Hi! Welcome to my blog (friends and family I hope)!

It's officially the night before the big move to the Dominican Republic, so I guess I should get this thing going! I want to emphasize from the get-go that I am a.) not a passionate "blogger" and b.) may not be the most witty/entertaining. However, I hope to provide you all with a window into my life for the next two years.

Schedule: I will be flying from Providence to D.C. tomorrow where I will meet up with the 45 other Peace Corps volunteers going to the DR. We will have about 15 hours together (a brief orientation), where I will receive my official government worker passport. Then, on August 20th we will fly to Santo Domingo, D.R. for the beginning of our 3 month orientation. Basically I get lots of vaccinations, learn some Dominican spanish, become trained as a community health worker and live with a host family during these 3 months. Then I am shuttled to my community (whether they place me rural or urban) where I will be a community health worker for 2 years!

I am very excited to finally leave (after months and months of delightful bureaucracy) and cannot wait to be engulfed by the spanish language and tropical weather. However, this is not to say that this summer has not been excellent and busy-- work at Dunkin Donuts (NEVER WORK THERE), volunteering at the HIV/AIDS organization Project CARE, taking the GRE, 3 trips to NYC, 2 wonderful visitors, and the list continues..

I have packed my goods for the next two years in 2 suitcases totaling a mere 66 pounds (impressive, I know). This includes everything from hiking boots to sheets to hot sauce and kitchen utensils! I only brought along 6 tshirts and 2 pairs of jeans..and one Calvin Klein dress (along with other clothes). Hopefully I am prepared for both the hot weather and daily "business casual" attire necessary as a public health worker. Whatever I don't have I can probably find in Santo Domingo.

I hope to keep in touch with you all (thus I have created this blog). Feel free to post comments (please please!) and email/facebook me. Do not attempt to call me. My internet accessibility is unknown, but most likely I will be able to check my email every few weeks at the latest. I will be updating this blog at least once per month, if not more often.

Que Dios te cuide,
Leigh

P.S. The picture for my blog is not of the DR, but rather Vina del Mar, Chile. I will replace it soon with some local pictures upon my entry!