It’s a little weird and overwhelming to go through your things from the last 22 years of your life and clean everything out. Especially when you don’t realize how much stuff you really own and have accumulated over the years. Every week since July, when I accepted the offer to be a volunteer, I try to tackle one part of my room. In weeks past, I didn’t really think about it, but today was something different. My phone alerted me to new emails, so I took a break from cleaning the bookcase to check it out. It was from the Madagascar Peace Corps desk requesting us to fill out a Homestay questionnaire, giving us new volunteers an updated packing list, and informing us of discounts PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) can get. Although my travel info was not included, I found out that my fellow incoming volunteers and I will be staying one night in Johannesburg, South Africa before proceeding to our final destination, the training center in Mantasaoa, Madagascar. Can you talk about exciting!

So I thought about it, I’m leaving in 39 days! Well that’s if Staging doesn’t get moved to different dates. 39 days. That’s just over a month to finish cleaning and boxing up my stuff. Just over a month to finish my pre-departure checklist (I’m probably way too over-organized). Just over a month to say goodbye to friends and family for nearly 3 years. Yikes!

So rather than relaxing and watching television shows and reading books, like what I’ve been doing since I quit my job at Disney in November, maybe I should start getting serious about the things I need to complete before I leave. So less Pinterest and Instagram, and more packing, organizing, and cleaning. Cheers to that.