Overlooking the Missouri

I had to sit in class for three days straight immediately after graduation. In the words of Bobby Fanelli, "brutal." I was home for three days, most of which spent in class, and all other spare time was spent packing. After a mad scramble, I loaded up in a van early this morning and started driving across the country. 14 hours later I now find myself over looking the Missouri river, the gateway to the west. I will be a week in Yellowstone and head for staging next Sunday. Sorry so short, but sitting in a car all day is more tiring than it should be.

So much to do in 20 days

Per the habit developed in my computer classes: "Hello World!" or en Francais: "Bonjour le monde!" The latter may or may not be correct French. I have much to learn.

I am not sure whether to introduce myself or to express my excitement and anxiety about my departure for Burkina Faso in...checking my calender...20 days! So much needs to be done between now and then (June 7 for those who don't have a calender handy). I still have four finals and a three credit hour class that I will be attending up until the day before I leave. Regarding this class, I have two things working in my favor. My father is the professor and the classroom is no classroom at all but the fresh air of Yellowstone National Park. Even so, I'm afraidI won't have time to realize how unprepared I am until this mad rush to the beginning ends.

I assume you know me if you are reading this blog. First, I thank you for expressing interest in my life by visiting my blog. Second, I apologize as I probably have not kept in touch as well as I should have. I hold so many of you close to my heart, but the busyness of school and golf has caused me to live in a shell for the past few months. I should mention that I have played for Taylor University's golf team for the past four years. Trying out for the team four years ago was one of the best decisions of my life. I send a shout out goes to my teammates if any of you happen to read this. I love you guys!

In a few short weeks, I depart for Burkina Faso to teach high school math with the Peace Corps. I will be teaching in french, and it sounds like I will also need to use a native language in addition to my french. Below is a map of Burkina Faso for those of you who are rusty on your African geography. I will also try to figure how to post a link to Wikipedia's Burkina Faso page for those who are interested. I make no promises.

The need to study for two finals tomorrow is looming over me. If I fail these exams tomorrow I may not even be able to go Africa. I am not super worried, but I should go study. In my next entry and will better explain how my preparations are coming and write about my expectations and concerns about my coming experience with the Peace Corps.