Philadelphia

I got to Philly okay. (on the smallest little puddle jumper plane ever haha)

We checkout tomorrow at 6am to drive to JFK to fly to Istanbul then Bishkek.

All is well here.

I met the group- we're pretty much awesome :-D

Everyone is really nice. It has been fun to get to know some of the other people that are going to be going through the same things as me. 

My injury for this trip: (I always manage to hurt myself somehow right before I travel... every time) - burns and blisters on two fingers from finishing my scrapbook.  ouch. it makes carrying all my luggage kinda sucky. :-\

And to all of the people I said I'd call... I'm working on it! It has been really really hectic this week. I have some hours in the airport tomorrow free so I'm going to try my best.

I don't know when I'll have e-mail again, but that doesn't mean that you are excused from emailing me! It might take me a while to respond, but I will. I promise.

Miss you all

Love from Philly, 

Jess

Last KY post

'twas the night before.... I left for Philadelphia
(i threw the "twas" in there for all of my fellow jeff dunham fans ;-))

Today has been hectic. I just crossed off the last thing on my "tie up loose ends" list.

A summary:

1 panic attack (but it was a short minor one -and only one so i'm proud of my self)
2 servings of Mom's meatloaf and potato salad (my last dinner of choice)
3 blank pages in my scrapbook that aren't going to be finished
4 bags packed (1 duffel, one duffel/back pack, one carry-on back pack, one messenger bag purse)
5 hours or less of sleep for me before I leave.

It's like a really twisted, backwards, short version of the twelve days of christmas. haha

After looking back over my blog posts of the past month, I realize that most of them have the same themes. Kinda boring. Forgive me? I guess its just because the last month has been all preparation so the major points in my life have been the same.

Hopefully from here on out, I'll be writing new, exciting posts since I'll hopefully be doing new and exciting things.

It's almost midnight and I have to get up at 4am so i'm signing off with a short post for tonight.

More from Philly.

Love from KY for the last time for a long time,
Jess

My address for the first 3 months

I copied this from Katie, one of my fellow K-17s. She did an awesome job of summing up all of this info. I couldn't do it better myself, so I decided to copy and paste:

Peace Corps has rented a post office box in Kant for me to receive letters and packages during PST (Pre-Service Training). Mail should be addressed as follows (YOU MUST PUT BOTH THE RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH ADDRESS ON ALL MAIL):

Kyrgyzstan,
722140, Kant city
97 Lenina Street, RUPS
Mailbox # 22
Jessika Coe

Кыргызстан,
ин. 722140, г. Кант
ул. Ленина 97, РУПС
аб. ящик № 22
Jessika Coe

In approximately week #8, I will visit my permanent site. During the visit, I will establish an address where I can receive mail throughout the remainder of my Peace Corps service. I will inform you all of my new address at site because the PST mailbox will close at the end of PST and any mail that arrives after the mailbox is closed will be returned to the sender.

I am told it’s important to tell the postal clerk that the letter/package is to be sent to Kyrgyzstan. The expected time for non-air mail to arrive is 4 to 6 weeks. Air mail is supposed to make it in 4-10 days, but I have heard from current volunteers that it will take several weeks regardless.

SECURITY:

Regardless of the method (surface or air), mail passes through several countries and postal facilities. Mail – especially packages – sent from the U.S. is a favorite target for opening/pilferage and theft/disappearance but there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of pilferage of packages. The primary one is to discourage opening by 1) making it hard and time consuming to open; and 2) making it hard to re-seal it (so that it isn’t so obvious that it was opened). The recommendation is to pack and seal the box (heavily) with tape. Using normal packaging tape and some durable “strapping” tape over it is best. Put an address label on it. Then wrap the box again with brown shipping paper and seal all seems with more tape. Obviously another address label is needed. Again, the idea is to make it look like it will be difficult to open (at all) and to reseal without it being obvious. The second suggestion is to place the symbol of Islam (the Islamic Cresent and Star - see below) on the package in several places. I'm told that this is particularly effective if the symbol is placed along the seams of the outer wrapping – so that it would have to be cut through in order to open the package. The last suggestion (from Peace Corps) for reducing pilferage or theft is to insure the package. I have no idea of the cost and haven’t heard from other volunteers if it has helped. If the USPS will insure a package and it’s affordable, it may make sense. At least the value of the contents could be recovered.

COST AND PACKAGE WEIGHT:

It may pay off to visit the Post Office and learn the “rules” from a postal clerk. Obviously, the costs are very high. I’ve been told that sending packages weighing more than 20 pounds is a huge problem and that it’s actually less expensive to send two lighter packages. Apparently the cost goes up drastically for a package weighing more and we’ve heard of the Postal Service refusing to accept packages over 20 pounds.

I look forward to getting letters from you all!

love from KY for the last day,
Jess

mt. dew and a sleeping pill - a lovely combination

It's the night before the night before I leave.

My bags are re-packed and sitting in the other room (partly so I won't trip over them and break something vital and not be able to go -not in the ten year plan haha-, partly because they're in the way as I try  to finish packing up my room, partly because I keep finding more stuff to stuff into them, and partly because I don't want to look at them anymore:-) 

Tomorrow Mom and I will finish packing up all of my earthy belonging that are not nailed down or coming with me so they will be out of Mom and Dad's way when I'm gone. (I have too much stuff-btw) Hopefully I'll also finish my scrapbook tomorrow. It is on the list of things that I really, really, really, really, want to take with me but don't know that i'll have room for and might have to have shipped. The rest of the list includes: my bible (mom said she's send it with the rest of my literature-type stuff, but I really don't want to be without it), the rest of my dvds (they wouldn't all fit on my hard-drive), mr. bear.- he might just have to be crammed into my carry-on. I know- i'm 20 years old, but it is MR. BEAR. he really needs to go.

All of the things that I want to take but don't have room for are quite sad.  Some of the other k-17s whose blogs i've read have talked about how all of their stuff was less than 55lbs, less than 60lbs, or had enough spare room to take a tent... or a camping stove (there are apparently camping enthusiasts in our group- how awesome is that?) Me, on the other hand: I have two bags. One is 45lbs the other is 49lbs. huh?How did this happen? AND I'm having almost ALL of my winter clothes shipped to me! I don't have enough room for my shoes. I know... I'm a fairly materialistic person, but I cut down my clothes by half... TWICE!!! I'm really not taking THAT much stuff, I promise.  It just seems like a TON and I can't find anything else that I can take out and leave here.

le sigh. 

I guess that is enough ranting about packing. (I re-did it today. Packing is every bit as frustrating the 14th time as it is the 1st.)

Oh well, I guess i'd better head to bed. The sleeping pill is finally kicking in to shut down my brain so it will shuddup already.

'nite!

Love from KY,

Jess

monday to friday

Today is Monday. I leave on Friday.

wow.

my to do list is gettting shorter instead of longer (for a change) which is great. 

i've been packed for the past month, but i'm really really packed now, the external hard drive is loaded up with movies thanks to my super-fantastic cousins, i've eaten pretty much all of the food that I don't think i'll be able to get in the next 2 years (literally- i think i've eaten two years worth of fresh, raw veggies- that's what i missed the most last time i went abroad), i visited with my family, finished my last minute shopping, and i still have to pick up my prescription, my power of attorney paperwork, and repack to shift some weight around in my luggage and my to do list will be done. whew! 

on the other hand... there is the whole "learning the language" thing that I was supposed to accomplish too.... that did not happen. yet. we'll see how much of that i can cram into the next few days. 

time seems to be FLYING by more and more rapidly. i still have my 745847 phone calls to make before i leave to say the "g word" (starts with good and rhymes with rye) to the people that I didn't get to see.  doing all of the calling sort of epitomizes how i feel about the trip in general=  i love making the calls and talking my favorite people, and i'm excited because some of them i havent talked to in a while, but it also kinda stinks because i am super awful at saying the "g word" and don't really wanna do it. 

My feelings about this experience in general are sort of similar. I am SO FLIPPIN' EXCITED to leave on friday and meet the rest of the PC volunteers and to get this trip started. i've wanted to join the PC since the seventh grade and it is FINALLY happening! But, for something that i've wanted so bad for so long and am SO excited about.... I still have an awfully big knot in my throat and a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach because I am so nervous about it. Those of you who know me well know that nervous is what I do. haha :-D From past experience, I can predict how my last few days in the states will play out: I will have frequent "mini panic attacks" every time I think about what i'm doing. Then i'll reread my journal, or talk to someone about why I want to go, or for the really bad ones, talk to the parents and have them remind me about why I want to do this so much, then i'll be fine. I'll overanalyze ever. possible. aspect. of the trip. Then i'll leave for the airport a nervous wreck (skipping the "g word" scenes for now because i dont want to think about them) board the flight and be completely fine.... until I get to philly. then i have alone time for a very few short hours, which i will try to avoid at all costs. being alone with me, myself, and I can be a very dangerous thing when i'm overthinking everything. haha then i'll go through staging, hang out with other volunteers and be perfectly ok. then have bed time a.k.a. "lay in bed at night and think too much" time - which will suck.  then i'll complete the really long drive/flight/layover/flight to get me to the KR and once i finally get there,  the nerves will settle. i'll deal with all of the really really hard parts of training and adapting and becoming a PC volunteer and then... and only then... i will absolutley LOVE what i'll doing. 

Whew! i'm kind of long winded tonight. haha. but that ridiculous prediction (an example of my overthinking) is kinda like my best possible outcome. not the ideally best, but the best possible (i can't believe I just put that in my blog.... I actually remembered something from a political theory course about aristotle- sorry- random) anywaaaays... i would like to de-stress and not worry or be nervous and i shouldn't worry because it is something that i want so much... but i know me... i will worry because i do it. and i do it well. but everything usually turns out okay anyway

sorry i've been so long winded and random tonight. (and yes, i'm aware of the irony that i will be teaching english and my blog is pretty much one huge runon sentence, has incorrect grammar (and probably spelling, too) i have a lot on my mind right now. maybe it'll get better haha :-)

I promised dad that i wouldn't "stay up all night" which in dad speak means stay up past 11 or 12 haha so i'd better be getting off of here so I can get ready for bed. we're going for a motorcycle ride tomorrow (its getting to be a tradition every time I go away for a while that we take a bike ride a few days before- its a sahweet tradition)

i'm sure i'll be back on here frequently in the next few days.

love from KY (for the next four days)

jess

Chicago

I'm about to head back to louisville from Chicago. Mom is doing a conference call before we go, and i'm all packed so I figured i'd jot down a  few things about my trip.

-Chicago is awesome.

-Chicago style pizza is delicious (but I still think NY style is a little better- chicago has a TON of cheese)

- The "el" is remarkably efficient. I think its one of the best modes of public transportation i've used. But then again, there's the being "el'-evated for the most part and not underground so that might have something to do with it. :-)

- the sears tower view= whoa.

-the hancock view- EVEN BETTER!

-navy pier ferris wheel- sooo schweeet!. it was pretty hilarious riding it with the rents because mom got "uncomfortable" because it is so high and moves so slow, so of course... DAD moves around and makes our cart sway. priceless. i love them

- the museums- glorious! between the u-boat, the t-rex, the sarcophagai,-- next time i'll take a whole week to visit them all

-the aquarium- loved it. there were starfish though, so what's not to love :)

- and the "magnificent mile"- its like rodeo drive, or 5th avenue, but in chicago- i got to go to tiffany and co., the american girl place, Lindt AND Ghiradelli (i love chocolate)... best ever

-and i got to spend time with the rents before leaving for the big KR.

on Kyrgyzstan: holy heart faiulre batman! I leave in 8 days!!!!!!!! but, i'm surprisingly calm about it, right now atleast. we'll see how that changes as the week progresses.

p.s. i'm still not packed. le sigh

well we gotta start our 5, no make that 6 hour drive (stupid time zones) so i'd better sign off.

Love from Chicago,

Jess

sad news.

I was going to write a long blog about being in Chicago, but I just got back and checked the news and...

a peace corp volunteer in Africa was killed a few days ago. 

she was an english teacher.

she graduated from William and Mary.

her name is Kate Puzey.

this is very sad.

please pray for her family.

and for the safety of all of the pc volunteers world-wide.

i'm glad i'm not expecting any of my family to read this before I leave. it'd just worry them more about me going. 

today

Today, the two-week countdown begins.

Things I haven't done yet:
pack
get my power of attorney finalized
learn the cyrillic alphabet.

I fail.... at life....

BUT!

Things I have done:
got my laptop fixed : according to FedEx it should be back by 4:30 today
get my hair cut
spend time with my family
cuddle with my dog

All in all, not a bad list. :-)

Also I realized today how much I am really going to miss inconsequential things.
like:
my big fluffy white robe
fabric softener
daily showers
really really good chocolate
sweet, iced tea (i'm a southern girl ;-)

Since I'm leaving in a few hours to spend the next glorious week in Chicago with my fantastically amazing mother + the coolest dad ever for the weekend, I should probably get off my butt and start working on my to do list.

love from KY,
Jess

p.s. being a procrastinator sucks.

17 Days.

Oh My.

I have 17 days until I leave for the Kyrgyz Republic. 2 words come to mind: holy cow! Where did my three months go? My "three months to get everything finished." My "three months to spend time with everyone I care about." My "three months to mentally prepare myself for the terrifying ordeal that I am willfully undertaking." What was I thinking? Three months is SO not enough time for all of this! But, ready or not... in 17 days I'll be in Philly getting ready to fly to KR for the next 27 months. *crosses fingers* Here goes nothing!

The to-do list is gradually getting shorter, the bags are gradually getting fuller, good-byes are still not being talked about.

It has been a busy couple of days. My Nana (also known as THE Nana) has spent the last two weeks with me, just visitng and bonding since I haven't gotten to see her in a while and won't see her for quite a long time. Saturday, my family threw me a big surprise party with most of my family and a lot of great family friends that have known me since I was a baby. It was great to get to see all of them. After the party I spent the night with my cousin and his family (who all are awesome) We ended up staying up all night (I hate Daylight Savings Time-btw) and had some really great conversation. Only seeing my family once or twice a year for the past 15 years and then seeing them multiple times the past few months made me realize how much I don't know about all of them, but I'm making a sincere effort to get closer to them. I'm also trying really hard to stay in contact with my friends. I am so blessed to have the quantity and quality of friends that I have The next two years will be hard on all of my friendships- old and new, but after moving so many times, I've finally learned that you have to work hard to stay in contact with the ones that you care about. So y'all- be prepared to be mail-box-blasted.

I'm leaving on Friday to go to Chicago with Mom and Dad. :-) Super Exciting! Mom has to go for the whole week, so we're going up early. Dad is coming up just for the weekend and flying back on Sunday for work. None of us have done the Chicago tourist stuff, so it should be a fun family weekend. Mom has been travelling a lot for work because she has to learn her new area, so the whole week she's in Chicago, I'm gonna travel with her and we can have some quality time together before I leave. Then I only have ONE WEEK LEFT!!! Which means I want to have all of my stuff ready to go before I leave. Let's see how well that works out...

I am still working on narrowing down my packed stuff. Comparing my packing list to everyone elses.... I still feel like i'm taking twice as much as everyone else. I didn't think I was so materialistic.... but apparently so. I'm gonna post the packing list when i'm done packing it... hopefully tomorrow. It's my last full day with The Nana so we'll see how much I get done...

I'll keep y'all up to date!

Love from KY,
Jess

Updates

Soooooo.... I'm apparently really sucky at this blog thing. The fact that I suck at it here, in the U.S., with wireless internet access everyday and my laptop at my fingertips, doesn't really bode well for when I get to Kyrgyzstan and have to go to an internet cafe... I'm blaming my lack of blogging on a lack of exciting news the past few weeks.  BUT I now have exciting news! Thus, the blog. haha

I finally got my staging information!!! With less than a month to go and with flights finally booked, it feels real! I leave Louisville at 6:25AM on  March 27th.  (umm.. 6:25am? ew.) And then I leave from JFK at 4something on the 28th to fly to Bishkek with a 7 hour layover in Istanbul. 

Now that it finally seems real and is so close - COMMENCE PANIC! I have so much to do before I go!  

For example:

get power of attorney transfered to mom

pack

learn the cyrillic alphabet

pack

finish my scrapbook to take with me

pack

get everything ready to pack

and did I mention packing?

The sad thing is that I've already started packing. Most of my clothes are packed. And therein lies the problem. I have too much clothing packed. I've been comparing my packing lists to the lists of some of the other K-17s in my group. (We have a facebook group- awesome) I have about twice as much clothes as everyone else.  Mom and Dad are gonna end up having to ship me most of my winter clothes. (sorry y'all) 

But since I've got so little time in here, I'm starting to think about things that I'm gonna miss the next 27 months. Like internet everyday, hot showers every day, the important things- like my family and friends, my dog, and the little everyday things I take for granted like a washing machine, electricity. haha You get it. 

And then there's the things that I'm not going to miss- worrying about leaving, being unemployed, being a college grad living with the parents (no offense Mom and Dad- I love you but this was not in the ten year plan). 

The worrying about leaving thing is multi-faceted. I'm a worrier. You all know this, but i'm trying really hard to not worry so much. I've gotten better. As in, no more panic attacks when I think about what i'm getting ready to do. haha. But I still worry about a few thing. The whole not-knowing-any-of-the-language-thing is kinda...well...terrifying? Being so far away from my family and not having the support base that i'm used to so close. Teaching kids that are just a few years younger than me. Just to name a few...

Well, since I have so much to do, in addition to the 70+ page pre-departure TEFL study guide (that I have a quiz on), I should probably get off here and go do something. 

I'll try to be better about using this thing. We'll see how it goes. 

Love from KY,

Jess