"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there"

Guess what?!?!?!?!?!? I am officially a Peace Corps Trainee!!!!!

The flights to Hotlanta weren't that bad. I accidentally sat in this man's seat on my first flight, and dude you would have thought it was the end of the world or something. But I think my severe exhaustion came across as moronic, so he let it drop and I passed out. Then on my second flight (in one of the tiniest seats ever) I wore my giant winter coat with the hood up and Gurgi tucked in as a pillow. The looks I got were hilair ... I could literally see the confusion. Why is she wearing such a heavy jacket in the middle of summer to Atlanta? Is that a monkey in her hood? ahahahahahahahhahaah, I would have freaked them out more, but I passed out before the plane was even fully loaded.

Then I took a shuttle to the hotel, and dude, what a hotel it is. Its most posh (by my cheepo fresh out of college standings anyway). I am rooming with another volunteer, a girl named Darlene, from Texas. We hit it off right away, she seems most chill. In fact everyone seems most chill, but then again they would have to be to be doing this whole peace corps thing. I can't remember anyones name though, maybe its the lack of sleep O_o ... oh well I have time yet to learn. I can already tell that I'm gonna make some lasting friendships among this group (that is if I can hide my craziness from them all, muahahahahahahaha ^_~)

Also, I learned that I will be staying in Korea for around 20hrs instead of the 3 that I had originally thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so super stoaked. I hope that I will be able to see my oppah Sungho and my unni JuRi. EEEEEEEE!!!!!!! Sa Rang Hey my chingus!!!!

I almost missed everyone today. I know that sooner or later all the goodbyes I said and didn't say will truly sink in and then ..... O_o. But, I will deal with that when it comes ... as for now I'm having a wicked good time ^_^. :::happy danccccccccczzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

"You say Goodbye, and I say Hello."

Today was my last "real" day in America. I spent it with the sibs at Busch Gardens having tons of fun.

I also got to test out my new camera (so I will be uploading pics from Mongolia ^_^)

Here are the highlights of the day:

Tea Cup Ride!!!!!

Belated Birthday Blogging

Woooooooo .... as of yesterday at 3:25pm Central Time I am two and twenty years old!!! 22 on the 22nd which means this is my "lucky year" (doubly so as 22 is my favorite/lucky number ^_^). However as my family was out of town/working/at school I spent most of the morning hanging out with the dog or studying at the library (but what with me being the giant nerdo I am I really enjoy learning ^_^).

However the highlights of my birthday were the 3 awesome discoveries I made:
1) Instant Organic oatmeal -- Roy.G.Biv. is that stuff AMAZING!!!!!!! I'm a big fan of oatmeal to begin with, but man alive, this organic stuff just blew me away Scarface style

2) The Braveheart Theme Music Techno Remix -- no additional explanation necessary

3) Twin Dragons -- this is a Hong Kong film from the early 90s starring get this: Jackie Chan and ......... Jackie Chan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was everything you could have dreamed of and more. I highly recommend seeing it.

My Address in Cyrillic

back at the beach

I am now back in my "hometown" to spend what little remaining time I have with my family. So far it has been very nice and relaxing and most of all fun (especially dressing the dog up in a banana costume, hahaha).

Today I got my flight itinerary. I fly to Hotlanta at 7am Thursday May 31st. The next two days will be spent in intensive orientations and then on June 2nd I will hop a plane to Mongolia (via Korea ^_^). At 15 hours this will be my longest flight ever!

I also started shopping for everything I will need to bring O_o. I know I'm excited about the cold freezing absoballyloutly frigid climate I am about to face...but its a pain to shop for especially when the summer lines have just come out and are just swell. Oh well, thank goodness for L.L. Bean giving me the long john hookup or my tush would be in for a cold 2 years ^_~.

Also I received my address for the 8-10 weeks I will spend in Ulaanbaatar training:

Cassandra Weiner, PCT
Post Office Box 1036
Central Post Office
Ulaanbaatar 13
MONGOLIA (via China)

Once I scan it to the computer, I will put up a link to the label that has the address in Cyrillic (the Mongolia Alphabet). "Items will be delivered if addressed only in English - however, an accompanying Cyrillic version may expedite delivery."

YATTA!!!!!!

"I DID IT!!!!!!"

Well folks, its official .... I have graduated from college!!!! I now have a B.A. in Anthropology from the College of Sciences at UCF ^_^. While, I loved learning everything, I'm glad that it is over and my brain gets to rest (except for the whole learning to speak Mongolian thing).

The ceremony was long and boring (I totally fell asleep at one point), but it was really nice to get to see my Grandparents, Aunt, and Cousins afterwards.

My room is packed, I have begun saying my final goodbyes to all my Florida friends, I'm checking out of my apartment ...... my college career is drawing to an end and will soon be all behind me ^_^.

But that means :::scary music::: .... only 30 days until I leave for Mongolia :::gulp::: ... O_o

I am sooooo excited, yet as the departure date draws nearer I'm becoming more and more nervous ... there is so much I need to do in a relatively short time ... but I know I will get it all done in time, and before I know it I will be in Mongolia ^_^

Also, I have been reading this great book called: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. It is really interesting to not only learn about this "blood thirsty savage" from a non-western perspective, but also to utilize my anthropology skills in discerning various possible cultural sentiments as derived from the knowledge that Genghis Khan is the national hero in Mongolia (man alive, I'm such a nerd). If you enjoy reading I highly recommend this book ^_^.

That's "Ursprache" in German, Dr. Dorian

Today while picking up my tickets for graduation it hit me ... I'm about to enter the real world, and what a strange world it will be. In my spare time I have been reading up on Mongolia and have already fallen half in love with the "land of blue sky." Yet, at the same time I'm starting to really miss America (despite still being here). For instance, I can't shake my irrational "fear" that I'm about to go two years and not be able to eat a real peanut butter and jelly sandwich (because come on, we all know that pb&js are a consumptive corporeal embodiment of the American dream ^_~). Despite this, I'm getting really excited (and just a bit nervous) about leaving sooooo soon. Like my Aspiration Statement says, "the knowledge and experience I will gain in Mongolia will go a long way in helping define the individual I will become."

However, if I plan on even making it to Mongolia, I need to pass all my finals and graduate ... so it is off to bed to dream of distant lands, exotic peoples, and debating Zach Braff about Lexicostatistical Glottochronology (yes I actually dreamt that ... hahaha ... I found it very interesting if just a bit strange, blame it on watching Scrubs while studying).