Reintroduction, and what I have done and will be doing in the near future

Hello everyone!

I've been writing in this blog detailing my experiences in the Peace Corps, but did not tell anyone about it until now. I did this because this blog is about me in Kazakhstan. I'm still not there. I leave tomorrow morning.

However, now that I've sent out e-mails detailing what I'm doing, where I'm going and how to access this, I wanted to make sure that newcomers to this blog (well...everyone!) to know what they can expect from reading this.

First, I'd go back and read my first post . While badly written, it lays the groundwork for everything else.

So, a quick recap of my past couple of days as I think of them, and what I will be doing in the next couple of days:

• I am in Philadelphia, where I have just completed Peace Corps Staging. Staging is a small conference where we learn about basic Peace Corps policy
• I leave for Kazakhstan tomorrow. I go through these intense feelings thinking about it: joy, impatience, nervousness, and pure terror. In less than 24 hours, I will be in a country where the only Russian words I know are my name, the word apple, and the sentence "this is my family". A great start, right?
• I ate a Philly Cheese steak today. I wasn't impressed, but I'm not a big meat eater anyway. I'm glad I tried it though.
• The best thing about PC Staging: You meet people who can relate to why you are deciding to move across the world to help people, and they think it's quite natural and not crazy.
• The worst thing about PC Staging: It can get intense, and tedious filling out paperwork, but it is for everyone's good.

Tonight will be spent typing, finishing some grant reviews, and packing. Tomorrow is a new day, and a new country. Here's hoping that all goes well!

~K-Chuck

By the Numbers: Last Days Before Staging

5- Hours I slept since Friday night

8- Rollercoasters ridden (Six Flags!!)

3- Number of times I had Mexican food on Saturday

5- Number of times I went to Target on Saturday

0- Hours I slept Saturday night

15+ Number of times Mom asked if I had everything

Below 10: Number of times I said yes to Mom's question of whether I have everything

2- Hours it took to clean my room

15- minutes it took me to clean my Dad's Jeep

1- Number of shooting stars sighted

The Puppetbike

For those of you who live near or traveled to downtown Chicago, then you probably have seen the puppetbike. If not, then keep an eye out for it.

The puppetbike is an improvised stage box for hand puppets attached to a bike. The puppets range from alligators to cute cats and the hidden talented hand puppeteers have some pretty entertaining shows. The green eyed lady and I came across them in Chicago over the weekend and the show they performed put a smile on my face. It really is a sight to see!

Packing!

One thing that I've found to be very stressful in my days leading up to leaving is figuring out what to pack. Kazakhstan is a country of extremes, with temperatures going consistently below zero in the winter to over 100 degrees in the summer. Since it is summer, it is almost impossible to find clothing that would keep me warm during the winter in stores. In addition, I had to buy lots of new work clothes, which are a pain to pack. Based on some emails and conversations with current Peace Corps volunteers, the common message has been "less is better because you will be carrying your bags for long distances. With that in mind, this is my list of what I'll be taking:

• 7 t-shirts
• 2 long sleeved t-shirts
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 2 windbreaker/lounge pants
• 5 pairs of normal socks
• 4 pairs of wool socks ( These should help against the cold)
• 3 pairs of dress socks
• 1 black suit
• 1 bathing suit
• 7 ties
• 5 long sleeve dress shirts
• 2 short sleeve dress shirts
• 1 reversible brown/black belt (I'm happy about this!)
• 1 pair of dress shoes
• 1 pair sneakers
• 1 pair flip-flops
• 1 pair soccer shoes
• 1 pair of thermal underwear
• 1 light wind/rainproof jacket
• 1 fall pea coat
• toiletries
• 1 small handtowel
• 1 laptop and cds
• ipod

All of this stuff will be crammed into a large suitcase and a large duffel bag. Knowing that there will be things I wish I didn't bring (and stuff I'll realize later that I should have taken with me), I think this can get the job done for now. But knowing me, this list will change up to the second that I check my bags.

My Nissan 240 SX

Because I will not need a car while I am in the Peace Corps, I placed an ad on Craigslist to sell my car, a gray 1990 Nissan 240 SX. Although the car is old, movies and video games such as The Fast and the Furious and the Need for Speed made the car popular with car tuners and mechanics. Although I knew about the popularity of the car, I was astonished about the amount of calls I had after placing the ad.


Just after only 2 days of placing the ad, I sold the car to a young mechanic. He said that his original plan was to place some modifications on it and sell it, but he may keep it because cars with flip up headlights are hard to find.


To many, it was too loud (because I put in a new exhaust system), too low to the ground(but I didn't mind), unsuitable for Iowa winters due to its rear wheel drive(parking lot doughnuts, anyone?), and downright dangerous because it lacked airbags, but I liked that car a lot.

To me, that some of the most memorable moments of high school happened in or around that car: hanging out after the halftime marching band shows, awkward dances and dates, and splitting a 24 pack of Mountain Dew with Aaron J. while rocking out to Tenacious D's "Tribute". It was in that car that I had my first encounter with the police, where I and a good friend were falsely accused of burglary because the thief got away in a car with flip up headlights like mine.

In college I used it to escape the "bubble" of my university,to transport a whole drumset or string bass to the jazz gigs that paid my rent, and made countless 3am trips to McDonalds and Dennys where my fraternity brothers and I discussed football, alien probes, the next great prank or whatever else was on our minds while waiting for the sunrise and 8am class.

I am sure going to miss those headlights.