Peace Corps: Take Two

So; I've taken the plunge. I'm officially a Peace Corps Trainee...again. The Staging experience was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. It actually wasn't bad at all. For the most part I did know everything that was going to happen before it did but I tried to put a good spin on it all and actually got some enjoyment out knowing more than the others did.

My training group is much smaller this time around. There are only 23 of us. 17 girls and 6 boys. Classic to the Peace Corps ratio on things. It definitely gives me a different perspective. My first training group started out with 50 and I'm not sure how many of them I really got to know. After being in Kenya for a while I tried pulling memories of my fellow trainees out of my head from staging and many of them that had grown to be my closest friends; I couldn't place. This time I feel like I've really gotten to know the majority of the people here.

So now the next step is the 17 hour 40 minute plane ride to Lesotho. I don't know that I'll be getting internet access anytime soon so this will probably be the last you'll be hearing from me for a while. So before I go I just want to say thanks to all of my family and friends for putting up with me. For putting up with my depression over Kenya and supporting me when I said I wanted to go back to Africa. I know many of the things I do are pretty crazy in a lot of peoples eyes and many of you wish that I'd just settle down in one place for a while and perhaps some day I will.

On a side note: As many of you know during my time at home I'd been helping Diane with her campaign for Superior Court Judge in Santa Clara County. Well; as of 3:35AM EST she is in the lead with 27.49% of the vote; with her closest competitor only holding 18.85% of the vote. So; she'll definitely be in the run off in November. So; if you live in Santa Clara County VOTE DIANE RITCHIE FOR JUDGE NOVEMBER 2008!!! Congratulations Diane!! I'm very proud.

So back to Lesotho. We're going to be spending a night in Johannesburg, SA before our final flight to Maseru. There might be a chance of internet access there but I'm thinking I might just wanna lie down or run on a treadmill for a while. Sitting for that long is gonna suck.

I'm definitely not nervous; like I was for Kenya. It's kinda nice feeling a bit more prepared. I'm just hoping this experience works out a bit better for me. Thanks again everybody and I'll see you all in 27 MONTHS!!