We are down to exactly 14 days until we leave for Morocco. I can’t believe how quickly these last three months have gone. I expect the next two weeks to pass like the wind in the night, fast and somewhat unnoticed. I think it is starting to slowly sink in that we are actually leaving for 2 years. I had my self-absorbed revelation the other day that life as usual will continue to go on without me. There will still be family vacations and holidays, my niece and nephews will continue to grow and develop, my friends will still go out and have a good time, even though I’m not there. It’s a strange realization, one that makes me aware of exactly how much I am going to miss, both in reality and in my heart.

A couple of days ago we decided to gather everything we are thinking of bringing with us into one room. First we picked through what we anticipate we’ll need and what we can, hopefully, live without. Next we packed it all up to see if we could fit it in our bags and meet the stringent Peace Corp baggage requirements, which are:

1. •Checked baggage should not exceed 80 pounds total with a max weight allowance of 50 pounds for any one bag.
   

1. •The combined linear dimensions of checked baggage may not exceed 107”. The larger piece of checked baggage may not exceed 62”. Your carry-on baggage may not exceed a total linear measurement of 45”
   

PROBLEM: We haven’t actually measured our bags but we weighed them on the house scale. Our backpacks each weighed in around 50 pounds, but that means, according to the Peace Corps rules and regulations, our next bag can only weigh 30 pounds.

SOLUTION: Look for different rules and regulations. With that in mind, we decided to check out Delta’s requirements. “To the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia - Economy Class 2 checked bags Each bag at a maximum 50 lbs (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (157 cm)”

Since we are driving to staging we figure we only need to adhere to Delta’s baggage allowance and this is totally achievable. It was actually a great exercise. Now that we have finished I feel much more relaxed about the whole thing. I think we will be able to fit the majority of the stuff we want to bring. As far as what we need, we are going on a wing and a prayer for that. We ordered 2 new suitcases today. The Osprey Meridian 28” which are convertible bags that can either be wheelie or backpacks and have detachable day packs on the front. I think they will be very useful and versatile. Hopefully they will arrive before we have to leave.

Other then that, I still haven’t decided which books, of my ever expanding pile I want to bring. It’s dangerous working at a book store and never having time to read. We also are working on getting the operating system to work on the netbook and still need a few more office/art supplies to get, but otherwise I think we have everything we need.