Beginning of the Ends

This past month has been a whirlwind. We’ve been settling into the reality that the Peace Corps is really happening, and Mozambique will be our new home for 27 months. Preparations are well under way, and that includes being conscious of the fact that some things are coming to an end whether it be forever, or just for now.

As of July 1st, I am no longer an employee of the company I have worked for the past 6 years. I am really glad that everything ended on a very positive note, and they threw me a lovely send-off party :). Chris gave his employer notice the same day, and his boss was actually asking if he could stay through August, possibly September. While it would be great to make a little extra cash, we’re not sure how practical it will be since we have lots of travel plans coming up and do have to move out of our place by August. Anyway, it was great that his employer took the news well. So, aside from ending work, we are starting to take in other “lasts”. Like this past weekend, we watched a fantastic fireworks display at my Dad’s 4th of July shindig and realized this will be the last traditional 4th we have for a couple of years. Sure, we’ll celebrate with our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers in Mozambique, but it won’t be quite the same. My sister, her husband and my beautiful niece are coming to visit next week and this will probably be the last time we see them before we leave since they live all the way in Salt Lake City. Our niece is only a baby now, but will be a full-fledged toddler when we get back! Thank goodness I can see her grow a bit on Skype!!!...And the big trip to Florida is less than 2 weeks away. We say goodbye to our cats as they settle into their new home with my Mom, and I have to be prepared that this may be the last time I see my Mom and grandparents in person. Oy, that trip is going to be a rough one...Then the goodbyes to friends and family will continue through September, and we also say goodbye our home in Columbus, which as of now, we don’t plan on coming back to when we return.

Cats!!

So... we have been going crazy the last couple of weeks pulling together our resumes, writing our aspiration statements and trying to assemble things for our big move. We have to be out of our house by the end of August, which means we will be floating around, no doubt staying at houses of friends and family, until our departure at the end of September. This just adds another layer of preparation and packing that we need to account for.

Oh yeah and then there are our CATS!!! We have 2 wonderful cats and... luckily for us Laurie's mother has agreed to take them while we are away in Mozambique for 27 months. The only problem is that she lives and Florida and we live in Ohio. Cats are not easy animals to transport a couple of miles to visit the vet. How are we going to get them to Florida????

Boa tarde!

We signed up for 10 sessions with a Portuguese tutor which started this evening and it actually was a ton of fun!!! She was very good at combining the language training with cultural knowledge, and she was also quite intelligent and a very cool girl! I really needed this because I have felt like my head was going to explode this past week with trying to get a grasp on the thousand things we need to do before we go. The enjoyment I got from the language training reminded me what all the craziness is for, and how excited I am to be challenging myself in new ways.