We're Packed!

OK, Jess and I have found that the most helpful posts from other PC bloggers were their packing lists. While I don't exactly have a completed one this evening I do have the before and after pictures of what we're taking and how it will look when we show up at the airport next Wednesday.

This first one is Jess's Stuff before it was packed.

And here's her stuff afterwards. Great job, honey!

Here's my stuff unpacked:

And....my stuff in 2 bags. I'll be carrying on our laptop bag and a travel guitar.

Jess and I would also like to say thank you to all of our family and friends who have encouraged us along the way. Although we've had to say a lot of goodbyes in the past 2 weeks, everyone has been incredibly supportive of what we're about to do. Thank you!

Weather.com says Managua is all 90's - all week.

Jess and I are slowly but surely emptyingout the house we've been calling home this past year. Every night we try and get through a few more totes of stuff. Here's a tip: the next time you move, go out and buy 50 bucks worth of those big rubbermaid totes. When my dad did this for their last move I thought he had lost his yo yo's, but it is actually 1 million times easier than boxes or bags. Despite my doubting, my parents were gracious enough to let us borrow their accumulated collection of totes (4 sizes in 3 colors!) for this move, if you can call it that. Anyway, most nights Jess does the packing, while I pretend to clean up the house and actually watch Law & Order. The penetance for this sin is the duty of making dinner, which most nights I enjoy doing. Last night was a failure, however. To compound our frustrations, our biggest lead for a renter fell apart. We got so upset we totally missed The Office. Don't worry, it was a re-run...I hope.
Instead, we went for a brisk walk in the freshly fallen 6 inches of snow. It's pretty unbelievable to leave this whole "winter" thing behind, as I mentioned in my last post. Jess and I both grew up around a lot of snow, and I have to wonder if there's such thing as "reverse seasonal affective disorder." Some may wonder if there is such thing as "seasonal affective disorder" in the first place. To these naysayers I challenge: If Wikipedia says it's so, there's no denying it!
OK, since this will be our last weekend in Albany, I thought I'd post a few photos from our journey through the snow last night. Grab the hot chocolate and a singing reindeer doll before venturing further!

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas time...

$1,000,000 Question: How does one pack for two continents?

As we drove back to Albany last night Jess and I decided to go over our packing lists again. Somewhere between Newburgh and Poughkeepsie we realized that we'll still need a warm coat and a sweatshirt for our 2 days in DC. However, after that our winter coats will be about as useful as a haircut for a jalapeno. They just don't need 'em!

We'd love to hear some creative solutions from other trainees/volunteers. Should we just layer up and walk in to training looking like the michelen man? Do we just FedEx our coats back home from the airport? Maybe you just take them along. Then you've got your first halloween costume all taken care of:
"Hey, nice costume, man!"
"Thanks!"
"....what are you?"
"I'm me, but one year ago!"
"Sweet! I wish had thought of that. I sold my coat to our bus driver on the way to the airport...Is that costume really worth all the sweating and extra weight in your luggage?"
"No."

Update: The Countdown Begins!

Jess and I got a letter this week stating we actually need to be in DC on the 7th. This isn't too big of a deal, although we were hoping to get around to a few friends that last week and we now need to trim down our list.

It's been great getting to know a few people who will be in our training class. They've seen this blog and dropped a line - I knew this thing would be good for something!

We've got out PC bags packed and now we're focusing on emptying out our house in Albany, NY. That's right, we bought a house when we thought Peace Corps wasn't an option and now we're scrambling to make sure everything is in order. Note to future volunteers: Don't buy a house, now matter how good a deal! Today it looks like we'll load up another minivan's worth of our domestic lives and transport it to my parent's basement. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Our last day in ALB is the 21st. So, if you'd like to see New York's Capital City in all its glory, you better get into that car and drive!!

Getting Ready

After a year and a half of planning and waiting, Matt and I will finally be joining Peace Corps. We couldn’t be more excited! We have both been invited to Nicaragua as Community Health Promoters. We have ‘staging’ in DC beginning on January 10th and lasting for a few days and then we will leave for Nicaragua. In the meantime, we are wrapping up our work here in Albany, looking for a home for Pumpkin (our cat) and packing up our things.

We hope that this blog will serve as a means to keep our friends and family informed over the next 27 months. And maybe it will provide some insight for those interested in joining Peace Corps, or info for those interested in life in Nicaragua!