Well today is Friday. Next Friday at this time I will be landing in Philadelphia and meeting the people that will be accompanying me on similar journeys. I'm very excited to get to know everyone!

I keep having to say goodbye to more friends and it just doesn't seem real. I'm wondering when these goodbyes will start to feel more real. I hope it happens before I get on my flight out. I have several friends that are living all over the country who I won't be able to say goodbye in person, but I'm so glad we're able to connect on the phone before I leave. Alright thats all I got on that topic.

Today I'm partially writing for my own purpose because these days time is flying and it really doesn't feel like I'm actually going to be leaving. So writing about these details will hopefully help me come back to reality with leaving.

Yesterday I was in Appleton and I had a great time! It was fun seeing my friends while I was living in Oshkosh, and being in Oshkosh just brought back so many memories of college!

Tomorrow we're having a party at the house, so today and tonight I should be helping my parents get ready. Today I'm going to Grandparents and having our weekly lunch together.

Thats all for now!

Good news to report: I have been able to pack. I'm not completely done by any means, but wow I'd have to say that I'm impressed. I still have many decisions to make about what pans and sweaters to bring, but I feel much closer to "being packed" than I was on my last post. In my room I have several piles of clothes, now its a matter of seeing how things fit in my bags and also how to downsize a bit.

The days keep zooming by. I am down to less than 2 weeks now! I am happy to report that I have found another volunteer who will be on my flight to Philadelphia so I'm happy to have someone to laugh and cry with for the first few moments of the long journey.

We are having a party at the house this weekend so I can see friends and family one last time before I leave. The weather's been real nice so hopefully it'll keep up and we'll be able to swim! Looking forward to it, but also saying goodbyes is the worst part of leaving, so that'll be tough. Also, I haven't really told anyone about this blog yet, so at the party or shortly after I will give everyone the address so they can stay updated with this blog, if they choose to! I hope you will all keep me up-to-date with your lives while I'm gone. I surely will enjoy hearing from everyone!

Thank you and have a great day!

MAILING GUIDELINES FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS Mailing during Pre-Service Training:

In case of an emergency, you will be able to send only small, flat pieces of mail (no boxes or packages) to Trainees over the course of Pre-Service Training. Once the training period is completed, Volunteers will establish a post office box at their permanent site and will communicate that mailing address with you directly. Please note that Peace Corps/Washington does not maintain mailing addresses for Volunteers. The address provided below is only intended for the mailing of letters to Trainees during the period of Pre-Service Training. Since Peace Corps Ukraine cannot be responsible for property mailed to Trainees, delivery of boxes and packages sent to this address will be declined (remember: send letters only): U.S. Peace Corps Ukraine

PCT, Katelyn Reitz

PO BOX 204

01032

Kyiv. Ukraine

If Street Address in Required:

U.S. Peace Corps Ukraine

PCT, Katelyn Reitz

111A Saksahanskoho Street

01032

Kyiv, Ukraine Mailing AFTER Pre-Service Training:

Following swearing-in, send packages directly to the Volunteer’s permanent site address which they will provide to you. Packages from the States normally take about two to three weeks via USPS air mail. The Ukrainian post office charges a set rate per parcel which each Volunteer must pay to retrieve the packages. Some Volunteers have experienced difficulties or problems receiving packages at their sites, particularly in sites where there is no customs office, but the Volunteer will communicate directly with you the address where you should send mail.

Suggestions for ensuring packages arrive from the US:  The contents should be valued less than $99.  Use a Post Office Box or individual’s permanent home site address instead of the Institute/Site Organization.  Keep the weight of the package under 1 kilogram.  It is recommended to send padded envelopes instead of boxes as boxes are regularly opened but even large padded envelopes seem to come through reliably and unopened.  You should avoid sending valuable items (cameras, radio, CD-players, cash etc.) since items sent through the regular postal service occasionally arrive opened, with items missing, or don’t arrive at all.  Family and friends should not send culturally sensitive messages or valuables since letters or packages are occasionally tampered with.  Food items should not be home-made or have a short-term shelf life. Only factory-produced (pre-packaged) items are recommended.  Check out the option of using a mailing service such as those listed below. (Meest is recommended)

Mail Services: DHL Worldwide Express (provides services to Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolayiv and their oblasts on select days) USPS Express Mail (does not serve villages and P.O. Boxes)

Federal Express (provides services to Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi) United Parcel Service (provides services to Dnipropetrovsk, Mariupol, Donetsk, Mykolayiv, Zaporizhia, Cherkasy, Odesa, Ilichevsk, Simferopol, Lviv, Kyiv, Kharkiv) Meest Co.

Guaranteed service throughout Ukraine,and from Ukraine to the US and US to Ukraine Trans Europa

$2.00/Lb – Air; $1.00/Lb – Surface; $18.00/Lb – Handling Charge

Contact Information: Palace of Sports, 1, Sportyvna Ploscha, Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel: 011 380 44

221-5095

Fax: 011 380 44 221-5783 http://www.dhl.com/wrd/ua.html 3, Vokzalna Ploscha, Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel.: 011 380 44

227-0260 http://www.usps.com Druzhba hotel # 704, 5, Druzhby Narodiv Vul., Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel/Fax: 011 380 44

268-9135

Tel.:011-380-44261-8241

http://www.fedex.com 11 Ulyanovykh St., Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel.:011 380 44

269-2104

Fax.: 011 380 44 274-5024

http://www.ups.com/europe/ua/engindex.html Phone : (800) 361-7345, fax: (416) 236-2110. Email:

info@meest.net

http://www.meest.net 7720 Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia, PA , 19152; Tel.:

(215) 725-3676

Today is Thursday...I can't believe how fast this week has gone. I babysat yesterday and will again tomorrow. I am taking today to make some progress with packing, I hope.

Last night I talked on the phone with Laura, who is in Ukraine Group 37 also. It was fun to check eachother's progress with so many topics. She had to move out of her appartment and pack most everything for PC a few weeks ago. As you can imagine, I had plenty of questions for her and her for me. It's bizarre to me how much the two of us have in common, I'm very excited to meet more of the people who will be on this adventure.

As you can see below I was able to put a picture up! I'm pretty impressed myself. So, in a few months from now, when I have taken pictures I hopefully will be able to upload some of them for you to see! I also have a link on the right side of the blog to my flickr account which has my pictures. I still have to do a little work so you'll actually be able to see the pictures, but with tim that'll happen.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer. Which this year feels much different than past years. I am about to embark on something very big. So although it may be the end of one season, it marks the eve of another chapter of my life-Peace Corps.

There are many things on my mind as I set time aside to pack. I am overwhelmed with emotions of excitement, fear, joy, relief, worry and curiosity. Looking at the things I have to choose from to join me in this adventure. Deciding what product, brands or items will be most useful as I leave the developed world and head into the unknowns of a teacher in the developing world.

As far as time goes, I'm less than 3 weeks from my staging event in Philadelphia. I look at my room knowing that many more hours need to go into packing before I'm prepared to leave my home.

Tomorrow is Labor Day, we're going to spend the day together and then join the neigbors at a cookout later on in the day, and then ending the day by getting together with Lindsey and Ashley.

I will write again soon, most probably as I get frustrated with my progress or lack of progress with packing.

Today was an exciting day. I got my travel arrangements made for my departure. I will be flying out of Milwaukee at 7:45AM on September 25th. I will be very busy several days following. At noon registration begins and then there is a meeting until 7pm. We leave the next morning at 6am for a flight out of JFK around 3pm. I won't arrive in Kiev until 2pm the following day. Lots of travel for me!

I spent today organizing pictures and making an address book and running errands. These days are flying by, but I'm so happy I have time to spend on a lot of these things. Packing is another story altogether.

We picked a day to have a going away party, or better a celebration marking the beginning of my Peace Corps journey. We are having an open house so I'm hoping to see a lot of friends and family for the last time, for awhile.

Alright that's all I have for today. Thanks for reading!