Who says I procrastinate?

After my previous post I got to thinking...I really need to figure out if all my stuff will fit into two pieces of checked luggage (one piece for each year I'm abroad...seems kind of skimpy, no?).  As anyone who's lived with me can tell you, I'm not an overly tidy person.  It's not like I leave food and dirty dishes sitting around, but I do often share my bed with a pile of clothes bigger than me.  Sometimes, however, I go into Super Organization Mode.  SOM is rare, I admit, but when it happens...well...I'll let the picture speak for itself.

That's right, folks - my entire wardrobe for the next 27 months is packed!  Mostly.  Now I know you may be thinking, "but Britt, your bags look full! Where will you put everything else not clothing-related?!"  That's a good question, my friends, and it's something I'll address in my next post entitled 'How much money will it cost my mom to ship everything else not clothing-related?' Plus that green suitcase can expand like nobody's business, so I'm still hopeful.  For now I'm focusing on the positive.  One big hurdle has been cleared...I'll deal with the next one at some point...

Procrastinate?? Me?! Never!

From Philly to Phili!

I just got news that I'm leaving for Philadelphia, PA on August 18th for PC Staging (aka, orientation). Due to the large number of people in my group (145 apparently), the education PCVs are leaving from Philly and the youth and coastal resource management PCVs from Detroit. We'll all arrive within minutes of each other in Manila after a couple of very long flights. Turns out staging is a one-day event, starting at noon on the 19th. We leave the next morning at 5:00 a.m. (yep...that's 5 in the morning...) to travel to JFK for our flight. I didn't think I'd be back in NYC again so soon. Too bad it's only at the airport!!

I'm excited to finally meet my fellow volunteers and get to know some of the people with whom I'll be spending the next 27 months.  This has been such a long process - over a year from application to departure - but of course it now seems like I don't have enough time to get everything done.  Luckily I've resolved my clothing issues (thanks to the current Philippines PCVs for that!!), so the next step is fitting it all in my luggage.  Oh boy...