Leaving on a jet plane..

So as of last Wednesday—when summer classes ended—I am officially no longer an undergraduate at Michigan State, and am now well on my way towards acquiring (as one gentleman I know put it) “more degrees than a thermometer.” But since on-line courses are…on-line…I’ve actually spent the majority of the last two months alternatively watching the Golden Girls (the best show ever made) and trudging through the free Rosetta Stone trial the Peace Corps provides like I was storming the beach at Normandy. Soon however all that excruciating language learning will be put to good use since in just a few short days I will be flying out to serve for two years in Benin, West Africa. Staging, a sort of orientation deal thing, is going to be held in Philadelphia and will last for two days before we fly out for Paris then Cotonou on the 4th. Right now they’ve said that my position will be one of several “community health advisors” (delightfully vague…) and once we arrive, me and the other trainees will be paired with host families and undergo training until September. And that’s for the most part all I know—Peace Corps loves to keep you on your toes and guessing!

Everyone has been asking lately how I feel about going and if I'm excited or not...I always answer with something like "up and down" or "sometimes excited and other times scared out of my mind." But mostly I think I feel ready--to see what's going to happen, what it will be like, and what I'll do. Anyway, I hope you'll follow along (I promise not to be too christmas newsletter-y) and feel free to email my parents at tkershner@charter.net or me at hkershner@gmail.com with questions or whatever (although I can't promise I'll get back to you in any sort of a timely manner)! And thank you so much to all my friends and family for their incredible support, I wouldn't be here without it or all of you!