Packing Up & Saying Goodbye

Well, I know our blog has been silent for a couple of weeks, but it's because there is nothing really new going on. I took down our official "Countdown to Freedom" last week because it was making me too antsy, but we are leaving Olgii exactly one week from today and we'll back in California a week from Saturday.

We've both been trying hard to keep ourselves busy and entertained with movies, television shows, and the internet. A PCV buddy of mine recently gave me over 900 e-books for my kindle so I have been on a literary binge for the past few days now.

This past week we managed to square our accounts with our agencies and our landlord -- supposedly all of our utilities have been paid and we are good to go, and we have the signed forms to prove it to Peace Corps! We have pretty much divided up all the things that we are leaving behind amongst the remaining PCVs and close friends we have here. We are also diving into our kitchen cupboards with reckless abandon, eating up all the precious care package items that we have been hoarding for the past couple of years. I think we still have 4 cans of refried beans and something like 3 boxes of Kraft macaroni 'n cheese, so we're pretty much set for the rest of the week.

We've also been spending a lot of time with our sitemates. This past week we've been getting up early to watch the NBA Finals with Brian. It was a pretty exciting series and I think there was a group of 8 of us watching Game 6 over bloody marys and eggs benedict. Our trip out to Tavan Bogd (the national park on the Russian border) has fallen through for various reasons, but we're not too sad. We realize that we have had enough Mongolian travel experiences for a lifetime and now we have a few extra days to pack up and say goodbye to our counterparts.

We have already tapped into our PC-issued "readjustment allowance" and we have been flexing our credit cards e-purchasing items that we know we will need/want for the summer. We have also decided to bite the bullet and get iPhones. We are planning to order them this weekend so they will be ready for us the minute we get to my parents' house. Ashlee would probably like to point out that this was entirely my idea and that she thinks I'm a little silly for getting so excited. Oh, well.

So, yeah, that's about it. When we get to UB next week we will have to spend a couple of days in the PC office officially closing out our service, returning our PC-issued equipment (water distillers, training books, medical kits), getting medically cleared, closing our bank accounts, and conducting exit interviews with the country director. Supposedly getting out of Peace Corps is even more complicated than getting in. We're looking forward to it...