No Sleep

So it's a little after 3 in the morning and this seems to be my usual bed time lately. My body has slipped back into a very bad sleeping pattern that has allowed me to accomplish next to nothing. Fall asleep anywhere from 3-6 and sleep til noon-2... Bad news bears.

Well when I closed my eyes and thought I was ready to fall asleep, I found myself counting down the days til I leave in my head. Only 17 left? After that I thought about all the stuff I still need... good pocket knife, travel adapter, flash light, find sleeping bag, etc. Then I started thinking about who I was going to try and see next weekend.

My head won't stop thinking, planning, worrying, and hence I'm still awake. So why not blog right?

So I just want to write out a few things I think I will miss the most and on the other end, the things I am most excited to try/start when I get to Morocco. I want to do this sort of for my own record, just to see how much this will change when I get there. Let's put some data down to compare and review at a later date! (I miss school.) Also this list will be minus all the obvious things... I will miss my family like crazy I'm sure, I'll miss friends and friendly faces, and "home" in general.

I will miss....

-being able to call my mom with stupid little questions. No more mom 411 or googlemap mom. Dang!

-MY BED.... it's truly the most comfortable bed I've ever had... maybe why I sleep in so late?...

-walking on campus (granted I don't do that often now, but I sure love it when I visit)

-camp this summer. I hope I never forget how hard and amazing that experience was.

-Sushi! Hope I find some places in Morocco.

Well I found making that list a little hard.... honestly besides missing being able to talk to my family, friends on a regular basis, there isn't too much. I really hope I don't end up missing internet, my cellphone and TV too much. I'll be happy if I end up in a region with very limited access to all of those. Down with my old habits of watching way too much tv and too much time on the internet!

Most excited for...

-The scenery. Sorry central Illinois, but you are very boring. No more cornfields for me thanks! Bring on the beaches, mountains, busy markets, and Sahara please.

-bargaining in the markets.

-learning Arabic and testing out what little French I know. Je parle francais! Je veux un livre et une pomme, si vout plait. (That'd be cool if a vendor sold English books and apples together. That phrase would come in handy then).

-living with a host family. I love my independence and privacy. This will be a great experience for me. A true test and the best way to learn the language.

-meeting other volunteers. It'll be nice to have people who will be able to relate to this life changing decision to join the Peace Corps. I wonder if any are as crazy as me... We shall see.

-I can't wait to find out what health issues I might be able to help with or teach about, but I really look forward to doing woman empowerment groups. Also, I'm really interested to find out what rights and supports peoples with disabilities and specials needs have.

-if I end up in a farming area or basically not in the desert, I hope I can have my own garden or help with the family garden. Who knows! Maybe a chicken too. (I was so disinterested in this as a kid, but now that I'm going to another country, I can't wait for the possibility).

Well that's some of what I'm looking forward to. Listing everything would just take too long. Also I hate to have too many expectations. I don't want to end up disappointed or get too far ahead of myself. I'll be happy where ever they decide to place me.

Time for bed...

Bonne Nuit!