We've officially been informed: Staging will indeed be September 20th and 21rst in Philadelphia! No idea what our schedule will be like. We'll keep you posted :-)
~Emma
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Go World
6 weeks to go.
After crawling by for so long, time has begun to speed up. There is so much to do, to think about. Trying to prepare for something you don’t really understand yet. Trying to answer questions I don’t even know to ask. What to pack?!
Combined, Mathias and I can pack 200lbs of goods. That means two rolling suitcases and two rolling duffels. That’s pretty much it.
As far as clothes go, I’m trying to undertake a fashion revolution. The dress code for women seems to consist of skirts, lots of skirts, and maybe heels? If you know me you know that I have dressed the exact same since the first grade-jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. Don’t worry; I’ve started practicing wearing a skirt about once a week to work out any possible, umm, issues before I arrive (wow getting in and out of vehicles is hard!).
When not packing, there are many other things to do as well. Finish painting the bathroom, packing the things we don’t use every day, water the garden, freeze the green beans, watch as much of the Olympics as possible, cry at the visa commercials, go to work, go to play rehearsal (we open this week, yay!) hang out with friends and I think I might get baptized this Saturday (really!).
On top of all this, the conflict in Georgia is on my mind. I feel saddened, and somewhat embarrassed that had we not been looking at the region already, I might not be paying attention. Part of applying for the Peace Corps was meant to help broaden my perspective, and already it is broadening. It doesn’t hurt that the Olympics are at the same time displaying spectacularly that all people, from all countries, fight to win, laugh and cry, hold their breaths in anticipation and cheer like crazy for success.
So that’s about it for now, I have to go watch Michael Phelps!!!
~Emma
After crawling by for so long, time has begun to speed up. There is so much to do, to think about. Trying to prepare for something you don’t really understand yet. Trying to answer questions I don’t even know to ask. What to pack?!
Combined, Mathias and I can pack 200lbs of goods. That means two rolling suitcases and two rolling duffels. That’s pretty much it.
As far as clothes go, I’m trying to undertake a fashion revolution. The dress code for women seems to consist of skirts, lots of skirts, and maybe heels? If you know me you know that I have dressed the exact same since the first grade-jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. Don’t worry; I’ve started practicing wearing a skirt about once a week to work out any possible, umm, issues before I arrive (wow getting in and out of vehicles is hard!).
When not packing, there are many other things to do as well. Finish painting the bathroom, packing the things we don’t use every day, water the garden, freeze the green beans, watch as much of the Olympics as possible, cry at the visa commercials, go to work, go to play rehearsal (we open this week, yay!) hang out with friends and I think I might get baptized this Saturday (really!).
On top of all this, the conflict in Georgia is on my mind. I feel saddened, and somewhat embarrassed that had we not been looking at the region already, I might not be paying attention. Part of applying for the Peace Corps was meant to help broaden my perspective, and already it is broadening. It doesn’t hurt that the Olympics are at the same time displaying spectacularly that all people, from all countries, fight to win, laugh and cry, hold their breaths in anticipation and cheer like crazy for success.
So that’s about it for now, I have to go watch Michael Phelps!!!
~Emma
Conflict In Georgia & Pre-Departure Information
Emma and I leave for Azerbaijan in just under a month and 1/2. The weeks leading up to our departure will be hectic so this post is a quick attempt to answer possible questions and address likely concerns.
We are keeping an extremely watchful eye on the situation between Russia and Georgia as Azerbaijan borders both countries. We haven't heard anything that would make us believe it will affect our departure... but anything is possible. Here is a link to the Peace Corps press release addressing the situation:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1364
We will be sure to update our status if we hear of any changes.
Here is our most up-to-date departure schedule.
September 5th is our last day of work. September 12 we leave Belleville for Atlanta, Uhaul and all. September 20th we should head from Atlanta to pre-departure staging and then on the 23rd we will take off for Azerbaijan. We have yet to receive any information on where staging will be held but we are hoping for New York or Philly. I really want to see Yankee Stadium before it is gone...
Once we leave Atlanta, contact will be rather limited. I plan to cancel our phones the week of the 15th and I assume email access will be hard to come by during staging. When we arrive in Azerbaijan we will receive cell phones but it is unlikely that we will be able to call home, all that often. We should be able to receive international calls and from what I hear, there is a decent cell network. However, email (as difficult as it may be to access) is probably going to be the best option.
For those who wish to use snail mail (this option was once reserved for/dominated by my Grandma Akins but as she is off somewhere bigger and better I am ready for the next all-star to step up... who might it be... mom?) here is our address.
The first 3 months we are in Azerbaijan we can be reached at:
“Emma and Mathias Jackson,” PCT
AZ 1000
Main P.O. Box 77
Peace Corps
Baku, Azerbaijan
Once we move to our permanent location we will post that address, but for now this is what we have.
Emma probably has tons more to add, but for now I am done.
-Mathias
We are keeping an extremely watchful eye on the situation between Russia and Georgia as Azerbaijan borders both countries. We haven't heard anything that would make us believe it will affect our departure... but anything is possible. Here is a link to the Peace Corps press release addressing the situation:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1364
We will be sure to update our status if we hear of any changes.
Here is our most up-to-date departure schedule.
September 5th is our last day of work. September 12 we leave Belleville for Atlanta, Uhaul and all. September 20th we should head from Atlanta to pre-departure staging and then on the 23rd we will take off for Azerbaijan. We have yet to receive any information on where staging will be held but we are hoping for New York or Philly. I really want to see Yankee Stadium before it is gone...
Once we leave Atlanta, contact will be rather limited. I plan to cancel our phones the week of the 15th and I assume email access will be hard to come by during staging. When we arrive in Azerbaijan we will receive cell phones but it is unlikely that we will be able to call home, all that often. We should be able to receive international calls and from what I hear, there is a decent cell network. However, email (as difficult as it may be to access) is probably going to be the best option.
For those who wish to use snail mail (this option was once reserved for/dominated by my Grandma Akins but as she is off somewhere bigger and better I am ready for the next all-star to step up... who might it be... mom?) here is our address.
The first 3 months we are in Azerbaijan we can be reached at:
“Emma and Mathias Jackson,” PCT
AZ 1000
Main P.O. Box 77
Peace Corps
Baku, Azerbaijan
Once we move to our permanent location we will post that address, but for now this is what we have.
Emma probably has tons more to add, but for now I am done.
-Mathias
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