Africa Bound

Today's the big day! After 2 days of training and orientation, our group of 24 heads to the airport in a couple hours. We got our first round of immunizations today (yellow fever, MMR, Polio, and Malaria prophylaxis). Good times. Well, assuming all goes well, we'll be in Brussels tomorrow morning, and we'll arrive in The Gambia tomorrow evening. I should have internet access for about a week, so I'll post updates when I get over there. Peace.

Skiing in Africa?!?

My trip out to the East Coast has gone very well. I spent some quality time with my sister and her family, the highlight of which may have been playing 'Hullabaloo' with Hannah and Natalie at 10am Saturday morning with a particularly nasty hangover. Seriously though, it was really great seeing my nieces and nephew, and it's hard to believe that they'll be 5, 7, and 9 when I get back.

On another note, my brother and I were watching TV this morning and just happened to catch a spot about a SKI RESORT in Morocco! It turns out there is not just one, but TWO ski resorts in the Atlas Mountains. We both just looked at eachother in disbelief, and then immediately started making plans to check it out while I'm in Gambia. So, it appears that my fears of not skiing for 2 years may be unfounded...


Tomorrow I head to Philly for Staging, and will officially start Peace Corps training. We leave for Africa on Wednesday...only 3 more days!

The Torture Begins

So it's official... Alta got their first snow of the season yesterday, and here I am sweating down in Florida. Unfortunately, this is only the first in a long line of painful snowfall updates I'm bound to receive over the next couple of years, while in a country that has a geographic high point of 171 feet above sea level.

Well, for all you A-Lodgers, I hope these next 2 years are as good for you as the past 2 years were for me. Although, with the announcement that Alta is closing its Terrain Park for the 2006-07 season, I would imagine that most of you will be looking for other places to work and ski, so I wish you luck in those pursuits.

Practicing my self sufficiency...

Took a break from all the many preparations to depart and spent the day fishing with my Dad. After a VERY slow morning, we had much better luck in the afternoon on an outgoing tide. As soon as the tide shifted, we started pulling in fish. We reached our limit on Redfish pretty quickly, with me landing 2 of the 3. That night we had blackened Redfish cooked on the grill... DELICIOUS!! Pretty sure I ate about 2 lbs myself - I'm trying to fatten up a little before I have to survive on rice alone for 2 years. I still haven't quite gotten used to the heat down here in Florida, but I suppose it's a good warm-up for what's to come. On a fun note, I wrote my Will and Living Will yesterday....THAT was a little strange. And I still haven't found quality information on what to pack, so I'm going to go with my gut and bring a week's worth of loincloths, that should at least get me to Banjul.

P.S. - For all you east-coasters, I'll be in the Wilmington-DC-Philly area Sept 21st - 27th. Give me a shout if you want to meet up.

SHARK!!

Ahh yes, Faden proudly displays the Bonnethead shark that he caught on our first fishing trip with the parents. After a sweaty, exhausting, 2 minute fight, Faden managed to land the vicious creature without any serious injuries. That was pretty much the highlight of the day for Faden and I, as we watched my Dad pull in fish after fish, while we sat with our bobbers in the water wondering what we were doing wrong. Despite our poor performance, we still had fresh sea trout seviche the next night, courtesy of my Dad's skills.

Note to All

So, my initial plan is for me to mail letters home to my parents and have them post entries on this site for you all to view. We'll see how that goes....

Me

Photo taken on a climbing trip at City of Rocks with George & Charlene, May '06