Weird...

Today I am officially unemployed. I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am now a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm not sure if I can handle the title change.
I was trying to think of the title for this post and I couldn't decide. So many things are mixed into being done and coming home. It's basically just a little on the weird side. I'm sure I will bore you with all (well not all, that'd bore me too) the details. People usually don't really care to hear more than like 5 minutes worth of your story. As I work out the bullet points and determine which elements make for enjoyable conversation (should I leave out my stomach problems?), you'll have to humor me.

I feel good. I am excited to go home and sad that I will be leaving. It's the perfect mix.

This week I have all my goodbyes in Berat. My week is booked solid. I even had to use a little calendar to keep track of who and when. I do have two lunches available if you'll be in the Berat region.

The weather has been rain followed by rain with a mix of rain. Actually we did have three days of sun while I was in Tirana. I would have rather had those three days last week when I had planned on going to the beach. The flooding in the Midwest has made it on the news here. Indiana was mentioned and my friends told me about it the next day. So there are at least 5 people in Berat, Albania who know that the state of Indiana exists. You can understand why I am leaving Peace Corps. Obviously my work here is done.

I posted some pictures on flickr. They are not organized or titled. I hope to get to that soon. Take a gander regardless and enjoy.

I think today begins my Ten Day count down. See you soon.

tick tock tick tock...

TWO WEEKS!
That's right. I am homeward bound in two weeks (technically I arrive late on Tuesday the 24th). I can't believe the time has come already. I'm taking appointments now so that I can tell you all about my two years worth of stories. Preferably we'll do this over coffee. I am certain I will be going through withdrawl and I doubt I can afford many lunches out. I'm gonna be American poor when I get bach. Waahoo!

The power just went out which means I don't know when I will be able to actually send this. We've had consistent power since mid January. I so used to it again. The funny thing is that this stuff doesn't phase me anymore. Yesterday I didn't have water. I just used some water from the bottles I keep on hand to brush my teeth (oral hygene is a must) and figured I'd shower at a later point.

Luckily I was a good little volunteer and sent in my final report before the power went out. The report was a summary of our activities for the last two years. Writing and reading my "accomplishments" felt good. Often I felt like I wasn't doing anything or at least not enough. Going over all of it, I realized I did accomplish some things in the down time between my coffees and pool time. Oh I suppose I should be honest. That report that I sent in this morning was due two weeks ago. Did you expect anything less?

Ooooh. The power is back on. So very nice. I guess it was just a little glitch.

See you all soon. First stop Taco Bell. So good. Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, and so many more tasty carbonated beverages. I can't wait. Sorry got distracted.