Hello everyone. This is the first of (hopefully) many blogs detailing my experiences serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. Although I'm not yet sure how much internet access I'll have, I'll try my best to keep everyone posted. Here's what I know so far:

I depart for Coral Gables on June 16 for a couple days of training and vaccinations. From there, I fly to Cayambe Ecuador, which is located at the base of a 19,000 foot volcano...yeah, pretty sweet. Hopefully I'll get to climb it. There I'll be educated about culture, how to do my job as a Health Extension Volunteer, and the local language...Spanish or Kichwa. I'll be told my Spanish is terrible...which is true. My knowledge of the language peaked when Taco Bell came out with the "yo quiero taco bell" commercial, and has been on a steady decline ever since.

After three months of training, I'll be shipped to another locale to serve and hopefully make an impact for two years. I could be in the amazon, in the highlands, or on the coast. Three very different regions that require very different clothing, so i have to pack a variety. That makes fitting all my worldly possessions for the next two years in two checked bags a challenge.

My last couple weeks stateside have been pretty sweet. I'm going to leave here feeling very loved, which i guess is a good thing. After i graduated, spent a week hanging out with Emily, splitting time between our two houses. That was awesome. I visited Mack, who was pretty bummed about shattering his scapula the second day into his cross country bike trip. I've spent the last week at home. Ive kept pretty busy with packing, seeing friends, and entertaining family at a going away/graduation party.

I've been pretty busy, but in the doldrums of packing this week I've experienced my first feelings of self doubt. I generally like to be in control of my life. The fact that I have no idea what the next 27 months will be like gives me a little bit of anxiety. Seeing all the people I know and love and realizing I probably won't see them again f or quite a bit is also kind of a downer. After taking a step back reflecting on these feelings, I realize that I'd be some kid of emotional freak if I wasn't experiencing them. So that makes me feel better. I just have to get through this initial period of not knowing...after that I have faith that the experience with be very fulfilling, not to mention a ton of fun.

That's it for now. More to come soon. Hopefully for your sake and my own, my future blogs will contain far more interesting stories than this one.