Traveler, Writer, Aquarius, Peace Corps Volunteer
The evidence
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Back in Philly after almost a month of vacation. Of course, everything is vacation right now. Was in Florida for nine days -- the 4th to the 13th. Had a great time with mommom and was completely pampered and spoiled, which isn't too bad considering I might not get another proper meal for a few years. Saw Scott, Anna, and Steffan while I was down there too. Great to see everyone. Also saw Aunt Toby and all the cousins which was terrific. I think I've now managed to say goodbye to everyone I need to see before I boogie.
And one other travel note for the ole archives: dinner Friday night at Cafe L' Europe (or Cafe Europa as mommom says). One of the swankiest joints in Palm Beach and possibly the best meal I have ever had. We started with a bottle of the Matanzas Creek chardonnay, and then I had sauteed duck fois gras with glazed black mission figs and crsipy veal sweetbreads with morel mushrooms and asparagus for an appetizer. Wow. That fois gras was pure ecstasy. Then, for dinner, I had the smoked Hudson Valley duck breast and leg confit with frisee salad, bacon lardons, grapes, and black truffle oil and a glass of the Seghesio zinfandel. For dessert, peach tart and a double espresso. Dear god that shit was tasty.
Now, when I got home, I went through my luggage and all of my clothes and got rid of as much as I could to see exactly what I'll take with me and what the bag/weight situation looked like. I was pleasantly surprised that the bags are light, I'm still able to bring most of my sweaters, and I should have room for all the little things. Plus I can bring my sleeping bag, which was causing some concern. I think I'm going to be the best dressed Peace Corps volunteer in history. Besides the clothes I already own which are mostly Diesel, StyleLab, and Hugo Boss, my uncle gave me two cashmere sweaters, a cashmere blazer, and some Armani ties. I may freeze my ass off, but I'll freeze it off in style.
Now there's just a few more things I need: Timberland boots (waterproof, of course), thermal underwear, a leatherman, a travel umbrella, and some things for my host family (I already got them saltwater taffy from Atlantic City). And it looks like all my finances are set and the money situation worked out perfectly. All I have to do is go back to NY and deposit a few checks and I'm groovy.
What else? I exercised my iVillage stock options and made a free grand, which was cool. That'll help augment the salary while I'm over there. I spoke to a returned volunteer from Ukraine who said an extra fifty bucks a month will have you living pretty well. Sounds good to me. I learned last year when I was in Thailand and having drinks on Kho San Road that I'm over the slumming-it years. I have no problem paying a little more for decent accomodations.
I've also been working out a lot and getting myself back in killer shape. I figure when I leave in two weeks, I should be kickin. And hopefully the tan will still be intact. Vain, I know. But shit, I know I look like pasty white ass when I'm sun-deprived, so there's nothing wrong with wanting to look my best for the upcoming introductions...
I read an interesting post today on the Ukraine Peace Corps boards about host families. Someone wrote that peope train in different areas and there isn't always a lot of contact with the rest of your group, even during training. Also, they walked 45 minutes to get to the place where they trained. Besides that, they wrote that not only do you have a host family during training, but also for the first three months once you get placed. That sounds cool to me. And a good thing a like walking everywhere. Gotta get on those comfy shoes.
Emotions? Outside of the occasional "wow, I'm really doing this, this is crazy" thoughts that come and go, I'm ready. It's nothing more than the "nighttime what-ifs", as Shel Silverstein so aptly penned. It's easy to worry about this and that. The truth is, no use worrying about what you don't know. You just get in and do it and make it work. I think I'll acclimate pretty well. And I'm looking forward to learning Russian. I realized that in requesting Russian training as opposed to Ukrainian, I might screw myself in terms of country placement and get eastern Ukraine where Russian is the predominant language. If I'm in the west, that'll make travel a lot easier to the rest of Eastern Europe. I wrote to the country coordinator today and asked if I can still learn Russian and serve in western Ukraine. We'll see. The best would be if I get the south and Odesa or Crimean. I've got my fingers crossed.
All right, that's about it. Got some shopping and working out to do. Hoping to see Once Upon a Time in Mexico this week. Heading to NY Thursday night to see friends and ex-coworkers. That'll be my last hurrah. Then I see Mom and Marc the next weekend, and then Tuesday morning I'm outtie. Crazy crazy.
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