Thursday, August 26, 2010

Invitation


It's official! Last Monday, I was invited to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tonga. The Kingdom of Tonga is a tiny country in the Pacific, about a third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii. I was thrilled to finally receive my invitation, and I could not be happier with my placement! As my main job, I will be participating in the Tonga Expanded Community Education Project as a business teacher. In addition, I will be helping with various extracurricular and community activities. I am hoping to get involved with a choir and maybe help out with a camp for girls. Music and camp....now why does that sound so familiar?

I will be leaving for L.A. on October 5th where I will meet the other volunteers going to Tonga (and Samoa, I think?). From there, we will depart for pre-service training in Tonga from October 7th until mid-December. There is lots to do before October rolls around. Today, I finished my passport application, but I still need to do a lot more paperwork. I have a looooong shopping list including, skirts, knives, a rain jacket, a headlamp, and much more. Traveling is also on the agenda, starting with a trip to Louisville and Nashville this weekend. In between that, I will be hanging out with my friends at St. Paul Homes and attending RHS sporting events to support Kristen and Wesley.

I am hoping to post some FAQs soon, so check back if you are curious about things like the food in Tonga and how long I will be gone.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support and love as I start this adventure. I look forward to sharing my stories from the other side of the world!