A Week To Go-Yikes

So now I'm really packing the bags and saying last goodbyes.
Thank you Sally, Suzanne and Paige for last night's fun.

I'm looking forward to Haida, Erika and Kenzie coming for a few days. I fear the tears are coming.

My Going Away Party

It's going to be hard being so far away from Kenzie.

It was great to have family and friends surround me with so much love, support and excitement about this next chapter of my life. I can't thank Donna (sister) and David enough and sister Karen too, who came all the way from Chelan, for all the hard work they did putting out and incredible spread of delicious food that was greatly enjoyed by all. It rained buckets up until people started arriving. But these excellent hosts were prepared for whatever the weather decided to do with tents and umbrella covered tables, and luckily the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy their beautiful garden. I wish I'd gotten more pictures.

Ashley and Paul

Mother and Julia Child

the pie I made

Sally, Tracey, Paige, Chris and Suzanne

Steve and Kristin

Jamie Lynn

Kenzie Taylor

Eric, David (cute legs), Mother (cuter legs), Greg and Bonnie

Jenny, Chris, Uncle John and cousin John

Kenzie and Erika

Sixteen Days To Go

It's been fun connecting to other PCVs who are also on their way to the Ppines on a Facebook group page set up by someone? to whom I'm grateful. I appreciate the PCVs already over there who are responding to my questions like, can I get good coffee over there?

So I was told to check out civet coffee:

Can't wait to try the stuff, if and when I can find it. I guess I'll have to go to the mountains. The Luwak Palm Civet eats the coffee cherries and poops out the beans which are collected, cleaned, sun dried and lightly roasted. The enzymes from the digestive tract of the civet make the coffee better, adding amino acids and making it less acidic.

Freemont Fair

me and Monica and Alfredo

Save the mangroves and question your shrimp

MAP had a booth at the fair. We got over 150 new consumer pledges to our Question Your Shrimp campaign. Talk about a fun time had by 10s of thousands of people and their pets. Mostly dogs but I met a ferret and a darling wallaby as well.

I believe our Freemont Fair Solstice Parade rivals any fiestas in the Philippines.

                     

 https://plus.google.com/photos/117551089222881240625/albums/5755792047904175633

Enjoying those last days with family

23 days till blast off and I'm doing what all Peace Corps friends advise and that's enjoying the time I have left here spending it with family and friends



Clearing homeland security,YES!



Too hot already

 









I already said goodbye to Kylan on the 5th. He's WOOFing (work on organic farm) on Hawaii. Learning about living sustainably with wind power, water catchment systems, playing guitar to the goats and chickens, picking papayas for every meal, harvesting macadamia nuts and making macadamia nut oil for the farmer's market, etc.

25 days to go

25 days to go till blast off and I started packing. So far so good and group 271 Philippines has hooked up with our own page on Facebook which is being very helpful for getting answers from PC volunteers already over there who seem to be there to help us.

I found out I don't have to pay my host families room and board out of my $180/mo pay. Whoo hooo!

My flight's booked for staging in San Francisco on July 6th. There will be 70 of us heading to the Philippines together on the 7th. Yahoooooo!!!!!