The beginning

18 days. That's how long I have until I fly to Atlanta for staging. 19 days. That's how long I have until I fly to Johannesburg, South Africa. 21 days, that's how long I have until I step foot on Swazi soil to begin 2 months of intensive training. Then 2 years of service. Needless to say, I'm busy.

I named this blog after a book I had growing up. Learning to Swim in Swaziland by Nila K. Leigh tells the story of Swaziland through the eyes of an 8-year old girl. It was one of my favorite books as a kid and was one of the first things I thought of when I received my Peace Corps invitation. While I don't necessarily see it as a coincidence, I take it as a good luck charm that my impending adventure was always out there, waiting for me to plunge into headfirst.

I look forward to sharing my daily joys and tribulations as I navigate a completely new existence in Swaziland. I will most likely not be posting any new blogs while I'm in training, but look forward to updates once I've settled. Probably sometime in late August or September.

I'll end with a quote from my blog's namesake: "You should not be afraid of what you have never done. You can do all kinds of things you never dreamed you could do. Just like swimming. Just like writing a book (or a blog, in my case). Just like living in Africa."