Vacation in Washington and getting ready for the Peace Corps.

Right now I'm enjoying a week long stay with a good friend of mine from college, Landon, and his wife Sayuri in Lakewood, Washington. The day I arrived was on Sunday Sept. 4th and I spent the afternoon enjoying the sights and sounds of Seattle and eating at some interesting restaurants. I met up with two friends of mine from a research group I was in while attending the University at Buffalo and we enjoyed a great lunch at a place called 'Pan Africa'  I had dish called Piri Piri that was delicious.   After grabbing lunch with my research buddies Sayuri, Landon, and I walked around town for a bit stopped a cute tea place near the water and went on to have a great dinner.

On labor day, Landon and I enjoyed a great hike on the Fort Lewis Army base where we encountered what seemed to be a forest of black berries, that we later came back to with Sayuri to picked an obnoxious amount of black berries that happened to be some of the sweetest berries I've ever tasted.

So far my trip to Washington has been an excellent change of pace from the summer job, that I just finished up on September 2nd.  I was working as a Camp Director for the Delaware Family YMCA in Buffalo, NY and though it was a very rewarding experience where I learned a ton about working with kids and being a supervisor it was also very tiring and draining ( Kids wear you out!).  The weather here has been beautiful with crystal clear skies  (which offer an amazing view of Mt. Rainier) and warm weather.

I'm using this week as a 'calm before the storm' type of vacation because when I get back to Syracuse on September 11th I am going to be spending the majority of my time visiting with friends and family and preparing for my departure to Mozambique.  I'm extremely excited at the moment to be in the process of packing, and tying up my loose ends in preparation for my two year excursion abroad, but it can be a daunting task at times.

I'll be heading over to Mozambique on September 28th after a brief orientation in Philadelphia on the 27th. The following 10 weeks once I arrive in Mozambique are going to involve a rigorous training schedule that will work on getting me up to par with the Portuguese language and on my ability to teach in a large class room environment.  My job description as it stands now has me teaching math for the two years I will be in Mozambique.

There is a lot to learn on the road ahead and I am excited to get started!