And the beat goes on

... my god it is September 4th already, I remember back to a year ago when my recruiter nominated me for this position and we both chuckled that September was 13 months away and who knows what will happen. Yet here I am on the verge of leaving the comforts of my home life and venturing off 3500 miles away to a land I know only from the movies and grade school geography. Even with the Internet and all the information one can gather on any subject I feel as if I know so little about the country I will be calling home for the next 27 months.

Is it cold or hot? It is both I hear.
What is the language I will be learning? Arabic, but from what I have read there are three dialectics and will not know which I will study until I arrive.
Are the people friendly and receptive to Americans and Peace Corps workers? Only by going there and see for myself will I know that answer... these are just a few of the questions that roll around my head as I wait to depart.

Speaking of departing, I am just about done packing, with the help of a few bloggers and including few things I can't live without... I have created the following list of what I intend to bring as of today... it is still influx, I may subtract a shirt or two and add another items such as the ziplock bags that everyone mentions as a must and of course the all important wipes I mentioned in my last posting.

My luggage includes one XL duffel with wheels, one LG duffel and a decent size backpack which will be my carry-on. I purchase these from LL Bean. I have nice luggage but it was heavy and made for traveling where my destination would be a 3+ star hotel.
Clothing:
Underwear 10
Socks 12 (all dark nothing white)
T-Shirts (not underwear) 6
Long-sleeve Shirts (dress) 4
Neck ties (not sure why) 2
Jeans 2
Coveralls 1
Slacks (dress) 2 (plus what i wear on the plane)
Gloves 2 pr
Scarf 1
Long underpants 1
Stocking hat 1
Brim hat 1
Fleece 1
Fleece Vest 1
Lt Jacket 1
Winter Jacket w/fleece pull out lining 1
Casual Shoes 1pr
Boots 1pr
Sneakers/walking shoes 1pr
Crocs 1pr
Sleep wear 2
Bandannas 2
Misc Items:
Sleeping Bag, Blanket, Sheets and pillow case
Towels (Bath and hand)
LED Light
Laptop, Portable HD, USB Flash Drives and iPod w/ headphones
French Press (Thanks Steve)
Duct Tape
Pochade Box w/ watercolor paints, watercolor paper, sketch books, drawing instruments (many)
Harmonica, playing cards
Camera, rack of AA batteries
Sun glass (at least two pair..Cheap)
Small Photo Album
Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman
One or two books

At this point I am closing in on the 80lb limit... I am switching things around from check-in to carry-on.