The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur, but I thought it would be nice to put atleast one more "pre-departure" entry up on the blog. First of all, I'd just like to thank everyone for the all the encouragement (much needed!) and the many parting gifts that were beyond generous and will be a tremendous help.

Tomorrow morning I'll be flying to Philadelphia for the staging event and will remain there until this Friday. Arrival in Douala, Cameroon is scheduled for Saturday the 20th. After a night in a hotel and a 4 hour bus ride on the 21st I'll arrive in Yaounde, spending a few days receiving some general briefings on security and health in addition to the last remaining vaccinations. Our language proficiency test is also scheduled in Yaounde. Hard to tell how much studying french on my own has helped over the past few months. It may come as no surprise to some of you that studying isn't exactly my cup of tea. Sink or swim tactics seem to work much better.

From Yaounde I'll be hopping on a train to the fine town of Ngoundere and then get back on the road for the remaining leg of the trip to the northern city of Garoua. Perhaps I should have named this blog 'Planes, Trains and Bush Taxis.' My 'pre-service training' (PST) will be taking place in the nearby village of Nassarao. According to my Peace Corps update, Nassarao is "a beautiful Muslim village, 7 km from Garoua, off the main road to Maroua. It has a village market and a weekly cattle market that attracts alot of cow, goat and sheep buyers." Meghan, I hope you registered at the Nassarao market. Just let me know if you have a livestock preference. I just never know what to get!

I could ramble on for much longer, but I do have an early flight tomorrow. Thanks for reading, hope to update you again soon.

Allons-y!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the first installment of "Danny Bob's African Safari!" No, I have not gone off the grid quite yet, but the day (September 17) is fast approaching. Just in case anyone has any questions regarding my whereabouts the next few weeks, my itinerary looks a little something like this...

Labor Day Weekend- Fill the car with my remaining worldly possessions and head down to Charlotte, NC to see some of the fam. Catch the Va Tech/ECU game and fill up on some much needed Americana. Return to DC on Monday for my last three days in a cubicle.

September 4- Bid au revoir to my friends/coworkers at the DoD. Proceed to the nearest happy hour joint in Arlington for a few last brews and laughs with the fellas.

September 5- In Fredericksburg for a few days to see the lovebirds (aka Meghan and Chad), trying my damndest to avoid any conversations involving Meghan's favorite topic. I won't say what it is but I'll give you a hint. It starts with the letter "w" and rhymes with edding.

A few days later- Continue south to Charlotte to spend a week or two with the parents, spending most of that time eating all their food.

September 17- Bid adieu to the folks. Fly to Philadelphia for staging.

September 19- Fly out of New York to Douala (via Brussels), arriving sometime on the 20th.

September 20- Your guess is as good as mine:)

As for my whereabouts during the first few months of training, my mailing address is the following:

Dan Archibald
Peace Corps Trainee
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 215
Yaounde, Cameroon

Thanks for checking out the blog, and I hope to provide you with plenty of interesting/funny/thoughtful/bizarre experiences over the next few years.