Packing up and shipping out

Wow. After all these months of waiting the time is almost here. Today is our last full day in Milwaukee, then it's off to Philly tomorrow. We've spent the last week getting our affairs in order, visiting and saying goodbye to friends, and packing what we'll need for the next 2 years into 2 bags apiece. It's amazing when you see how little you can really get by with! Yesterday included a necessary trip to Kopp's for a fix of custard and a visit to our barber Karen, who gave us each our shortest haircuts ever and wouldn't take a penny for it. Today, before putting the finishing touches on packing, we'll get out for a good, hard bike ride before storing our bicycles. Marti's cell phone service is disconnected; the post office box will be closed, and everything here that we've not packed will go to its home in a friend's basement or garage.

It's likely that this is the last post we'll have before our Peace Corps training ends. We'll be in Philadelphia until Wednesday, July 26, at which time our state-side orientation ends. That morning we'll bus to JFK with our group of South Africa trainees, and after waiting in the airport for about 5 hours, we'll fly to Johannesburg with only a refueling stop in Dakar, Senegal. After that twenty hour flight we take a 3 hour bus ride to our training site in the province of Mpumulanga. For the next two months we'll be PCT's (Peace Corps Trainees) where we'll have language, culture, safety, and job training. During that time, until about September 25, there will be very limited communication of any kind. We've been told there will be pay phones available, so with a phone card we will be able to call home to check on family, but not often. Internet access will be almost non-existent. Once we "graduate" to Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) we'll be sent to our permanent post and will get a cell phone and have some internet access.

So, our only real communication for the next couple of months will be snail mail. If you are so inclined, we'd love to get notes from home. Write us at:
Dave and/or Marti Fine, PCT
US Peace Corps
PO Box 9536
Pretoria 0001
South Africa

Thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends for your encouragement and support; we miss you already!