but it doesn't do any good to fret about it.

First blog post...ever

As the title of this post implies, I'm new to blogging.  It's not something I had ever pictured myself doing, but I suppose until a few months ago I had never pictured myself living in Africa, either.  (Sierra Leone, to be exact.)

Why I'm blogging:

There are three types of people that will read this blog, and to whom a rambling account of my life's goings-on may be useful:

1)  Those who are naturally curious about what I'll be doing and what life will be like in one of the least developed countries of the world,
2)  My family and friends who may use my month-to-month updates as the only proof of my still being alive (kidding, Mommy),
3)  Future Peace Corps aspirants/nominees/invitees for whom my application timeline, packing list, and posts about gutting chickens will prove invaluable for your service preparation.

I encourage any and all of you to comment and ask questions.  Seriously.  It's part of my job as a PCV to serve as a cultural envoy between Sierra Leone and the United States, and I look forward to it.  Plus, I'd like to share this experience with you as much as I can.

What you should expect:

I've tried keeping a personal journal on many occasions but have always failed at making it a regular part of my life routine.  I have a general feeling of anxiety towards organizing thoughts and delivering them coherently in either oral or written form.  I know that during this experience I will be dealing with situations that will be difficult to put into words, and I know I will become increasingly frustrated at trying to document these experiences.   I promise you though, I will try.  What all this means is that there will be moments of both extreme vagueness and intense detail as I recount my experiences over the next 27 months.  Don't be offended by either.

Here's a favorite quote from a favorite book, A Separate Peace by John Knowles:  ".... It was only long after that I recognized sarcasm as the protest of people who are weak.”  

That being said, expect sarcasm.

Anyway, my main motivation behind writing this post was to be able to play around with blog settings.  I have also managed to say a lot of what I wanted to say without confusing myself (and hopefully you), so I rate my first post a success!  Thanks for reading and I look forward to having you share in my adventures!