Well friends, the time has come to jump into the blogging pool. Forgive my newness, technical incompetence, and inability to predict the future. I may write often, I may write never. Maybe there will be pictures, but maybe you'll just have to use your imaginations. We'll just have to wait and see how the Peace Corps and the Kazakh steppes treats me!

Here's the latest: I leave August 20th (that's in less than two weeks...) from Minneapolis. Then after two days of basic introduction to the Peace Corps in Philadelphia, I'll be boarding a plane for Almaty, Kazakhstan. I have three months of training somewhere near Almaty before I start my secondary English teaching assignment. Training sounds like it will be a crash course in Russian, Kazakh, Kazakhstani culture, health, safety, and teaching. Post-training, I'll receive an assignment, likely in a small town or village. Until then, I won't know where exactly in the country I'll be posted -- might be near an airport, might be 40 hours away by train.

Peace Corps will officially allow me to have visitors after my first 6 months of service and before my last three months. So plan accordingly, friends, because I'd love to see your smiling faces on the other side of the planet. And I probably won't be back in the States for at least 27 months. Aaah!

I'd love to hear from you all before I go. I've had a lot of time to think about how amazing my life and friends have been so far as I sort through old cards, playbills, fourth grade writing assignments, photos and love letters. I can't wait to find out where you are and what you are doing two years from now! Keep me posted.

Thanks for all your support getting this far (I know I haven't been the most stable friend in the past few months as this all works out) and thanks in advance for all your thoughts, prayers, letters, e-mails, etc.