Day Two ... or This Is Getting Really Old Really Fast

Wake up 5:30 a.m. to make 8:30 a.m. flight (at least I got more than four hours of sleep, which was nice)
Find out 8:30 a.m. flight is cancelled. Why? I don't know.
Call Sato (on hold less than an hour!)
Booked on afternoon flight
Closed eyes
Tapped heels
"There's no place like Washington. There's no place like Washington."

Day One ... or Why I Can't Wait To Join The Peace Corps!

Wake up 5 a.m.
Arrive at Springfield at 7 a.m.
Find out second leg of flight (Chicago to DC) is cancelled
Rebooked out of St. Louis at 5:50 p.m.
On hold with SATO Travel for more than one hour (didn't talk to anyone)
Rebooked out of St. Louis at 12:40 p.m.
Drive to St. Louis
Rebooked to 11:56 a.m. flight
Got on plane (finally)
Sat on plane for 30 minutes
United Airlines cancels all operations into and out of Washington Dulles
Get of airplane
Call SATO Travel (on hold for an hour)
Talk to someone!
Booked on 5:45 p.m. flight for Monday
Get hotel room
Call United
Find out I was automatically rebooked to 8:3o a.m. flight
Called SATO
...
...
...
Opened Bag Number One to find out can of Off bug spray popped open and messed over stuff...

The Big Day

12:20 a.m. and I'm still up. Finished everything tonight and still had time for beer and euchre. Hopefully my flights won't be delayed tomorrow. Can't believe it's finally here!

One Week

Not a whole lot going on, just didn't want to board to get stale. Things are winding down now... or heating up depending on how you look at it I guess. In less than a week now I'll be working for the U.S. Government. My biggest project this next week is packing (which I'm sure will take more than one try) among finishing up a couple books, watching TV and some movies, a little shopping, getting some last-minute fixes on the internet, going out to eat, visit friends and all that other stuff. Can't forget packing, though!

For anyone interested, check out http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com where you read other PCV blogs from all over the world!

The Countdown

We're less than two weeks now from the time I officially become a Peace Corps trainee! About two weeks ago I received information on my Staging. On February 25 I will fly from Springfield to Washington, D.C. where the fun begins. Then on the 27th, we board a non-stop flight from DC to Johannesburg, South Africa (15 hours, 10 minutes). A layover February 28 in J'burg and we're off to Lilongwe, Malawi on March 1.

In case anyone is curious, my list of things to buy is getting shorter and the items are getting smaller, though not necessarily less important! I'm still excited, but getting a tad bit more nervous. I just have to remember a few things though -- like the fact that I'm looking forward to the challenge of the Peace Corps, and lots of other people have done this before me. Like many things in past and future, I don't expect to be easy. But if thousands of other people can do it, I can do it.

I met with a Malawi RPCV today who had lots of great information. We talked for two hours, and I'm sure I could have gone for at least two more. There is just so much information to share and questions to ask that everything is almost overwhelming and thinking of everything you want to know about can be difficult. One thing I thought I might share is this: Depending on how unlucky I am some posts on this blog may not be for weak-stomached readers. Part of life in the Peace Corps is getting sick and getting parasites. (No, I'm not looking forward to that part.) There are so many things that we Americans have never been introduced to that learning to deal with them is part of the adventure. And they say you'll be surprised what the human body can handle. But it still doesn't sound fun. I've heard other volunteers' stories and it can get pretty freakin' gross sometimes. If everything else I write bores you, that should provide a tiny bit of entertainment, I suppose. Though I hope I don't have any of those stories to write about and I only can tell about my friends' experiences.

By the way, if any of you were wondering what RPCV means, it's "Returned Peace Corps Volunteer." Peace Corps if full of acronyms and abbreviations (PCV, PCT, RPCV, COS, ET, CD, APCD, and many more). Sharing them with family friends almost feels cliche -- kind of like keeping a blog during the experience has almost become cliche. But this is stuff that will help you understand all I talk about during the next two years.

That's all for now, I suppose. Thanks to all who came to the going away shindig, to all who sent regrets and everyone else for their support so far. Two weeks to go!

Nothing? OK.

So, not much feedback from that last post. Just wanted to give a minor update here. I'm currently packing up my Nashville home and will be moving back to the greater Manito Metropolitan Area for about 2 1/2 weeks.

Other than that not much has changed. Still excited, still rooting for the Bears on Sunday!

Reminder -- going away gathering February 10 in Manito. Email me, call or leave a comment if you need directions or details. Anyone and everyone is welcome -- Bring your friends -- The more the merrier!

Also for those who have been asking, I have posted my African mailing address in a previous post. This will be my address until the end of April when I will likely send my new address via email, as posting specific locations of volunteers tends to be a no-no with the Peace Corps. Count on an absolute minimum of two weeks for letters, probably longer and definitely longer for bigger packages. Padded envelopes tend to ship faster and be treated better than boxes from what I hear. And start sending stuff now, as it will take time to get there and I have less than four weeks now!

So What Do People Want To Know?

Hello to everyone in the "Yeah I Read Matt's Blog On Occasion When There's Nothing Else To Do" Club,

I feel like since I've advertised this and this is a big change in my life, that I should post something every so often. Plus, soon I won't have the opportunity to do this weekly, so I should take advantage of the convenience, I suppose.

First, let me say that I'm wondering what people are wondering. Do you have questions about the Peace Corps? About Malawi? About my time the next few weeks? About my opinion on the 2007 Chicago Cubs? Most of the Africa stuff can probably be better answered by checking out my links and surfing the Web, but I'd still love to hear from everyone.

I've been trying to come up with a song lyric or saying or something that sums up the Peace Corps and why I'm doing this. Granted, I have a grand total of zero days experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer, but still. PC itself has two slogans, mottos, or taglines of sorts. The first is "The toughest job you'll ever love." The second is "Life is calling. How far will you go?"

I was looking through some stuff on my computer the other day and came across this poem. Now, please understand, I more or less hate cliches. I'm pretty sure this comes from my training as a journalist. There's almost always a better way to say things. And I feel like this poem is used too often for situations like this, but I thought it was very fitting, nonetheless. You've all heard of Robert Frost, I'm sure. So, somewhat regrettably yet somewhat proudly I give you the poem. If anyone can think of something better, please let me know.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

P.S. Go Bears!

My African Mailing Address

For anyone who has any interest in sending me anything once I get to Africa (I hope this is all of you), here is my mailing address for the first few weeks:

Matthew Fornoff, PCT
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 208
Lilongwe, Malawi

I've heard that padded envelopes get a little better treatment in general than boxes, so keep that in mind when sending anything. Also, plan on a bare minimum of two weeks and probably more like 4-6 week sfor me to receive anything you send.

Going Away Gathering and some other stuff

Hi all,

It's been a couple weeks since I posted. As my Farm Bureau career is winding down I'm focusing more on packing, moving out of my apartment and how I'm going to spend these last six weeks in the United States. As I've said before, I'd love to see all of you before I go so don't hesitate to call or email. If you don't know my phone just leave a comment here, and it will show up in my email inbox.

I will be having a casual Going Away thing probably the second weekend of February. There will be very few personal invitations sent out, so consider this an open invitation. Details are yet to be finalized, but it will likely be at my parents' home in Manito on February 10.

I'm still feeling quite excited about the opportunity ahead of me, but as I get closer and focused more on the preparation and goodbyes, I am slowly realizing how much I will miss some things. No worries, though. Two years really isn't that long -- except when you're stuck in a place full of bugs, no running water, no electricity, heat, rain, poor infrastructure, unreliable transportation, strange food, strange language where no one you. Just kidding. Kind of. Really I'm looking forward to it, though I know it will extremely difficult at time.

I have made an effort to be as well prepared as possible, though. I have been in touch with people have been in Malawi with the Peace Corps, people who are there now, people who will be going with my group, people who are/were in the Peace Corps in other countries and people who have connections to Malawi in other ways. (No, not drug dealers.) This has been incredibly helpful in terms of deciding what to pack, what experiences to expect and more. I realize part of what makes this a life-changing, unforgettable experience is the unpredictability, frustrations and learning. But I figure I can be the best prepared PCV in the history of the program and still have more of those experiences that I'll ever imagine.

That's all for now. Leave comments. Email me. Call me.

Less than two months...

Less than two months now until my grand departure for the far side of the world. February 25 begins Staging, then a couple days later I'm off. I'm still more in Farm Bureau/real world mode than in oh-my-god-I'm-leaving-the-country mode. Still, I'm starting to think more about packing and preparations each day.

Also, I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone whom I won't be able to talk to while I'm gone (for 26 months -- at least -- in case you're counting). So send me an email, leave a comment or give me a call.

Where in the world is Malawi?

Malawi is a small country in southeastern Africa. It borders Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia. It is about 10-17 degrees south of the equator. That equal in the Northern Hemisphere to the location of the southern Caribbean down to the very northern edge of Venezuela in South America. Approximately the size of Indiana, Malawi's population is about 13 million with 650,000 of those in Lilongwe, the capital city.

Click here to go to the CIA World Factbook page for Malawi. There is also a link to reference maps on the top of this page.

Name This Blog Contest

OK, for anyone who actually is checking this, I'd like to tap into your keg of creative juice. I'm looking for a name for this blog, and I'm taking suggestions. You can see what I've got so far. At the very least I need that third word filled in. At best, I need something catchy, creative, different and memorable.

It doesn't have to be a variation of what is there. No idea is too dumb. In may be a combination of suggestions that finally gets used.

So, either leave your comments here or email me at kmfornoff@gmail.com with your thoughts. The person with the winning submission will win a great big bag of satisfaction in knowing they had the winning submission. Oh, and I'll also post some of the most interesting ideas on here later!

I told you!

I told you there was nothing here yet! Well, actually I guess there is something here now...