UNC Reunion 2006

This past weekend was deliciously scandalous and fun. I went back to UNC for a weekend of laughter, drinking, dancing and late-night food. The very good looking group is pictured above.

Ways in which my friends and I have matured:

1. We stayed at the Carolina Inn, the nicest hotel in the area.
2. We all have paying jobs. Some are even home-owners and some have actual careers, rather than just jobs.

Ways in which we have not matured:

1. We might have stayed at the Carolina Inn, but we slept 7 to a room.
2. We may have paying jobs, but we still spend a considerable amount of money on alcohol.
3. We were still the craziest, dirtiest people on the dance floor at Player's. We were also the craziest, dirtiest people in any bar that we decided should have a dance floor. Much of this was caught on film.
4. I still knew the DJ at Player's.


On Sunday I was lucky enough to spend time with the families I used to baby-sit for. I love that they always say how happy they are that I take time out to come and visit, like it's a chore for me. I love staying with them and watching the kids grow and can't imagine that it would ever feel like a chore! They really were a family for me during my time in Chapel Hill and I feel so fortunate that I've been able to make it back every year to see them all. I'll really miss the kids when I'm gone and I was so happy when they promised to send me letters and gifts!

So now I'm back in NYC for the home stretch. This weekend I'm having a small party for my 25th birthday and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time out with my friends. I have less than 7 weeks of work left - the time is really flying by and it's starting to feel more real that I'm leaving.

Luckily, after this weekend's trip down to UNC, I really confirmed that I've made the right decision and I'm totally excited about leaving for the Peace Corps. I'm not so excited about this...

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4067

Leave it to me to head to a country that might be in the middle of a military take-over after 20 years of relative peace, albeit not much prosperity. Peace in Guinea must not have been easy to maintain, given the situations with their bordering neighbors Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. I hope that the military take-over will be avoided and Peace Corps Guinea will continue without interruption, but I suppose only time will tell. I have no doubt that the Peace Corps will take care of us - most people complain that the Peace Corps is too strict on volunteers, but after my experience with i-to-i in Kenya I'm going to be grateful to have people looking out for me!