Last Post from the States!

As I sit here and write this post I am up in the air on a plane, on my way to Washington DC for Peace Corps Staging (orientation). Never thought this day would come. What an eventful past 48 hours it has been… where to start? Let’s start with the weather. (Side Note: someone just shit their pants on the plane and it was not me. Sick.) Saint Louis was under a blizzard warning… we were suppose to get 3”-12” of snow then we were suppose to get 8”-16”, but in reality, we only ending up getting 4” of sleet. Hundreds of flights were canceled out of Saint Louis, including my 7:30am flight today, the 2^nd of February. My flight was then rescheduled for 12:20pm, which is where I’m at now. So that’s the weather.

 Now onto packing… any takers on how many times I had to pack and repack? If you guessed 2, you’re right. That’s not bad, right? It’s not that I had to repack everything for a second time because it didn’t fit, it’s that I was 18 pounds over the 100lb weight limit and refused to pay American Airlines $60 for an overweight luggage bag. So, with the help of my lovely sister, we took EVERYTHING out of my 2 suitcases and ALL of my clothes out of my space saver vacuum bags. (when I told my sister I was going to do this….the look on her face was priceless, I thought she was going to kill me since we had just spent a good 1 ½ hours packing it all. But she didn’t J bless her heart) I got rid of another pile of clothes, my peanut butter L, my mouth wash, duct tape, condensed my shampoo and condition into small containers (thanks Mom!!!), and a few other miscellaneous things to cut weight down.  We then put the clothes back into the space savers (my sister was like a 2 year old watching the air be vacuumed out, she was very intrigued, haha. Sorry Mandi, I had to tell everyone!) and organized everything back into my luggage. Did it work? HELL YEAH it did! Thank God! Talk about an awesome team! When I checked my luggage one piece weighed 53.5lbs and the other weighed 47.5lbs, so we did some rearranging, weighed them again and they both weighed an even 50lbs! YAY, no $60 overweight charge!! Now the challenge is going to be trying manage it all myself… Two 50lb suitcases, a carryon and book bag. That’s going to be a good laugh for any onlookers!

What I didn’t tell you was all the clothes and other things I had to get rid of BEFORE I even started packing the first time. I got rid of a TON of stuff before I even started…  Lots of clothes, batteries, kitchenware, art supplies, enveloped, nail polish, qtips, tape, etc. I can’t even remember what else because it feels like so long ago. But my point is, I didn’t get to take all the stuff that was in the picture in my previous post. Not even close to all of it. I have all the stuff that didn’t fit in a plastic container in my room so my parents, if I ask nicely, can mail the things to me if need be.  

On to the goodbyes at the airport… ugh, that was tough. I didn’t say half the stuff I wanted to say to my family and Josh, mostly because I would have been an emotional WRECK and wouldn’t be able to speak. I didn’t want to go out that way. So I will take a moment now to say thank you for all the support you have given me in the past year or so while I was preparing for this journey, I couldn’t have done it without your love and support. It means the world to me! There were some ups and downs, frustrations, and setbacks, but you were there to listen to me rant about it all! And for that, I thank you! But the day has finally come for me to follow my dream! I absolutely cannot wait to share it all with you!

I also want to take this time to thank my friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and even the people I don’t know. Your support means the world to me, you have noooo idea! J

Okay, I got sappy there for a couple paragraphs, I just had to get it out! (That’s going to happen a lot)

Time to land, I will have to finish this post later tonight from my hotel room!!!

It’s now 11:49pm DC time, I have to be up in 2 ½ hours, yikes. I’m going to wrap this post up quickly and get some shut eye in hopefully. Before I do though, let me tell you a little about how my day went… We landed on time in DC, got a cab, the cab driver ripped my suit case while putting it in his trunk and then proceeded to act like he didn’t do it!!!! Soooo frustrating. Needless to say, I didn’t tip the guy. Jerk.

Anyhoo, I couldn’t let that upset me too much. So we got to the hotel, checked in, and immediately went downstairs to join the orientation. Orientation was good. We did some group activities: we had to draw pictures of our anxieties and aspirations with have, then we made a list of our biggest threats in Ecuador. After we made the list we had to come up with ways to avoid those things and ways to decrease the impact if they did happen. That was pretty cool. From there we talked about how important it is to have positive support from family, friends, and loved ones. We ended it with an “ice breaker” type game. Then we were set free for the night. I ended up going to dinner with 3 awesome girls! We went to a place called J. Pauls, I think. It was pretty good. I got a big fat juicy burger and fries! J Good last meal in the States.  

After dinner I came back to my room, got some papers together I need to send off, called my parents to let them know how the day went. I then to a HOT HOT HOT shower! My last one in the States for a long while. And, oh boyy, did it feel good! I soaked it all in! I put the water as hot as I could stand it. It was great! Oh, I was suppose to have a roommate, but the girl I was suppose to room with tonight, her flight got canceled L So she and 2 others will be meeting us in Ecuador on Friday. So that’s a bummer because I know she is bummed to not have made it here. But soon all 42 of us will be together!! I’m so excited! I also got to Skype my boyfriend one last time before leaving the States. It was harder to say goodbye on that then it was at the airport!! But it was good to get to see him!

Alright, time for me to get to bed. I’m exhausted. I apologize for the typos, but I am feeling way too lazy to spell check, I’m sorry! Next time I post it will be from Ecuador!!!!! Eeeekkk!!!!!

And I swear I will put my mailing address on here! If you would like to get it before I put it up, Facebook my sister or call my house and talk to my mom!! They would be glad to give it to you and I would be SOOOOO FREAKING ECSTATIC to get letters from you!!!!! Hopefully I can put it up tomorrow during one of my two 4 hour layovers!

See ya in Ecuador!

Heather