I'm on the toiltet, I'll be right back...

Okay, this whole leaving for Morocco thing is more difficult than I anticipated. For one thing, packing turned out to be a helluva lot more complicated than I expected. I'm pretty good at living out of a suitcase, but packing for a two year stint in an unknown climate is definitely a challenge. And sadly, while packing, I decided that my old faithful Samsonite is ultimately too large for me to want to lug around Morocco for two years; I downsized and crammed my life into two medium sized duffel bags.

Heading off to Morocco is also more emotionally draining than I expected. Being away from close friends and especially family for long periods of time makes me really value my loved ones. And although it's sad being separated for so long, we all acknowledge that heading to Morocco is the best decision for me right now, and exactly what I want to be doing. When I left San Francisco, I told my friends to hang on a sec and pretend I'm just sitting on the toilet..."hang on a sec, I'll be right back." The time will fly by and the next thing you know, I'll be flushing and lighting a match. That's a nice way to look at it, I think, although perhaps ironic given that squatty potties are apparently the excrement disposal method of choice in Morocco.

I'm in Philadelphia right now. Flew in yesterday afternoon and stayed with a friend last night, I am now sitting in my hotel room after a long day of training and meeting the 70ish other Environment/Health trainees. They're all such a personable, friendly group of people and I'm so eager to get to know them better.

I'll fly out to Morocco tomorrow. Life's about to change. Woooaaaaah.