6 Days to Go til the unknown...

As I sit here in my rural Marietta homestead, I realize that I have only 6 days left before I leave everything I have ever known, and travel to the place that is unknown. I am sure that sounds fairly dramatic. Maybe it is... I don't know.

About Leaving: I have my fears. I am scared that something will happen to those I love, and I will be unable to do anything about it, and potentially will not even hear about it for a while. I know this can happen anytime, anywhere, so I try to stay logical and rational about it.
I am also nervous about the change I will undergo while I am in Morocco. I am sure there are things that will change me for the better, probably this will be most things. But, I am nervous that when I return I will not be the same person you all used to know. At the same time, I know you all will change, and I hope rather than growing apart from friends and loved ones, I will be able to grow with them, even with distance. I know I will miss you all. BUT... with that said...
Mostly I am excited. I cannot really describe the excitement. I am going to the unknown. I am sure that the adventurer in me loves the thrill of going somewhere new, knowing no one. Having to deal with stresses and difficult times will be exhilarating. For some this isn't their cup of tea. This is my cup of tea, and I am trying to dive right into it and submerse myself with it all.
I am excited to help and assist other people in my expertise, all the while learning and being taught about a way of life I have no clue about and yearn to learn everything about. In a way, I am newborn, and I hope that in the same way babies take in and learn their surroundings I can do the same. Maybe that is a shotty analogy. Hehe.

To my friends/readers: Thank you for everything over the past few months. Its been great, and I certainly cherish those times. I know you support me in what I do and I know your thoughts are with me. It was nice to get to see so so many of you before coming to secluded Marietta so I could spend time with my parentals. I will miss you folks, because you are all good people.

So I wanted to tell you a little about training, what my tentative schedule will be like from the time I fly to training in Philly next Monday March 2nd. Here it is, and I am sure during the process I will elaborate more:

Mon Mar. 2nd - Training in Philly
Tues Mar. 3rd - Bus to NYC, Fly out of JFK in the Eve to Casablanca, Morocco
Weds. Mar. 4th - Arrive in Morocco, immediately board a bus from Casablanca to Beni Mellal
Mar. 4th-8th - Training in a hotel in Beni Mellal, Morocco (foothills of Middle Atlas Mtns); it is a town of about 200,000 people.
Mar. 9th - Leave Training site for CBT (community based training) with 5 other Trainees, and go to a nearby village and live with a host family (on our own).

I am sure I will elaborate more on what happens each step of the way as it goes on. I just wanted to point out I hope to have access to internet about once a week after March 8th.

In addition to internet, I plan to keep a journal, and write letters. I would love if people wrote me letters as well. I have an address for the first three months, and here it is:

Eric O'Bryant, Trainee
s/c Corps de la Paix
2, rue Abou Marouane Essaadi Agdal,
Rabat 10100, MOROCCO

Allow like 2 weeks roughly for the letter to reach me, maybe 3 if you include the time for me to actually get it. I will surely reply. You letters would give me a smile. Please note: don't send packages to me during this time, as they will just sit, and I may be charged for them, or have them taken since I don't have access. So keep the boxes til later (I really hope you consider sending me a box of fun stuff, I would dig that, and would probably send you back something).

So I only have 6 days left, and I have been trying to fill myself up with various foods and drinks I will not have in Morocco. I even had fast food, something that is rare for me. I spend a fair bit of time watching TV as well, way way more than I have in a very very long time. But I am getting somewhat bored with spending my days doing the same sorts of things. Hehe, maybe in two weeks time I will be saying the opposite.

I will probably write again while I am in the midst of packing this weekend.

So in closing, I leave you with a snippit of lyrics. This comes from the song "Baby, We'll be Fine" by The National, off their album Alligator.

" Baby, we'll be fine
All we've gotta do is be brave and be kind"

Much Love