First Post EVER!

I want to welcome everyone to my blog. If you think that the setup is unsatisfactory, then you can let me know. I'm hardly a web designer...

I am now entering my final week in the Seattle area. Next Saturday I go to Florida for a family vacation and then fly straight from there to Philadelphia on March 2nd. After 2 days of orientation, shots, completion of legal forms, and the receiving of my new passport and visas, they ship me off to Uganda. We fly from JFK in New York to Brussels, Belgium and then 0n to Entebbe, Uganda with a stop in Nairobi, Kenya. I should arrive Monday night after 20 or so hours of travel time.

To unnecessarily increase my stress levels, I have decided to wait way to long to get serious about packing. I still need a large duffel, some running shoes, a decision about what carry-on to bring and whether to buy a laptop (or use an old heavy one that my sister has), and whether I should bring a sleeping bag and pad. One great thing that I've found out with the generous help of past and current PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteers), is that you can buy many things in the capital of Kampala. They have a big store there called Game that is similar to Fred Meyer or Wal-Mart: http://www.game.co.za/?leaflet_uga
I'll have my Visa card and what I've heard is a reasonable stipend from the PC (Peace Corps). However, I always feel like I'm not going to bring something important and feel horrible about it. Maybe I've had too many of those dreams where I went to school forgetting to put my pants on and was extremely embarrassed! Oh well, lets see how I am next Friday...

Ok, that's it for now. Keep in mind that there's many factors that I have to think about in this blog. Most importantly is who my audience is and how I am portraying the Peace Corps, Uganda, and Africa in general. I will refrain from using names for the most part, unless I get the permission of the people I'm with. I will be representing the US Government and I realize the responsibility that goes with it. Please let me know how I can make this blog more informative and enjoyable to you. Thanks!