It hit me

I thought it would take getting a departure date for it to hit me, but it was actually purchasing my deltamethrin treated mosquito net that did it. I feel like I've almost been in a daze for the last 22 hours since I bought it. I feel like crying and laughing at the same time. Tiana took a picture of me at the bar last night with the "I just realized I'm moving to the rainforest for 8-9 months, what the heck?!" look on my face.

I'm so sad that I won't see almost everyone I now know and care about for at least 9 months. I won't see Tiana, who I now see probably 9 days out of 10, for like 16 months! Really bummed about missing Jeffrey -especially not being able to talk on the phone for ridiculous lengths of time for free! It's nuts. Fortunately, my mom and cousin Shawna (who I almost never see in Canada oddly enough but is my evil twin) will be visiting.

Updates?

• Health coverage is APPROVED! No issues at all, which is amazing considering I have asthma, chest pain and a million food intolerances. Woot!


• Police check is a bit of a messy situation, however. Which is ironic considering I've had no problems with the law and tons of stupid health crap. You can only do your police check in the city where your permanent address is. Which is in Ottawa. So I really screwed things up when I picked Wii over my police check in March. Fortunately, if you pay an extra fee, they'll give it to you that day provided you've lived in the city for the last 5 years. Hopefully they consider me living there for the last 5 years!! It's going to be so last minute since I won't be going back to Ottawa until May 4!


• CUSO forms were couriered over yesterday. So Claudia should be booking my flight really soon! Fingers crossed for a date within the next week.


• Still no passport.


• Hiking boots are in! But in the States so I won't actually get them until April 23. Here's hoping they fit.

I still have some forms to give in to the school. I wrote the first version of my long packing list in a Starbucks last night. I'm really trying to aim for a suitcase and a big hiking bag. One of those is just going to be bathroom stuff (shampoo, conditioner, prescriptions, sunscreen, repellent, etc) by the looks of it!

Turns out an international licence isn't any good since it's so unprofessional looking (taped in passport pictures!) and says that it's only valid with an Ontario licence to accompany it. So I'm going to have to apply for a new licence while I'm in Guatemala, by the looks of it, and just have a version with no picture along with my regular licence. Oye.

Spanish is moving along! It's hard with exams for us to meet as a group now. Doing activities and things on my own and Jeffrey harasses me every time he talks to me to work on Spanish. Which is actually really helpful.

first entry!

About two months left to go before I head off into the Guatemalan rainforest. Well, technically I haven't sent in my signed contract to CUSO or been approved for health insurance, so there is potential I won't go. Technically.

I started a to do list on the side. There are approximately a million things to do in my last two months here in Canada. All of my health insurance sign offs from the doctor and tests were completed last week! Whoohoo! Remind me of things I'm missing. I don't want to forget anything!

And this week I'll be sending in all of my documents to the health insurance company and my acceptance letter to CUSO. Hopefully on Tuesday Dave and I can get our shots (or at least talk to a travel medicine doctor). On Friday, I'll be back in Ottawa. I'll be getting my licence and passport renewed that day.

Things are moving along!

I'm really happy to be leaving in May. The thought of spending a summer in Canada, anxiously waiting to head off to Central America, is brutal.

My placement is, at this point, 8 months long. Which is nuts because it means I'll be done before Christmas! However, I do plan on staying in Latin America for the holidays and travelling.

Three of my friends in my program are going to be in Latin America as well. Ania is going to be in Honduras, Francis in Nicargua (the jerk passed up a job in El Salvador -we would have been so close! Haha) and Dave in Bolivia (COCHABAMA! *hip wiggle*). We are all scheduled to leave in May. Dave and I are working for the Canadian placement agency CUSO (although we have different local partners we'll directly be working for). Francis and Ania were hired by Oxfam-Quebec but are also working for local partners.

We'll be doing Spanish practice sessions at my place twice a week starting this week. My Spanish is the weakest (the only verbs I recognize are the ones that are very close to French verbs). Dave is from Colombia, so his is pretty good, and Francis has become nearly fluent in only a few years -he tutors it now! Ania has taken classes and picks up languages really quickly. So hopefully they can whip me into shape in the short two months we have left...YIKES!

On that note, I have some residence stuff to work on and then should practice some Espanol!