Christmas stuff for when I go to Morocco

pocketknife and compass (because you never know when you'll need those)
first aid kit (to supplement the Peace Corps kit I will receive)
binoculars (for bird and animal watching)
Steripen (to help sterilize water)

This week I'm going to go look for a backpack and maybe try to get some clothes. Already almost January; it will be March 1st before I know it. I just got an email from the Peace Corps saying I need to redo my resume, which is odd seeing as though I followed the instructions exactly. Oh well.

And one other thing I forgot to mention - a book titled "501 Must-Visit Destinations". After skimming through this book I can't wait to start checking them off, starting with Morocco through Fes, Tangier, Marrakesh, Tafroute, Sidi Ifni, Chefchaouen, Taroudant, Ait-Ben-Haddou, Lixus, and Volubilis.

To be honest, I am getting a little nervous, which is a little silly. Morocco is one of the safest programs in the Peace Corps, and one of the longest continuous relationships with the United States, I could not have asked to be sent to a safer country than this. I definitely need to build up my confidence in myself and my abilities before I leave.

Arabic and French

I have come to the realization that in Morocco, not will I need to learn how to communicate in a Berber dialect and Arabic script, but French is a dominant language for business purposes, as well. So, while I will be officially learning the first two courtesy of the Peace Corps, my friends have gotten me a game for Nintendo DS called My French Coach. It is working well - I know things like counting to one hundred, days, months, time, and basic sentence structure for French. That's a relief. I received the Arabic training files through the Peace Corps website and just saw images of Arabic script - I didn't realize that the script of the same letter is written slightly differently whether it is at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. This is going to be fun.

And so it begins...

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO BECOME A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.

There is just something so relieving about making it this far, after applying back in May of 2008. Though I know that,in truth, this is only the beginning. Not even the beginning - a Chinese proverb says that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - in a way, I'm just beginning to rummage through my closet and pull on the pair of shoes.