Complete.

Dance camp was a complete success. The entire week may have been the best week of my entire service. With the 3 PC volunteers helping me, my 4 Macedonian "helpers," and of my my favorite local people by my side, it could not have been better. The girls learned 8 choreographed dances and 13 Zumba. I am proud to say that every single dancer performed on stage, and the majority of the girls performed every dance! Most of the dances have been uploaded online, so I'm attaching them. I have to warn you, there are a lot of videos in this post!! Without saying much more, here are some of the dances:

This is the hip-hop dance I taught. You can see me front and center : )

This is the "pop" dance I taught.

My dance crew kids did this for me....I had no idea!!!!!

This is the ballet piece that Enid did....she's front and center.

The Charleston dance I did. I'm in the front again, but the quality of the video is pretty crappy. 

The modern piece that Enid did.

There were also some amazing photos taken by Lilika from the show. They are only available on FB, so if you are friends with me on there, you can see them! If not, let me know, and I can email you some of them. They are really fantastic!

My kids planned a lot of surprises for me. One of them was the "Bounce" dance. I'd been begging them to do it, but they surprised me instead! I also got more roses than I've ever received in my life, complete with a sheet banner that the kids made saying "We love you Morgan." There was a lot of crying and hugging and photo taking. The entire city was at the show to show their support, and there was an epic news segment too. The night ended with a really nice dinner at a place in the park..all my favorite people were there. 

Overall, is was a perfect week. The next few days were complete....I was so happy. And now...well, now it's on to the next adventure. :D

Ajde ciao-

4 Days Left

I officially have four days left until staging. Things are getting so intense around here!!

I've moved out of my old house. I sold everything I could, and I donated most of the rest. I have compressed my 3 bedroom house down to one single room. I'll be kicking it at my momma's house for the remainder of the time I'm in Nashville.

I went to New Orleans last weekend to say my final goodbyes to all my good buddies there. It was sad, but we all pretended it was just another visit and that I'd be seeing them again soon. Since my return back home, I've been saying my goodbyes to friends and family. What sucks about it all is that I have to keep saying goodbye to the same people. Everyone wants just one more time to meet up real quick, and some people don't see that my final days here should really be just with my mom and sister. It's just really difficult for me to say goodbye to them....I feel like it will take me days to do so.....I haven't found an effective way to handle my last four days here.

So last night I made a list!! I wrote down most of what I need to do before I leave. I am going to begin tackling that list today. What I really need to focus on is packing. The group's FB page has been really helpful with packing advice, but I really don't want to stress over it too much. I know I'll be able to buy nearly anything I need when I'm there, so I want to avoid going overboard on the packing.

The next time you hear from me, I suppose I will have begun my journey. Remember....if you ever hear me being homesick, just tell me to suck it up. : )

29 Days Till Staging

It's really such an odd range of emotions that go on after youve received your invitation. Some days, I am just so excited and anxious to leave. I try and imagine what my experience will be like and the people I will meet. Other days, Im filled with a new type of sadness. I try and imagine not being within driving distance to all the people who care about me here...not being around for the holidays....not being with my dog. Honestly, not having my dog is still just the most depressing things for me, but I know she will be SOOO happy with my mom and her dog, Percy.

On top of all the emotions, Ive had a range of people wanting to see me before my departure. I've had some recent ups and downs with a few people, but all in all I have enjoyed life as much as I can. I've been playing the hell out of some volleyball, in fear that no one will play with me in Macedonia!! Ive also been eating Mexican food about 5 times a week, just so I can get my fill of it for a while.

All that aside, the Tomato Art Fest is this weekend in Nashville, and yours truly has a tent. Actually getting a tent in the festival (which isnt easy!!) has been more of a blessing than I ever thought. Spending hours on end making art and jewelry for the fest has relieved so much of my stress and anxiety. It allows me time to process my thoughts better, while being excited about something other than leaving, which I think is important. So Im VERY excited for Saturday!!

In my last 29 days in the states, I have a lot to accomplish. Moving out of my beloved home is by far stressing me out the most, next to packing. I still have some exciting events on the way though, like my trip to NOLA and some possible day getaways. All in all.....feelin' good.

Selling my stuff...starting to get real

Since my last post, I havent had many new developments. I will say that my family and friends are beginning to show pure excitement for me. At first, my friends and family were happy, yet extremely saddened by the fact Id be gone for so long. My mother and sister were really hesistant in accepting this new step, but now they are both just glowing over the big news!! My friends have been incredible in planning last minute trips and outings with me.....everything just makes me feel so very thankful for what I have here in the states.

This weekend, I am having a MASSIVE yard sale. I am attempting to sell everything I can in my house...minus a few things I want to leave at my mom's house. Our entrie front room is packed full of clothes, furniture, books, kitchen stuff, rugs, bags, etc etc....I mean, everything really. My housemate created an event on Facebook for the sale, and we have a shitton of people coming on Saturday!! Im excited to sell a lot of my stuff, because I really want to save up some cash prior to leaving. Im also sad about selling a lot of my stuff, bc it's all things Ive collected over so many years. Our house is the house people love to visit bc it is so unique....

That being said...there is just something liberating about selling everything and starting over...esp this way!!

On a total side note, I met up with a fellow PC applicant yesterday morning for coffee. This woman is incredible!! She's been nominated to work as an NGO deveolper, and she's hoping to get placed somewhere like Morocco. She's pretty fluent in French, and she's taking a class on Arabic. She had the most inpirational history to share, and it made me even more excited about my departure.

Received that famous blue packet

Well, they said it would take 7-10 days, but I got my blue packet in only a few days!

Coming home from work yesterday, I had my mother on the phone. Upon getting out of my car, I SQUEALED!! We were both so happy to have been on the phone at the same time for that moment. Eager, I rushed inside and tore open the packet. It's amazing how much information they packed in there! Sure enough, it says I will be working as an English Resource Teacher for either secondary or primary students, leaving for Macedonia on Sept. 9.

More forms?!?!?!? Man....I thought I was just about done with filling out forms and other materials, but alas, there is more. Mainly, it isnt so bad....just things for passports, insurance, and other informative info on where I'll be and what I'll be doing. So I sent in my acceptance last night, and I spent the rest of the evening celebrating over nachos and margaritas with two of my closest pals.

Gotta say.....I was filled to tears with happiness. I was telling my housemate "Do you understand how many months I have waited for this?? Do you know how much time and money I've put into just being able to hold this packet?!" She was thrilled for me. : )

Alright guys....two months to pack and sell. Now comes the tough part.

Invitation is in the mail!!

So I got medically cleared on June 15th. On June 21st, I thought I was going to have to wait another 9 months to get placed. One day after my last entry, I heard from Placement. It was my Placement Specialist, and she wanted me to answer some more questions and also set up a time to speak on the phone. Elated, I announced I'd be free to talk on Monday.

Monday morning rolls around, and it is about 11:10 in the AM. The specialist calls, and we discuss the option of either me going as a regular English teacher this September, or waiting until next year to work as a Teacher Trainer. I weighed out my two options pretty heavily, and decided the placement in September worked best. To be quite honest, I am a little disappointed I will not be working as a Teacher Trainer, because it really would have looked nice on my resume. That being said, I will have some definite perks working in my upcoming placement!!

So the specialist said "Eastern Europe" for the first week in September. I quickly jumped online to look at the timeline, and Macedonia it is!! I spent the rest of the day at work googling every piece of info I could find out about the place and the programs.

In comparing my two options (teacher vs. teacher trainer) I think the only downfall at this point will be the difference in the job title. Macedonia, however, looks INCREDIBLE!! I am seriously pumped!! Not to mention, I'll be in a good place, geographically, for nice weather, close to friends I know over there, and not too terribly expensive for family to come visit. The proximity to other volunteers will be great, and the living conditions are considered "posh corps," bc most places have running water and electricity.

All in all, I am a mixture of terrified, anxious, nervous, excited, and a little sad. Now I just have to sell my stuff, pack my stuff, and move out of my awesome house. I'll spend the next two months saying my goodbyes, spending every second with my dog, and doing A LOT of packing!!