Hey all, this blog has moved over to a new site. Sorry for the trouble. Also, the new site is password protected (something we couldn't easily do with this website, hence the change). To get the password, please just give us a quick e-mail to clencurry@gmail.com. It would be nice to hear from you anyway. Plus it will give us a chance to explain exactly why we need a password protected blog. Anyway, sorry for the inconvenience, but it is necessary. If e-mail isn't your thing, you can use facebook too. Or I guess you could call us, but that might be a little expensive.

Here is the new site:

http://clencurry.wordpress.com

We wont be updating this site anymore, so from here on out, you can go directly to the new one. Thanks for looking in on us. Hope to hear from you soon.

Chris (and Nan)

Chris and I recently returned from a visit to where we'll be working and living in Suva in just THREE weeks! We arrived on Sunday and spent the day enjoying Suva. We walked in the heat for awhile checking out each of our work locations in preparation for Monday morning, saw Transformers 2 at the air-conditioned Cinema 6, enjoyed a beer with Bob and Julie at the Suva Yacht Club, and then had a dinner party at Maya and Teri's. (Maya and Teri are FRE-4 and FRE-5s that will be leaving this month; we''ll be moving into their house.) As we were starting to fall asleep in our shared twin bed, Chris and I both started to feel a little sick. We spent the next 24 hours dealing with stomach issues in the most intense way (feel free to read in-between the lines). Evidently it is not a wise decision to eat popcorn at the Cinema 6.

On Tuesday I had a chance to spend the day at the Adolescent Health & Development Center, where I will be working for the next 2 years. I met most of the people I will work with and had a chance to see the Center. I am fortunate to have an assignment in a fairly progressive office. The center's walls are covered with posters for Save the Children, the importance of condoms, and the message that "Equality Empowers"! I think I will fit in just fine. The day I was there they were hosting an STI and HIV/AIDS workshop, so I had the chance to sit in and see what a workshop looks like in Suva. The take-away message for me was keep it relaxed- start on Fiji time (read Late), have plenty of tea breaks, a long lunch break, and frequent breaks for stretching. Overall, it was an enjoyable day at "work" followed by an hour stroll home along the sea wall. Is this sureal or what!??!

As mentioned in the last post, Chris will be working with Save the Children. It's an international NGO focused on the protection of children's rights. Chris will be working in the Child's Right's and Participation department travelling around Fiji doing workshops and other related work. He's very excited and has been reading non-stop to figure out what exactly all that means. His office is in Suva in a converted house that is very full. Save the Children Fiji has outgrown their workspace and is looking for an annex... but for the time being, Chris will have a desk (think small table) in a very little room (think closet) with the two other people that make up his department and about 60 boxes full of pamphlets and posters... it's good, I think, that he'll be travelling alot. He's learned a lot so far and is looking forward to training being over so he can get in and do some real work.

Just to give you an idea of the extreme difference of life in the big city of Suva and our present life in the village, here's a little tidbit about the morning...

Most mornings I go for a run with the other trainees in our village. Now that we have been here for almost 7 weeks, we are allowed to run outside the village in knee length shorts. Yeah! If you've ever run in an ankle-length skirt, you will surely appreciate this advancement of ours! Of course, we cannot just go walking through the village in shorts so we wear sulus, wrap-around skirts, until we leave the village. Every day we tie our sulus to a post at the edge of the village and pick them up when we're ready to re-enter the village. Today, however, three of us went for a nice run of about 5 miles. When we got back to the village, and to the post where we had left our three sulus, we saw only an empty post. Much to our embarrassment and cultural insensitivity, we had no choice but to walk the half mile through the village wearing shorts. If you're wondering if anyone noticed the three kavalagi ("English") girls scantily clad in their knee length shorts, I can tell you for certain they did. When I arrived home, my host-family expressed concern about my lack of sulu. My host parents are concerned about what happened and are planning to address this at the village meeting. Ratu, my host-dad, assured me this will not happen again and that he will do his best to insure the return of our sulus. The chiefly system can really be effective in this type of situation, so I am hopeful that my hot pink Peace Corps sulu will be returned.

To wrap things up, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Fourth Of July! And a special shout-out to Chris's grandfather, Poppy, as it's also his Birthday! So, to Uncle Sam and Poppy, congratulations on completing another year and a very happy birthday to the both of you!

With love from Fiji,

Nan (and Chris)

Some folks have asked us to send out our mailing address again... so here it is:

Chris Clendenin or Nancy Curry, PCV

Peace Corps/Fiji

Private Mail Bag

Suva, Fiji Islands

South Pacific

Now please enjoy these pictures from the opposite hemisphere.The Group in Our Village

Chris and La hanging festive curtains... those curtains are being turned in to shirts for Rahim, Chris and Nan

Sean and Chris

Nan and Kara wearing traditional Jabia Sulus (pronounced CHAMBA SOO-LOO)

Nan picking Papayas

The inside of our soon-to-be house in Suva

The outside of our soon-to-be house in Suva

FISH!

Happy Father's Day to all the great father's that are checking this blog! And a special greeting to Chris Zorn on his first Dad's Day! Congratulations!

We have some good news of our own. We found out today where we will be stationed for our two years in Peace Corps service. We will be living in Suva. It is the capital of Fiji, so if you look at a map of the world, it's very likely that Suva will be the first city in Fiji you see. It's on the south western corner of the biggest Island, Viti Levu. It's very exciting for us to finally know where we're going. And our jobs, you ask? Well, Nan will be working with the Ministry of Health working to better utilize a community center for youth. They have a structure but no programs working so Nan will be designing programs that will hopefully be in place for years and years to come. It's very exciting work and Nan is looking forward to the challenge. I, on the other hand, will be working with the international organization, Save the Children. They have some national campaigns that they will be implementing from Suva and I will be working on developing those programs some how. It's all good work and I look forward to working there.

Anyway, I just wanted to hop on and let everyone know what we're up to here. Thanks for reading, everyone!

Chris and Nan

Bula vinaka! Greetings from Fiji! Chris and I found ourselves with a free hour so we wanted to update you with the happenings of our first 2 weeks on country. So much has happened, it's hard to begin...

Staging in L.A.

We spent about 24 hrs in L.A. preparing to leave the country with our fellow 30 trainees. It was an exciting time as we met all of the people in our training group (FRE-7). Each trainee brings so much to the table we’re having a great time getting to know them! Peace Corps staff was in L.A. to collect final paperwork, screen us for Swine Flu, hand out Peace Corps passports and international plane tickets. The two staff members gave us a list of phone numbers in case of emergency and sent us on our way…

…and two days later we arrived in Nadi. We took a 6 hour bus ride across Viti Levu, the main island, to the Tailevu province were we will be for the remaining 7 weeks of training. By the time we got to our training site we were completely exhausted from the jetlag and near 30 hours of travel! We ate dinner and headed to bed at 7:30pm.

Training Center

The next morning we had our first yaqona ceremony welcoming us to the village and Fiji. It is Fijian village protocol that anyone who wishes to enter a village must request permission from the village chief and present an isevusevu, a root that can be ground and then mixed with water to make a drink called yaqona (Kava, in English). Fortunately, while we are still learning, someone else does that for us every time we enter a new village. After 5 days of language and culture training our 32 trainees were split into groups of 5-8 trainees and assigned villages in which to live for the remainder of training.

Home-Stay Families and Living in the Village

Chris and I had been expecting to be split up during training, but were actually assigned to live with the same host-family! We live in a large village with more than 500 people. We’re staying there with 6 other trainees and 2 host-country national LCFs (Language and Culture Facilitators). Our family is fantastic! We live with our host parents (Nau and Ratu) and a 23-year-old brother (Junior). During the week, our host-sister and her adorable 7-month-old stay with us.

Our host family has been a huge help with language and culture. They all speak fluent English, but do their best to speak in primarily Fijian so as not to hinder our learning.

Food

I am including a section on food in this blog as food is a rather large part of Fijian culture. For example, when we return from a day of training our host-family will ask “Kana cava?” (“what did you eat?”) instead of “how was the day?”. As many of you know, Chris and I were worried about the food in Fiji as we weren’t sure what to expect. No need to worry about our nutritional intake. Our diet consists of fresh fruits and vegetables ( most of which are from our village’s plantation), fish, chicken, tinned meats, and a lot of starches- root veggies, ramen noodles, rice, bread. The cooking methods in Fiji tend to include a high amount of oil and butter, but our host family has been really flexible with this so we’re not always eating fried eggs and fried meats.

There is much going on, but that will have to do for an update as our hour is almost up. We miss you all! Please feel free to write (address in previous blog)! Also, check out the pictures in the blog posted right before this one. We’ll try to post more soon, but our access to Internet is very limited!

Nan (and Chris)

Hi all! Here are a few picts we'ld like to show. Sorry there aren't more. Hopefully we can put more up soon!

Nan and Melissa cleaning their water bottles

Nan enjoying her first drink of yaqona (pronounced YAWN-GO-NAH and also called Kava or Grog, for slang)

Our neighbor kids posing for the camera

Our host brother, Junior, shucking a niu (pronounced KNEE-EW, it's a coconut)

A Fijian sunset at our first training village... not too shabby...

That's all for now. Thanks for looking in on us. We'll try to put more up soon!

Love,

Chris and Nan

...and we are most definitely ready to go! Our four check bags are weighing in just under 150 (collectively), which gives us about 10 pounds to spare.

Today is the day! We can't believe it's finally here! We're leaving this morning for PDX to catch our 11:20 flight to L.A. We'll spend tomorrow (Tuesday) meeting our fellow trainees and preparing to leave the country. Our trans-Pacific flight is at 9:30pm TOMORROW!!! Once we arrive in Nadi, Fiji, we'll have a 5 hour bus ride along the coast to Suva where our training will begin.

During the first 5 days of training we will be at a vocational training in Suva. During these 4 days we'll start our language and cultural training. On May 25 we will split up into groups of 5-6 trainees and live in villages in the Tailevu area with host families. We'll have formal training Monday-Saturday, and will be able to structure our own learninng and spend time with our host families on Sundays. Week 5 of training we'll find out where our site will be for the next 2 years and we'll get a chance to meet our community contact!

It sounds like our first 10 weeks in Fiji will be packed and we may or may not have access to Internet until July. We'll post blogs if/when we can, and try to get some snail mail out if we are unable to post.

Feel free to write us. We'd love to hear from you!

Our name(s), PCV

Peace Corps/Fiji

Private Mail Bag

Suva, Fiji

SOUTH PACIFIC

Thanks for reading!

Nan and Chris

While Kevin was in town, Chris Z. and Karen treated us to a bon voyage dinner at Portland's Greek Cusina. On a typical night at Greek Cusina, the house is packed and diners are entertained by traditional Greek dancing, plate throwing, etc. Volunteers are pulled from the crowd to become part of the show for a few minutes, and then retire to their dinners to enjoy the rest of the evening. When we happened to go it was a cold and rainy night in Portland (no kidding!), and we were the only guests at the restaurant. So instead of being entertained, we were the entertainment! Chris Z., Karen, Kevin, Chris, and I danced until our feet were sore. We counted to three in Greek, yelled "Opa!", and broke plates. Chris and I sat in chairs while the very Greek owner of the restaurant poured Ouzo into our mouths. It was a fun, and exhausting night. Too much fun. (Check out the pictures below!)

Nan (and Chris)

Me and the owner of Greek Cusina

Chris drinking Ouzo Greek Cusina style

Owner of restaurant teaching Chris, Kevin, and I a traditional dance

Chris Z. doing a little solo dancing

With only 4 days left in Sandy OR, the time to start packing has arrived. After a few requests, we are including a photo of what we’re taking in our 160 pounds (80 lbs each). We, by no means, claim to know what would be best to bring. This is only what we are bringing. We used input from the Peace Corps official packing list, the revised list from PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) already in Fiji and input from PCVs and RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) via our Facebook group, "Peace Corps Fiji". Note: we are, of course, not taking the bed, the bedding, the art on the walls, the bedside tables, or the lamps.

This is a list of the items in the picture. It roughly goes from left to right and top to bottom. I stress roughly!

Snorkeling gear sets (2)Camping pillows (2)Bag/purse (made by Mom and Karen from the scraps of my homemade, ankle-length skirts)Inflatable globe (to show people where we’re from or give as a gift)Stuffed animal monkey to keep us company

Power adapterSunglasses and casesAsis Eee PC Laptop computerNon-stick pots and pansA really good can openerSilicone spatulaCamping bowls and cupsLight My Fire all purpose utensils (It's a knife, fork, and spoon all in one!)Cheese powder from Kraft Mac and Cheese (for a homesick day when we just want some junk food from the USA)Measuring cups and spoonsMini globe balliPodsAlarm clocksBag of batteries (AA and AAA)Digital cameraSmall cord (for clothes lines and other times that we’re sure we’ll be glad to have it)CarabineersReally good scissorsShortwave radio (Primarily in case of emergency, but also in case we don’t have electricity in whatever type of home we have. We have to have music!)HeadlampsPocket knives (assorted; Jonathan and Megan, we like yours the best!)Duct tapeBooks: Journal from Josh and Meg, sketchbook, Lonely Planet‘s South Pacific and Micronesia, God: A Brief History, Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Obama’s The Audacity of Hope, Lonely Planet‘s Fiji, Map of the South Pacific Islands, Wellspring journal, "The Calorie King", Fijian Phrasebook, Webster’s Pocket Dictionary, The ADA Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, How to Cook Everything cookbook, two small photo albums of winter scenes and most of the people we loveFancier digital cameraHeadphonesGameboyHair clippers (I’ve learned to cut Chris’s hair for him, but I think I’ll just let mine grow)Electric shaveriHome speakers (in little black bag)Games: Uno, 2 decks of playing cards, Dominoes, Quiddler (Tim and Debbie, we love this game! Thanks!), Zigity, set of dice, SkipBo, Phase 10, and BananagramsScrewdriverPliersMSR micro fiber towels (4)Ziploc bags (200; assorted sizes)Beaded bracelets that change color in the sun and Obama buttons (gifts)TentKitchen knives and knife sharpenerStationaryCalculatorWater bottles (a few of which are not PBA free, but we‘re hoping the BPA scares away the worms!)D-link portable wireless router (for use when we have Internet access, however often that may be)

ShedRain umbrellas (2)More calculators (gifts)Bag of pens, pencils, and SharpiesFrisbeeRaincoatsNan’s clothingCubs hatBeanie for cold nightsNan’s shoes: Chaco sandals (2), flip-flops, trail runnersChris’s shoes: flip-flops, chaco sandals, trail RunnersChris’s clothingCardinals hatNot pictured: toiletries, inflatable sleeping pads, the few items of clothing that we are presently wearing or are in the wash, and our silk sleep sack. We opted to leave the 20 degree down sleeping bags in the states, and instead will use a thin silk sack for camping and overnights at any questionable hostels.

Now if we can just get all of this stuff into our four bags and distribute the weight evenly enough so that no bag weighs more than 50 lbs. Oh, and we'll also need to pack the bags so that 2 of them have everything we'll need for our first 10 weeks in country. We'll have access to the other two once training concludes. This may take some serious strategizing!

Nan (and Chris)

Neither of us, I'm somewhat embarrassed to say, had ever been to any part of Canada. We decided since we were so close we should fit in a trip before heading to Fiji. After a short drive north in our styling PT Cruiser rental car, we took the ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, British Columbia, and had a fantastic three day visit. We stayed at this really cute hostel- The Ocean Island Backpacker Inn- and even had a private room and bathroom! We were close enough to downtown that we could walk everywhere. We walked almost 12 miles on Friday and another 6 or so on Saturday seeing as much of Victoria as we could.

At the Bug Zoo we held a 400 leg millipede and watched a school group of 5-year-olds put it on their faces. We also saw the biggest ant farm either of us have ever seen. It may not show up in the picture, but the bottom left cube of the ant farm is filled with dead ants- the "graveyard". We also checked out the Miniature World, which is a museum with dioramas of everything from World War II to fairy tales to dollhouses to the heartland of the USA. One of the highlights of our trip was taking a walk out on the breakwater. We saw an otter, watched float planes take off and land, and watched scuba divers doing their thing. We took a lengthy stroll through some random neighborhoods and ended up at Beacon Hill Park, which was in full blossom! We got to Victoria just in time to see the end of the tulips. My favorite! We continued our walk on Dallas St. along the coast. It looked like it might storm any second, but never did, which was great because we were ill-prepared for a downpour.

Though I'm not entirely sure Victoria is known for their food, we had some of the best sushi on Vancouver Island, the tastiest (and greasiest) fish and chips at Fisherman's Wharf, and real Dutch Pannekoeken at De Dutch!

When we got back to Sandy, OR, my brother, Kevin, was here. We've been hanging out with him for a couple days. Yesterday we hiked Multnomah and Wahkeena Falls. Beautiful!

More Peace Corps info to be posted soon!

Nan (and Chris)

Room at Ocean Island Backpackers Inn

Dinner at Azuma Sushi

Chris Walking Through Beacon Hill Park

Houses at Fisherman's Wharf

Victoria's Coast

Shaman, the Street Performer, on the Skateboard of Death!

Nan Sitting In a Big Tree At Beacon Hill Park

Millipede with 400 Legs! Ewww...

Giant Ant Farm at the Bug Zoo

Kevin and Chris at Wahkeena Falls

Hello everyone!

Today marks a mere 13 days until we finally leave for our adventure. It has been a long wait and as the actual date draws close we find ourselves double checking all of our preparations. Move out of apartment: Check. Sell car: Check. Quit jobs: Check. Fly back to Tulsa/Kansas for one last final goodbye: Check. Frantically run around purchasing last minute items: Check... but we'll probably do that again on the evening of the 17th. The most common question asked of us right now is are we getting excited yet... and finally the answer is YES. We've both packed our bags to make sure everything will fit. We've read and re-read our orientation information and can't wait for the next two weeks to pass.

So, here's the update on what we've been up to for the past month since we last blogged. The Currys came to visit. Well, almost all of them. Bob, Sheri, Michelle, PJ, Haley, and Parker came to visit a few weeks ago. Their visit was full of visits to the zoo, fish hatchery, and the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. The adults also made a trip to Marakesh, a Morrocan restuarant in downtown Portlant. There we sat on cushions on the floor and ate many different Moroccan dishes. Loads of fun!

Nancy and I also made it down to McMinnville for a day to visit some friends from North Carolina that have moved out here. Megan and Jordan worked with us at Wellspring Adventure Camp two years ago. We were their daughter's, Molly's, very first baby sitters. She's so big now and since they've moved out here they've added one more to their family. Welcome Katie! Congratulations Jordan and Megan!

We also had another visitor recently. Jess Thomas, one of the officiates at our wedding (and my college roomate) came out to spend a weekend with us. We spent the weekend snowboarding and skiing, playing board games, and enjoying Sandy, Oregon's happening night life. Oh, and by 'happening night life' I mean the two bars here in Sandy, which are mostly full of older cowboys... We had fun and it was great having him here.

This last weekend we flew back to Tulsa. We drove up to Wichita, KS with Nan's mom to spend some time with the KS sect of our family. We spent the day visiting with Nan's family (Grandma Betty, Kara and Kirby, Linda, and Al and Marilyn). It was really nice sitting and visiting with them for a day. We then headed back to Tulsa where we spent an evening with my family. Nonny and Poppy, Lauri and Ian and my parents all got together for a big family dinner. Later that night, Jeff and Erin (Jeff was in our wedding... Erin, his wife, was in the audience) came over to hang out and catch up. The whole trip was a whirlwind of visits and errands, and goodbyes, as trips home always are.

So now, we're living at the Zorn household, with Karen, Chris, and Baby Olivia. We are driving a rental car (PT Cruiser!) and gearing up for a trip to Victoria, Canada. We'll spend a few days there for one last vacation before we spend two years in service with the Peace Corps. When we get back, Nan's brother, Kevin, will be here for about a week. And after that, we leave. Our time right now is by no means empty, but hopefully we'll find some time to relax before we head out. For now, though, our May 18th leave date is careening toward us.

Thanks for looking in on us! This month marks the 1 year and 2 month aniversary of the creation of this blog and this month we will finally leave. If anyone mentions to you that they are thinking of joining the Peace Corps, give them some good advice. Tell them to go ahead and apply and decide later if they actually want to do it. As of today, it has been 643 days since we turned in our Peace Corps applications. What an adventure!

Chris (and Nan)

We've been very busy the last couple of weeks, which Chris will be telling you all about in a soon-to-be posted blog, and our next few weeks promise to be just as busy. My grandpa passed away yesterday morning, and though we wish we could be in Wichita right now, that just isn't feasible. Instead, Chris and I are headed to Wichita, KS in a couple weeks to see my grandma and family, and celebrate Grandpa. We'll also be able to spend a couple days in Tulsa seeing family there and saying goodbye one more time. Our apologies for all the false alarms!

We received an exciting e-mail from Peace Corps this morning! The e-mail included information about packing (we're allowed 80 lbs each!), staging (aka pre-departure orientation), and the itinerary for our international flight! We had posted months ago that we would be leaving on May 21. We're actually flying from Portland to L.A. on May 18, and we'll leave LA at 9pm on May 19 for Fiji. We're scheduled to arrive in Nadi, Fiji by 10:30am on May 21!

It sounds like some stagings are longer than others, but ours will just be the Fiji folks (we think about 20 of us) and will be brief. Our staging is really just turning in a few forms, sitting through about 4 hours of presentations of the really important info (you know... how to manage risk, departure plans, etc.) and then we all head to the airport for a 13 hour flight to Auckland. From there its a short 3 hours to Nadi. Oh, and while we're rushing through staging process in L.A. we'll all be required to wear business casual clothing.

What else...? Oh yeah, we have an address for our first 10 weeks in-country:

"Nancy Curry and Chris Clendenin", PCV

Peace Corps/Fiji

Private Mail Bag

Suva, Fiji Islands

South Pacific

We'll be reachable at that address until we post a new one on here, and we'd love to hear from you (now or during training)! Speaking of addresses... if you have a new one or want to make sure we have yours, please shoot us an e-mail at clencurry@gmail.com. I've been compiling my list and seem to be missing a few. We will do our best to write some snail mail letters during training as it looks like we won't have Internet access until after the 10 weeks.

Love to all!

Nan (and Chris)

Last Friday my day at work consisted of playing math games, doing Sudoku puzzles, popping popcorn for the kiddos, watching a movie, playing Twister, and eating poppy seed cake. Ahhh.... the last day before Spring Break. It was wonderful! And now I am enjoying 9 days away from it all. I could get used to working in public school.

In other news, Chris and I joined the Correspondence Match Program through Worldwise Schools. They have matched us with a school of our choosing, New Leaf Academy in NC (a good friend of ours, and an old dodge ball and soccer teammate, Jeremy Clayton, works there). Over the next couple of years we'll be writing letters to his students telling them about our Peace Corps adventures. The students will get a chance to write us as well. The organization reimburses us for any postage costs, which is kind of cool. We sent our first letter this week!

A quick shout out to Meg and Josh who are expecting their first child in August! Congrats guys!

Not much news to report otherwise.

We're still counting down the days (57) and enjoying our time snowboarding and hanging out with family.

Nan (and Chris)

Hi all! It's been a while since we've updated the ol' blog so I thought I would give everyone an update.

Not much is going on for us here in Oregon right now, so there isn't much to report. I will upload a few photos at the end just to share with everyone. Nan and I are moving along slowly but surely towards our May 19th leave date. We have a few things lined up to help move time along. We are looking forward to Nan's parents, Michelle, PJ, Haley and Parker all visiting in mid-April and Kevin is coming in mid-May. Also, we've (and by 'we' I mean Nan did all the planning) planned a trip to Vancouver Island in May as well. We figured since we're so close and neither of us have ever been to Canada before, we might as well hop on up there for a few days. Nan's last day of work is planned for May 5th and mine May 2nd. May really can't come soon enough.

We got an e-mail from the Peace Corps a couple of weeks ago with some very good information. The purpose of the e-mail was to get us in touch with the Peer Support Network, or PSN for short. The PSN is a network of people who are currently in or have returned from the Peace Corps who can answer questions for us to help us prepare and/or fight off any feelings of unease as we get ready to go. It has been very very useful as we are gathering the last of the supplies we need before we go. They've given us all kinds of information from clarification on what daily life is like in Fiji to insight on what is necessary and unnecessary on the official Peace Corps packing list (and what was omitted) completely. They were also able to answer a question for us that we couldn't seem to find an answer to in any of the hundreds of pages of Peace Corps documentation we've recieved. As we have been reading blogs and posts and messages from Peace Corps volunteers who have returned, we noticed many of them mentioning their FRE status. Some were FRE-1 and others FRE-3 or 4, but we could not find what this meant. We recently found out that we are FRE-7. FRE stands for Fiji Re-Entry Group. Awhile back (about 7 years ago, actually) the Peace Corps was allowed to re-enter Fiji. For a number of years Fiji was having trouble with some revolts and revolutions. The government was unstable and thus, the safety of Peace Corps volunteers could not be ensured. The US Government decided to abandon Peace Corps operations in Fiji until things were settled and safe. Nan and I are among the 7th group of volunteers to re-enter Fiji. This means that most of the projects going on in Fiji are relativly new and there is much to do. It's exciting and we look forward to the challenge.

So, that is our latest Peace Corps update. We are still counting down the days until we leave (78 and falling!). That number is much less gigantic than other numbers... for example, the number of days since we turned in our initial Peace Corps applications (578!) So, here we are, sitting and waiting to leave. Nan is taking the GRE next month and has signed up for a drawing class at the Sandy Community Center, so everyone should wish her luck with those endevours. I am still snowboarding nearly every weekend with Adam (who is Chris Zorn's brother) and as the temperature warms up I'll start looking for an ultimate frisbee team to play with.

As promised, I'm including a few recent photos of what we've been up to lately.

Thanks for looking in on us!

Chris (and Nan)

Olivia Lynn Zorn is getting so big and it seems like she gets cuter everyday.

These are pictures of me, Adam, Nan and Karen on a recent ski/snowboard trip to Ski Bowl on Mt. Hood.

Yesterday Chris and I hit our one year wedding anniversary! In a way it seems like a much longer time than a year, and in another way it feels like our wedding was just yesterday. On Saturday, we celebrated at Cinetopia, a fantastic movie theater in Vancouver, WA. The theater has recliners and leather ottoman's for viewers to relax in during the movie, and they serve food and beverages directly to the seats. We saw Taken, which had many high points. My heart was racing and beating so strongly that it felt as if it would pop out of my chest. Well done, Liam Neeson! SPOILER ALERT! We felt that the ending of the movie was lacking, so on the way home from the movie we re-wrote the ending a few times. Our best idea was as follows: father gets daughter safely back to the U.S. and then promptly does an about face to go deal (single-handedly) with the trafficking and drugging of young women in the greater Paris area. This way, we estimated that the action could have continued at least another 30 minutes.

Before the movie started we got to enjoy some really great accordion music. I don't remember the guy's name, but I think he said something about "Accordion Crimes". Anyway, he was very good, and it was refreshing to enjoy some tasteful music instead of watching the pre-preview advertisements.

In honor of the traditional paper theme for first anniversary gifts... Chris and I have ferry tickets to go to Victoria, British Columbia, in May! We decided since we are this close to Canada, and neither of us have been, we might as well pop on over before we leave for Fiji. More on that in a few months.

Of the many things to celebrate in our lives at the moment, we celebrated the 100 day mark to our staging date. We leave in 14 weeks (98 days) from today!

Love to all!

Nan (and Chris)

Well, there never was an "Arctic Blast" in Sandy, but we did end up getting some great snow- and enough to have a white Christmas. Chris, Adam (Chris Z.'s brother), and I spent days building an igloo and a quarter-pipe for snowboarding. One afternoon we went snowboarding, sledding, and snowmobiling at Trisha and Brian's. When we were about to leave, Karen noticed a tree that appeared to be leaning due to the weight of the snow and ice. Trisha assured her that it had been that way since they moved in. The extra weight started to be too much for the tree. There were some popping sounds, and then a crack or two, and we watched the very large tree break and fall onto a power line. Scary stuff!

Pictures- Chris looking into igloo, Chris Z. and Karen on snowmobile

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We celebrated Christmas and brought in the new year with Chris Z., Karen, Olivia, and Chris Z.'s family. It was fun being with family, even if it wasn't our own. We spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Dec. 26th playing board games, eating fantatsic food, and watching movies and the snow. Last year we brought in the new year in Malaga, Spain with my parents, siblings, and siblings-in-law. The tradition in Spain is to eat 12 grapes at midnight on new years- one at each bong of the clock. We continued this tradition this year followed by a lunch of black-eyed peas and cornbread on New Years Day. We're set for a great year!

The best part of the new year for us is that now we are in the year that we will actually depart for Fiji! No more saying, "we're leaving in May of 2009." Yes! Only 5 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days.

Speaking of Fiji... we've learned a few Fijian words:

Hello - Bula (pronounced 'mboo-lah)

How do you say ... in Fijian? - Cava na vakaviti ni ...?

-Nan (and Chris)

Arctic Blast 2008 rolls like a powerful Yeti through the Pacific Northwest. With temperatures falling eight, nine and sometimes ten degrees below 40, Sandy and surrounding towns hunker down for a severe winter full of light, intermittent snow showers sometimes accumulating in over one full inch of snow on the ground. Grocery stores run low on supplies. Hot cocoa mix, marshmallows and beer are scarce… until the supply truck shows up in a couple days to restock.

Sometimes it’s hard to convey sarcasm in written word, but I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job here. It seems that Oregonians in the Portland area aren’t used to dealing with inclement weather. Most of the Sandy area stores and businesses have shut down due to recent intermittent snowfall. Sandy High was closed most of this last week and has used up all of its allotted snow days for the year. From here on out, any more days off will add days at the end of the school year. The snowstorm here is mild in comparison to the hearty winters we sometimes get in Tulsa. There is little ice here and driving conditions more resemble a rainy day than an “Arctic Blast”, which is what the news stations are calling this storm. Me? I hope a real arctic blast hits. One that resembles time I’ve spent in Colorado. It’s been since the winter of 2005 in Chicago, when Nan and I started dating, that I’ve seen any real cold weather. But right now, Mt. Hood is getting nailed with fresh snow powder so we’re gearing up to hit the mountain ski resorts for some fun sometime in the next couple weeks.

But for now, all systems are nominal. We’re chugging along toward our Peace Corps departure date and are enjoying the ride. Nan will have the next two weeks off work for the school’s winter break and I’m still working temporary jobs from time to time. There isn’t much else to report. We are going to miss everyone during the holidays as neither of us are used to being away from Tulsa this time of year. We will, however, enjoy spending time with Karen and Chris and celebrating baby Olivia's first Christmas. The Zorn/Smith family has invited us over for Christmas eve festivities, so we're looking forward to that. Then, early in the new year, Nan’s parents will be up here to see baby Olivia and visit for a couple weeks and we are very much looking forward to spending time with them.

Now, as promised, here are some pictures of recent happenings on our side of the country.

With love and well wishes to our loyal readers!

Chris and Nan

Me about to flip the very hot and very wet Thanksgiving turkey at my parents house in Tulsa

Michelle holding Olivia during her visit to Sandy

Karen, Chris, Terry, Joe, Adam and Nicole awaiting Olivia's arrival

Karen, Delaney and Olivia Hunter at their new house in Tulsa

Karen with Olivia decorating the tree

Our Kitchen - The color is called "Sea Foam Green" other wise known as "Ugly"

This is just too pretty not to post. Nan took this picture as we left dinner one evening.

The last couple of weeks have been filled with fun times. We hope to post some photos in the next week or so. Presently the cord that connects our camera to the computer is MIA, so for now we’ll just have to inspire images in your minds.

Thanksgiving in Tulsa

We flew to Tulsa on Thanksgiving, saw some of Chris’s family and then headed to Jeff and Erin’s to rekindle some friendships and play a game of Risk (that Lovelace missed because he didn’t show up until 2am). For the record, Chris won said game. On Friday afternoon we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner around a beautiful, new table at the Clendenin’s. Lauri brought senior pictures of Ian to share – what a young stud!

Saturday morning we met mom, dad, and Kevin for breakfast at Savoy a little earlier than we were ready for. On Saturday afternoon we went to my parents’ to visit with the family. While we were there, Grandma reminded me that she had given me some dresses that would be perfect for Fiji. Though I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I found 4 Hawaiian print shirts for Chris and a dress that matches one of the shirts for me!

On Sunday, we went to Olivia Hunter’s baptism and baptism party at the Hader’s. Then we headed to Meagan and Jason’s to see how big their kids had grown and visit for a few minutes. After three whirlwind days of seeing family and friends we headed to the airport for our 7:15pm flight. We were expected to arrive in Portland, OR at 11:50pm, but were delayed and didn’t arrive until around 1:30am. By the time we got our bags and made it to the train station, and then realized the train was not running, it was 2am and we had no way home. Chris Z. to the rescue! He came to the airport in the middle of the night to pick us up. Thanks Chris!

We finally made it home and were in bed by 3am, which was just in time for me to sleep 3 hours before work on Monday morning.

Michelle’s Visit

One week after Thanksgiving, Michelle (my sister) visited us! Well, she was actually visiting our new baby niece, Olivia Lynn, but we got to spend time with her too! We even got to see her on she and P.J.’s 10th anniversary! Congrats, guys! While Michelle was here, Olivia Lynn went one her first outing to a restaurant- she was so good. We also put up all the Christmas decorations at Chris and Karen’s house, which look fantastic. Again, pictures when possible.

More updates soon.

Nan (and Chris)

Hello all! Since we haven’t blogged in almost 4 months, we have a lot to share. This blog will be divided into categories so you can read about whatever sparks your interest.

Peace Corps Update The first thing we want to share with you all is the latest Peace Corps update… we cannot tell you how thrilled we are to have information to share with you!!! We received our long-awaited, and much coveted, Peace Corps invitation and have an official date of departure. Hooray! Our spirits have been lifted greatly! We are departing on May 19 for a brief staging period in the U.S. and then we will head to Fiji for 3 months of in-country training and 2 years of service! At this point we do not know the actual city or island where we will be living, but we know it will be somewhat urban (possibly Suva). We will, of course, let you know when we find out. Chris and I have both been assigned to work as health promoters. We don’t know exactly what we’ll be doing, but we’re excited to promote health! We have tons of information for volunteers, including a letter from George W. (signed in 2001 by a stamp), and paperwork to start filling out.

Life in the Meantime We are living in an apartment in downtown Sandy, OR. Our apartment is a nice dingy brown - carpet, doors and frames, baseboards and walls – except in the kitchen, which is sea foam green. It reminds me of the kitchen my great-grandparents (Mom and Pop) had in Ennis, TX (except for the 70s harvest gold fridge). It isn’t the most attractive apartment, but the fringe benefits make it all worth it. We’re only 1 mile from family and the gym, and Mt. Hood is just a short drive. We also live one block east of the Fire Department and one block west of the Police Station. Needless to say, we feel safe from the hoodlums who skateboard and do bike tricks outside our window until all hours of the night.

We are both lucky to have jobs since the unemployment rate is so high and since we live in Sandy, OR. Having said that, we really don’t care for the jobs we do have. We care so little for them, in fact, we don’t want to waste your time telling you about them. When not working, we have been volunteering with Friends of the Forest (clearing and repairing trails up at Timberline) and volunteering with YMCA Phoenix (working with at-risk teens). We took a mini-road trip to the coast to camp at Cape Lookout, walk along the beach, and try some Tillamook ice cream. We have also done a few hikes including the peak of Tom, Dick, and Harry, Saddle Mountain, and a beautiful hike above Multnomah Falls. Oregon is gorgeous and it has been so much fun exploring.

Family Celebrations! Since we last posted, we have added 2 new family members- nieces! Olivia Hunter Clendenin was born on September 8 and Olivia Lynn Zorn was born on November 15. We were lucky enough to be in Oregon during the birth of Olivia Zorn and we will attend Olivia Clendenin’s baptism in Tulsa over the Thanksgiving weekend. They are both healthy, beautiful girls, and we are so glad to have the chance to meet them before leaving the country. Congratulations Kara, Dustin, Karen, and Chris – the proud parents!

On September 8, we celebrated Chris C. and Karen’s (my sister’s) birthdays. We indulged on cookie cake AND dump cake! We headed to Lincoln City on the coast for a weekend celebrating Karen’s 30th. We got a chance to really get to know she and Chris Z.’s friends, who are all great people.

We also got a chance to celebrate Mom and Dad’s 37th anniversary! We had dinner at Riverview Restaurant in Troutdale. I’m not sure what was better… the delicious food or the talented piano player who’s playlist included that song from Michelle, Karen, and my floor routine in gymnastics, a few pieces from Les Miserables (in honor of the anniversary) and one of my favorites, “If I Were A Bell” from Guys and Dolls.

Visitors to Sandy Mom, Dad and Jane (my cousin) came to Sandy for the weekend of Zorn baby showers, and we reaped the benefits of seeing them too. Some of the highlights of the visit were, of course, the baby showers, a visit to the pumpkin patch and a day at Mount St. Helens. It was so windy we struggled to walk in a straight line and spent most of our time looking downward so we could avoid getting dirt in our eyes. Despite the wind, the view was awesome! After checking out the best view, we found a 2.5 mile trail to hike. We hoped we would see some wildlife, but settled for some fresh deer tracks and a snake. We all highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in the vicinity. The last night Mom, Dad, and Jane were here we had a pizza tasting night with pizzas from three restaurants in Sandy and one in downtown Portland. We were hoping to decide who makes the best pizza, but no decision was reached.

One night in November, we received a call from our NC friends Meg and Michael. Turns out they were in Portland for a conference and realized we were only a 45 minute drive down the road. We didn’t get a chance to see Meg, but we had dinner with Michael when he drove through Sandy on his way back from Mt. Hood. We dined at one of the few restaurants in Sandy - Thai Home. The coconut and tapioca dessert is fantastic!

We’re always open to hosting anyone who cares to visit. It is, after all, almost ski/snowboard season and we’re right by Mt. Hood!

Message to Our Much-Missed Friends and Family Thanks for checking in to see what’s going on. We miss you all so much! We will start up blogging again on a somewhat regular basis (at least once or twice a month). When we started this blog on March 1, 2008, we didn’t expect to spend so many months writing about non-Peace Corps related things. We also expected to leave months ago. However, we’re just as excited now as we were in March, and at least now we feel like we’re preparing for the Peace Corps once again. Maybe the name we chose for our blog isn’t such a misnomer after all.

-Nan (and Chris)

You might have noticed that we haven't been blogging recently. We've been in contact with our Peace Corps placement officer and we have some good news and unexpected news. The good news is that we have a placement in the Pacific Islands! YEAH! The unexpected news is that it looks like we won't be leaving until May 2009.

So, again with the rolling with it... We've decided to stay in the Portland area until May. We've got a few job interviews set up and have found an apartment to rent in downtown Sandy. Our belongings are all in storage, so we've outfitted our apartment with items off Craigslist and some things Karen and Chris have found for free. We even have a futon for any visitors. :) You're all welcome anytime!

We will be updating this blog with any new news we have in a few months (most likely November or December).

Nan and Chris

clencurry@gmail.com

Sorry it's been so long since we've blogged. It's been a busy week and a half. The last time we wrote, we were headed to Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone has to be one of the prettiest places in America. Yellowstone has hundreds of miles of roads, and thousands of miles of walking trails. It is also home to wolves, bison, bear, chipmunks, and who knows what else... We also saw Old Faithful and plenty of other geysers.

We're in Sandy, OR now with Karen and Chris. It's been nice being here and relaxing and not traveling. So, a quick Peace Corps update. We've been pushed back until February. They tell us that somehow we missed our deadline for the September deadline. It took an awful long time for them to clear us medically and we missed to deadlines waiting for it. But that part is done. The next major leave date is in February, so that will most likely be when we go. Their is a very slight chance that we could leave before then, but we're not holding our breath.

"So what are you planning to do in the meantime?", you might ask. Well, that's a good question. Our plan right now is to just get jobs, and a cheap place to live (we have access to two camp chairs, a fold up table, and an air bed... we'll be living in style). The bright side of all this is that Karen is due in November and we'll be around for all that. Plus, we're really starting to like the Portland area.

So, until February, we'll be exercising our skills in patience, working, hanging out with the Zorn's, and dreaming of one day leaving for Peace Corps. All is all, it's not so bad. Keep checking back in on the blog, though. We have plenty more adventures planned, the Portland Brew Festival, cute pregnant pictures of Karen, and hopefully a brand new Ultimate Frisbee scene in Portland for me.

Keep in touch everyone!

Love,

Chris (and Nan)

It has been a very long and exciting 3 days, so we thought we'd post a mid-week blog to share all the fun. We left Chicago Monday morning and drove all day until we reached Kilen Woods State Park in Minnesota. Beautiful place, removed from the highway and very quiet, also a fantastic location for anyone wishing to shoot a horror film in which campers are attacked by thousands of mosquitoes. But, again, very beautiful and quiet.

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning we drove through South Dakota. Anyone who has driven through SD on I-90 knows there are more billboards for Wall Drug and the Corn Palace than anything else. So... our first stop was in Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace. The theme this year is Every Day Heroes so we got to see corm murals of teachers, fire fighters, and the like. They had a map of the world at the Corn Palace where visitors could stick a pinto denote their home. After much debate, we decided on NC.

Next, we enjoyed the scenic route through the Badlands. WOW! What a sight. We kept appreciating all the roads and the fact that we were in a CR-V and not a horse drawn buggy. It just isn't hard to see how the Badlands got that name.

Our next stop of the day was to pick up some cotton balls and Calamine lotion for my poison ivy. We had checked gas stations with no luck, so decided Wall Drug was our answer. In case you are wondering if the largest drug store in the world has cotton balls, Calamine lotion, and a bucking bronco... it does.

After a long day we reached Keystone, SD, drove over Iron Mountain and found a delightful place to camp not too far from Mt. Rushmore. Our campground turned out to be for people with horses (the name Elk Haven Horse Camp probably should have been our first clue) but they let us stay despite the fact that we did not have any horses to speak of so we wouldn't have to stay at the campground down the road with the mini-golf course, karaoke, a tiny swimming pool, and a serious tent city. We enjoyed the karaoke from a distance at our private campsite where we made the best dinner over coals I've ever had - steak and veggies cooked in foil! We took a drive over to Mt. Rushmore and as we clicked our camera for the first picture of those awesome faces, the battery died. But, no worries we charged her up and returned this morning so we could snap some shots for this blog.

We drove into Wyoming today, and are camping in Greybull tonight. The drive through the mountains was incredible! Tomorrow we're headed to Yellowstone! What a great state Wyoming is!

-Nan

P.S. We have been rating the welcome centers and welcome signs of the 20 states we have been through on this trip. Oklahoma- very nice welcome signs, but you're beat our by Minnesota! WOW!

Also, Wisconsin gets major props for having an attractive sign with parking and a little walking path to get to the sign for photo ops!

If you have a favorite state for welcome signs, we'd love to know about it so it can be added to our wealth of state welcome sign knowledge.

After St. Louis, we headed to Galesburg, IL to visit Josh and Knox College (my alma mater). We spent some time walking around campus, which really did not take all that long as it is very small, saw a few staff and faculty, enjoyed a Knox community potluck, and an evening at Seminary Street Pub. We also had the chance to meet a few of Josh's friends and co-workers- all fabulous people! Chris and I spent one day out at Green Oaks, Knox's biological field site, canoeing and spotting jumping fish.

From Galesburg, we drove east to Chicago. Our first night in town we met Blair for dinner at Duck Walk (where Chris and I had our first date, also where he proposed). Yesterday we lingered around Wrigley Field, hoping to score some tickets to the Cubs game, but to no avail. So we settled for watching the game at Sluggers (a bar across the street that has batting cages!). Cubs almost blew it, but they ended up flying the big W flag after 2 extra innings.

Last night we met some people to celebrate Blair's friends birthday. We met some really wonderful people and ate the best grilled corn and chicken ever. Hats off to the chef- Jason (Blair's brother).

We're enjoying our last day in Chicago and prepare for much camping and driving as we head to Oregon!

Nan

Hello, all!

We had a great time in St. Louis. We were there visiting the newly engaged Kate and Adam. Our time in there went by in a blink. We were only there for 3 days and had so much on our plates to do. Jess and Lisa met us in St. Louis so the six of us could hand out. Which was an awful lot of fun because we were all staying in Kate and Adam's very "cozy" one bedroom apartment. Originally we had planned on meeting Jonathan and Meghan too, but schedules didn't work out and we missed them by a few hours. Which is probably for the better, since the only available sleeping space in the whole apartment was in the bathroom.

We did a lot of walking around St. Louis and saw the arch (of course!) which is always a magnificent sight. But by far, the best thing we saw was the City Museum (www.citymuseum.org). It is this wonderful hands-on museum in downtown St. Louis where you can touch, climb on, crawl through, slide, and literally get lost in the exhibits. It's really less museum and more huge playground. It was loads of fun.

Other than walking around St. Louis and playing at the City Museum, we spent most of our time hanging out at the apartment with friends we wont get to see for two years. We barbequed, watched movies, and played on Adam's Wii Fit.

Goodbye Kate, Adam, Jess, and Lisa! We'll miss you all!

Chris

"Medical Complete. A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail."

A little ominous, but inspiring nonetheless. Our medical paperwork is complete and now we have to wait for a letter saying that we passed. This is such exciting news! As soon as our letters are in hand, we can call our placement officer to see what she has in store for us!

Nan and I just hit Chicago, so soon I'll put up some photos from our St. Louis visit. We just wanted to update everyone on the exciting news!

Chris

I feel like it's been forever since we've had a chance to write on our blog! We have been so busy since we got to Tulsa! I'll do my best to catch everyone up...

We got to Tulsa on Tuesday, June 24th. We spent two full days driving from Florida and we decided on a southern route. We hit Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana on our first day driving. We spent the night camping in a nearly deserted state park in Louisiana... well, we thought it was deserted anyhow. It was actually inhabited by what I can only guess as about 13 bajillion very aggressive mosquitoes. Our tent was about 20 yards off of a swamp.

The next day we cut through Arkansas and Texas and finally made it to Oklahoma. When we arrived we had a very tasty Clendenin/Lenora family dinner with hot wings (thanks Dad!) and home made spring rolls (thanks Nan!).

Mom and Dad also put us to work so we could make a few extra dollars for our trip. So, for the last week and a half we've been weeding gardens, mending fences, cutting down small trees and big bushes, clearing gutters, installing ceiling fans, and much much more. It has left us very tired (see pic of Nan asleep on the deck). Our muscles have been tired and our eyes weary, but we've had the satisfaction of working hard and completing projects.

In the time we've had between projects we've been seeing friends and family. We even had some time to spend a day at an Ultimate tournament. We had a good time playing at Tulsa's annual Summer Solstice tournament. Nan came out to watch as I played with my old frisbee team. We had some rain early in the day but that gave way to los of sunshine and heat. It turned out to be a very beautiful day to be outside.

We also happened to be in town for Kevin's birthday. For those of you who don't know, Kevin turned 22 on June 30th. Happy Birthday, Kev! The Currys took us to a fancy dinner at Bone Fish for his birthday. Bob, Sheri, Carder (the Curry's summer house guest), Kevin, Lizzy (Kevin's girlfriend), Nan and myself all had a great time.

On Tuesday, Nan and I hopped in the car and headed to Kansas for a night to spend time with Nan's grandmother. She showed us Wichita in a whirlwind of family visits. We were there for a mere 19 hours but packed in enough family visits for a week. It was great to spend a little time with both of Nan's grandparents and various other family members. Thanks for all the great food and conversation! Then we were back in the car again headed back for to Tulsa.

Tonight we're headed to a Driller's game. They are having their 4th of July fireworks show after the game tonight. Tomorrow night we will be celebrating Poppy's (my Grandpa Lenora) birthday and having a cookout. We haven't heard anything new from the Peace Corps and are getting a little anxious. But I'm sure we'll be okay. On Saturday we'll leave Tulsa, bound for St. Louis to see Adam and Kate. Congratulations to those two, they just got engaged!

Goodbye for now,

Chris

Hi all,

We just finished packing the car. This is our last night in Florida. Tomorrow we leave for a two day drive home to Tulsa. We're planning on camping in northern Louisiana tomorrow night and finishing up the drive on Tuesday. We're both really excited to get back to Tulsa to see friends and family. I realize we just saw everyone in February, but it's always nice to come back home.

This last week was very eventful for us. Nan's parents, Bob and Sheri, came with us when we took the girls to the beach for a day. We all swam, and rode knee boards in the waves. We even saw a few dolphins jumping and playing off the coast. And Parker had a very near miss with some stingrays (there were about 2 feet from her!). It was a very full day with some mild sun burns and tuckered out little girls.

We also went blueberry picking again, because, let's face it, you can never have enough fresh blueberries. Our blueberry trip last week yielded around nine pounds of blueberries. This week we went all out, and between Nan and myself, Bob, Sheri, and Hayley and Parker, we walked out with a whopping 16 pounds of blueberries. And needless to say, we've been eating them on and in everything from blueberry cobbler and blueberry muffins, to blueberry soda (good recipe find Michelle and PJ!). By the way, all the photos seen on this blog entry are courtesy of Sheri Curry. It turns out, Nan and I have been really bad about remembering to bring our camera with us recently. We completely forgot to bring it with us to Delaney's first birthday this last weekend. Kara took some great pictures though and as soon as we can get some from her we'll post them here. Kara's parents were nice enough to invite everyone over to their house in Jacksonville for Delaney's birthday. It was loads of fun. We swam and ate and did some arts and crafts. Kara had a wonderful idea to have everyone at the party design a birthday card for Delaney for the next 16 years. We each drew a number out of a hat and had to design the card for her when she turns that age. Dustin and Kara will keep track of them for the next 15 years. I drew her 5th birthday and designed a card that looked very much like a 5 year old made it... Nan made a very cute card for her 11th birthday. What a great idea!

I think that's all we have to report for now. We're going to miss the time we've spent in Florida, but are very much looking forward to getting on with our trip. Tulsa is next! Get ready for us!

Oh, and a quick Peace Corps update. Nan got all of her requested blood tests done and sent in. Hopefully we'll have new info later this week. Keep us in your thoughts! We have high hopes for a September leave date!

Chris

It has been a great first week in Florida. Chris and I have enjoyed every minute with our nieces, Parker and Haley (Nan's side). They have been teaching us some ballet moves (which Chris has quite the knack for), and no day is complete without a dance party in the living room! Tonight they decided to get all dressed up and do an impromptu photo shoot before dinner (pics to right).

We had an opportunity to see Kara, Dustin, and Delaney (Chris's brother and family) this past weekend, which was a blast. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera. We'll have to get pictures next weekend when we return for Delaney's first birthday! Convenient for us, two of our siblings, Chris's brother and Nan's sister, live within an hour of each other. Anytime we come to FL, we always get a healthy dose of family. What's better than that?

Speaking of family... Happy Father's Day to any dad's checking our blog! We had a fantastic Father's Day celebration today complete with 2 dads (Nan's brother-in-law, P.J. and Nan's Dad, Bob), 5 hamburgers, 4 hot dogs, 5 new neckties for Bob, and 10 pints of Blue Bell ice cream (that we barely dented, even with 8 people!). We had an ice cream tasting contest for dessert this evening in which we all attempted to correctly identify 10 Blue Bell flavors.

A quick Peace Corps update. Nan received a FedEx packet from Peace Corps requesting more lab work and more medical information. She'll have a few appointments this week, and hopefully get all requested information back to Peace Corps as soon as possible. We're still crossing our fingers for a September placement, and working on going with the flow.

Thanks for reading our latest blog entry. More updates on our road trip and Peace Corps developments soon!

...and we have no new information. Ahhh... the red tape of Peace Corps is becoming very familiar to us. Our files are still making their way through the medical clearance, which may take a few more weeks. So, we wait patiently. In the meantime, we have made our way to Florida. We have been hanging out at the lake, eating camp food, and picking blueberries. Not a bad life. :) Chris left this morning on a trip with Montgomery campers. They'll be hiking and caving for the next few days. Chris is tagging along as the first aid guru with his Wilderness First Responder.

Hey all, we just wanted to put up some photos real quick from our time in Baltimore.

This is Nan driving, somewhere in Virginia I think.

We got to Baltimore a little late and missed the first inning on the Orioles beating the Red Sox. Go Os!This is me, Nan and Charles at the Capital Building in DC.

Me and Nan walking by the reflecting pool in between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Charles and Cathy

Thanks so much for letting us stay with you and showing us such a good time!

We left Brevard on Monday, and made it to Baltimore just in time to watch the Orioles beat the Red Sox at Camden Yards (what a game!). Charles was an excellent tour guide in Washington D.C. as we racked up miles and miles on some sore legs yesterday. Per mom's prompting, we picked up Reader Identification Cards for the Library of Congress! More to come and hopefully a few pictures as we add a new post later this week. In the meantime, our fingers are crossed while we wait to hear from our placement officer before June 9! -Nan

While Chris is back home putting every last thing into our storage unit, I am finishing up an 8 day academic learning expedition just outside Atlanta with 15 students from Wellspring Academy. (Wellspring is the camp and boarding school where Chris and I have spent the last year.) It has been a hectic and fun 7 days filled with a scavenger hunt at the zoo, Memorial Day at Kennesaw Battlefield with a very loud cannon demonstration, and four days of service projects. I'm headed back to Brevard tomorrow to meet up with Chris so we can begin our roadtrip by heading to Baltimore. See you Sunday Charles and Cathy! -Nan

Things are starting to happen!

Our medical paperwork is finally done and turned in. We are now waiting for the Peace Corps medical professionals to go over our paperwork and deem us safe to serve. June 9th is the cut-off date for the program we were approved for in the Pacific Islands, so we are anxiously waiting to here back from them. We have the name and number of a person we can hassle to speed things up, but we're not allowed to call them until May 26th. So that is where we stand with Peace Corps right now and we're feeling very positive about making our June 9th deadline.

What's next, you ask? Well, we are moving! Well, not so much moving as becoming homeless. Nan and I are giving up the confines of the walls in which we live for a life on the road! Our lease is up May 31st and we decided it didn't make much since to move in to a whole new home for the few months before we leave sooooooo.... We're hitting up various family members and friends for their comfortable couch space, or not-so-comfortable floor space on our loopy treck from the mountains of Western North Carolina to the moist atmosphere of Portland, Oregon. We leave June 1st for Baltimore, MD (We're heading NORTH!) to spend a few days with Charles and Cathy. Charles was just awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in Lithuania. Cathy has also applied for one and they are waiting to hear if she got hers. They will be leaving for Lithuania in August. Congratulations, you two! Then we head to Florida (SOUTH!) to see Dustin, Kara, and Delaney (Delaney turns one year old while we're there!) and Michelle, PJ, Haley and Parker. Michelle and PJ are getting their summer camp season started and Nan and I have been awarded the pleasure of watching two of the cutest little girls in the whole world for a couple weeks while their mom and dad are crazy busy. While we're there, I'll be heading on one of the camp's adventure trips back up to Tennessee (Chris heads back NORTH!) for a few days. When our time in Florida comes to a close, we will drive to Tulsa (We're going WEST!) to spend some time. This is where plans and schedules become a little fuzzy. Since we're not sure exactly when we will leave, we may have an awful lot of time to spend on our drive to Portland, or we may have to rush out there. If there is time we'll head to St. Louis (NORTH!) and Chicago (NORTH again!) and then to Oregon (WEST!).

That is the plan as of right now. If June 9th rolls around and we're still not cleared, things will change drastically. Right now, though, we are counting on leaving. Our house is all packed up in boxes. We've had our yard sale. The Goodwill trailer has had many many generous donations. We are now living in our "Peace Corps Clothes" (About 10 shirts a piece, some pants and shorts and swimsuits, a couple pairs of shoes and lots of sandals). And our kitchen contains two glasses, two plates, two bowls, a pot, and a lot of pasta.

Everyone keep in mind that our mailing address will change on May 31st and I don't totally trust the Brevard Post Office to properly forward our mail. If you need the addresses of our parents' houses, please e-mail us. That will be the best way to get mail to us.

But for now, farewell Brevard, NC! Hello open road!

Chris

As you have probably noticed we haven't been doing such a good job of posting lately. We continue to wade through the Peace Corps medical clearance process. Chris and I both had doctor's appointments and dentist appointments over a month ago. At that time we discovered our dental hygiene is fantastic (all that flossing finally paid off) and that my white blood cell level was low. After several trips to the doctor's office, a month of blood work every other day and a bone marrow biopsy, we have discovered that I have cycling white cells (cyclic neutropenia) that seem to increase and decrease at will, which I have most likely had all my life. On Thursday I was able to get doctor's signatures on all of the forms! So, we're almost set to turn in our medical records and cross our fingers. Our one last task is for Chris to prove that he does not have rheumatoid arthritis. (That's a complicated story.) Red tape has certainly been keeping us busy.

Meanwhile we are in our last month in Brevard, and we're soaking up every minute with our North Carolina friends. We've started packing up some things, and we're having a yard sale next Saturday in hopes of downsizing a bit- feel free to stop by between 8am and 1pm if you're in the area. :) On June 1 we will begin a couple months of traveling around the country until we (hopefully) receive our highly coveted medical clearance and head to the Pacific Islands.

We'll do our best to post more often! Thanks for checking in to see what's new.

-Nan

Welcome! Nan and I decided to start up a blog to keep everyone up to date on what we're up to as we get ready to leave for the Peace Corps. Providing we have internet access in our host country we'll be posting periodic updates on how things are going for us and what our experience is like. From the many books, articles, and blogs we've read, most recruits have at least some internet access during their service, even if it is only once a month.

So where are we right now and what do we know? Well, right after we returned from all the celebrations in Tulsa, we got a call from our PC recruiter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth has been absolutely amazing with answering our barrage of questions and concerns quickly and patiently. Well, Elizabeth called to tell us that they have found a placement that we qualify for and that it leaves months before we were planning to. For those who we hadn't told (of which there are few), we were told we would probably be leaving anywhere between June and November, but it was looking like it would actually be November at the earliest. Evidently it is hard to place a married couple in the same place as our skills are very different and they would have to find a location with two positions open that match both of our skill sets. Anyway, Elizabeth called to tell us that they have found a placement for us that would leave in late July or early August. She said that this was much sooner than she expected. She also asked us to talk it over and get back to her by 5:00PM. It was about 3:30PM when she called. Well, we spoke for about 5 minutes and called her back. The placement is for me to be in Youth Development and Nan to be in the Health Extension. What do those mean? We have no idea. But it sounds great and right up our respective alleys. There also seems to be something a little rushed going on with our placement. From everything that we've read, most recruits don't have any idea what there placement will involve, where they will be, or really anything, when they get there call. They are just called and told that they will receive a nomination for an invitation and they need to start working on their medical tests. But we know what fields we'll be working with and what region we're heading for.

Alright, so, the location. Well, we told almost everyone that we were shooting for Africa... and that was our first choice of locations. With all the work that is needed to be done in Africa, we thought it would be no problem to find us a placement there. So, the Peace Corps has found a place for us in the Pacific Islands. OK, pull out your map. Do you see that vast expanse of ocean spreading from Australia east towards the edge of the map and north towards Asia? Do you see all those little specks spread all over the place? No, somebody didn't sneeze on your map. Those are islands. There are an estimated twenty to thirty thousand islands spread through the Pacific Ocean. Now the great majority of those are uninhabited. But many of them are. And it looks like we'll spend about 2 years and 3 months serving on one of them. Needless to say, we're pretty excited.

Would you like more details? So would we. But that's all we know right now. We have until May to get a barrage of medical tests done to see if we are medically fit to serve in the Peace Corps. There are some very invasive physicals to be had, psychiatric evaluations to be passed, dental work to be done, eye tests, hearing tests, and follow ups on past medical complications. We're currently wading through paperwork and medical tests and plan to be done by the end of March. Once that is all finished, they will tell us if we're fit and then give us a departure date.

So, for right now, we are in our house in Brevard, NC until May 31st, when we will put all of our belongings in storage for two years. Our last day of work at the school is June 6th, so we'll be living on the couches of friends for those remaining days and then we'll hit the road and start over-staying our welcome with various friends and family members until we leave.

Please check back here and we'll keep you up to date. Eventually we will have a mailing address that we can receive letters and packages and that will be posted here. Thanks everyone for your support!

Chris

PS We will only be receiving mail at our current address until May 31st and then you can use our parents' addresses. Also, Nan's cell phone will only be active until the end of March. After that, we will be sharing my phone. E-mail us if you need that number. Bye all!