On the Road (Away From?) Home - 2 Weeks to Staging

So I am in Berkeley, CA visiting a friend on my way to my mom's place in Arizona where I will leave some of my things before leaving for staging in Philadelphia. I will be in Las Vegas tomorrow night for a day or so visiting another friend along the way.

Leaving behind everyone I know and, in one specific case, love in Portland was hard. I had gotten my life together in a way that made me very happy. However I am comforted by the fact that I will keep in touch with my Portland people while I'm away, and hopefully - in one way or another - many of the aspects of my life will still be there waiting for me when I get back.

I met with a former Guinea Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) here in the Bay Area who needed a package sent securely to Guinea. She was a physics teacher at a secondary school, and was in Guinea as recently as December 2007, seeing the new group of Volunteers arrive. Her experience along with her pictures really got me over some of my minor fears and concerns and very excited to get going to Africa (even though she had bats in her house for a while). I had read and heard of many volunteer experiences, but none up until this meeting were specific to Guinea, or any more recent than 2002 or so. She recommended I take her old post in Guinea, and I might look into it if I'm given a choice, but wherever I end up there, I am optimistic about the connections, friends and experiences I will have.

Everything that I can think of has been arranged, plane tickets and hotel in Philadelphia reserved, visa forms sent off - again - after being lost the first time, most of the buying and packing finished (though honestly, does anyone ever feel they've packed sufficiently for a 2 year trip to the third world?). At this point I think my luggage is about 50 lbs or so, which is less than the 80 lbs limit. Then again, 80 lbs is the limit - not the suggestion - and I tend to pack lightly anyway, so then why do I feel like I am going to get to Africa and realize I've forgotten X or Y.

At this point, I'm just looking forward to enjoying these last couple of weeks before training, eat some good food, sleep, watch movies, and study French. I will figure something out in Africa if anything is missing.