Hello all,

We are getting ready for PC. We are packing and getting all of our stuff in order. So far our biggest obstacle is packing. What to bring and not bring. I have all sorts of “What if...” scenarios going pulsing between my ears. Faith is organizing the iPod as I type this. We will have tunes until the battery runs down.

Our stuff can be broken down to a few categories; bike stuff, clothes, electronic, other. Yes, we are bring electronic stuff even though we will probably not have electricity at our site. We will more than likely have access to electricity in the bigger towns. I have rechargeable batteries for the digital camera. So we should have plenty of photos to post. I have a hand crank charger for the iPod. I ordered it late so it will have to be mailed to us in country, thanks Lynne.

I am not sure what clothes to bring or leave. I know I will have to look “professional”, so you might see me in a tie now and again. How one dresses is an expression of your respect for others. So I will have to tie one on from time to time. I know it rains, it is raining now where we will be training, so we will have rain gear, but almost everything can be purchased in country. That is what we are told.

We are bring a lot of bike stuff. We will be issued bikes so I am bring a helmet, a couple of bike tools, clip-less peddles and shoes, bike pump and gloves. I am sure we won't heard the locals yell out “Go Lance”. For some reason I heard often in Austin.

For other stuff, we are bring culinary knives and a pressure cooker and some macro seasonings. We thought a few comforts of home were needed to retain our sanity. I am also bring way too many books and my new Buddha board (www.buddhaboard.com).

For training, we will be located a little outside the capital Antananarivo for our 10 week training session. We will stay with our host family from night one. We will see how that goes, hopefully we will be able to assist in the kitchen and learn some Malagasy skills. Not sure exactly what they will teach us, but I am open. If they speak French will probably do just fine.

I have been reading PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) blogs currently in country, and am totally excited. I feel privileged to represent the US. Everyones experience has been different and I know that ours will be unique. .I want to check out their spiritual practices and gain some understanding of their woo-woo. And check out their understanding of bio-energetics and how they describe and treat issues that come up. I know that chickens could be involved.

I don't know how accessible Internet will be, but we will keep our blog up to date as much as possible.

Tom