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"Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known into the unknown" - Anonymous

In one weeks time my Peace Corps experience will begin and I will be stepping from the known into the unknown for the next 27 months of my young life. For me this blog represents the first increment of growth in my adventure into the unknown because I've never written a blog before. The majority of current and returned Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) I have had the opportunity to talk with suggested journaling the experience in any form fitting to me. I have decided to write this blog so my family, friends, and anyone who stumbles upon this page can follow my adventures in Zambia, Africa.

A little background information...I was born and raised in Springfield, MO and spent my time playing fútbol (soccer), floating rivers, fishing, and camping. After high school I attended and played fútbol at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in environmental studies and had no clue what I wanted to pursue next. I went through the motions of a college graduate not knowing what my next step should be and not wanting to settle for anything unfulfilling. I researched the Peace Corps and the life of a volunteer and found something that I wanted to experience and be apart of.

So I applied and after a lengthy and extensive application process I was invited to Zambia to work in the Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) program. Even though agriculture and aquaculture aren't things I'm familiar with, I accepted knowing that I will be taught all I need to know during the pre-service training, which is a mere 8 days away. My feelings are dominated with a nervous excitement due to the vagueness of my knowledge of what lies ahead. I think that is a beautiful part of life...only understanding a sense of direction the future holds and nothing more...requiring you to take one step at a time to reveal what "things" are on the path you choose to walk. I am thankful for the opportunity to be on the path of a PCV and ready to face the adversities of life in Zambia.

Before I can focus on life in Zambia, I have one week to get the last of my things in order and packed away. No doubt I will forget to bring something that I wish I would have brought, but it seems silly to focus on such small issues in the big scheme of things...I'm going to be living and working in ZAMBIA for the next 27 months!!