Family Vacay

My family and I went on a mini vacation to Possum Kingdom Lake a couple of weeks ago. It was a wonderful time together out in the middle of a beatufil lake boating, swimming, and tubing. It's the last time we'll all be together for at least year since I am getting ready to move overseas this fall and my brother is about to be deployed to Irq again in February.

Ludicrous Speed Revisited...

Progress toward moving is moving....well....slowly.... But that's ok. Even though the process has been MUCH different than I expected ("delayed" - for lack of a better word - by an emotional time with my mom a couple of weeks ago, a computer crash now resolved, and a family vacation during which I had no phone or internet), I'm confident that it will all come to pass at just the right time. KEY WORDS: just the right time. What is the "right" time? Not sure. But based on how things have been going it seems that the Sept 18 deadline for departing the country may not be the right time. After I'm done with training in early September I will shoot for leaving sometime in October.

Ludicrous Speed

So it’s no secret that for quite some time I’ve wanted to work overseas in healthcare, but the timing and place has been nebulous. I’ve searched for this opportunity for at least 5 years now. And always time couldn’t seem to move fast enough. But in the span of only 2 months things changed very quickly, doors opened, and a new opportunity I can’t resist became available to me. Now I'm searching for the emergency brake, which would be incredibly dangerous at the ludicrous speed I'm traveling at these days (see video below). So bittersweet! My last day at work was June 19 and I'm now in the midst of packing up my stuff to move. The plan is to finish packing, do training in August, say one last round of goodbyes, and leave the country for my new home on September 18. LUDICROUS SPEED: GO!

Why??

did my brand-spanking new computer have to crash AGAIN! hmm, must be an HP she's working with.

Trip Stats & Lessons Learned

**18 days **8 flights **3 countries **7 cities **4 travel buddies with me **14 taxis (at least) **Lots of walking **Countless cups of tea Lessons Learned **When in Egypt, walk like an Egyptian. There are only two types of pedestrians in Cairo: the quick and the dead. **Kurds are not Turks, Arabs, or Persians and they'll let you know it! One must remember this when traveling in the land of the Kurds. **How to pack lighter: doing laundry in the sink and giving stuff away. **When deciding where to move, pick the last place you ever thought it would be and that's where you'll end up.

Meet Elita*

the "chosen" camera THANK YOU Corrine for hooking me up!!! *Elita means "chosen" in Latin

Trip To-Do List

exactly 2 weeks from today I board the plane...I'm starting to get excited! My to-do list remains as follows: 1) Finish reading a book on the culture (220 pages to go) 2) Finish shopping for appropriate clothing 3) Purchase gifts: brownie mix, taco seasoning, coffee, good chocolate, Gold Fish crackers, hard candy, games, baseball caps, Swiss army knives, beauty products, first aid kits, maps, small Atlases, refrigerator magnets 4) Make 6 copies of passport 5) Do my taxes 6) Double-check visa status 7) Buy a small digital camera 8) Decide which pictures of me and my family to bring 9) And of course, will need to pack and keep it under 50 pounds