Nine days to go...

As many of you know, in a mere nine days I will begin a new chapter in my life. And while I hope that November 4th will be the beginning of a new chapter in our country's history, for once I'm not talking about the upcoming election.

At 9:55am on Election Day, I'll be flying to Philadelphia to spend my last full day in the US before flying off to the smallest country on the continent of Africa--The Gambia. If all goes as planned, I'll be spending virtually all of the next 26 1/2 months within a few hours walk of the lower Gambia River working with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help rural Gambians reverse the tide of deforestation and soil erosion that threatens the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.

Before I get to the point where I can even hope to make a positive difference in the lives of rural Gambians, however, I have much to learn, including (but certainly not limited to) a language or two, a host of technical skills related to West African agro-forestry, and how to navigate a web of cultures about which I currently would have trouble writing a one-pager. Towards those ends (and others), the Peace Corps will attempt to fill my next ten weeks with as much information, challenges, and cultural immersion as I can manage. At this point, I just hope I'm up to the task.

During my time overseas in the Peace Corps, I intend to use this space to share with you (i.e. friends, family, random passers-by) my experiences, thoughts, stories, and, when necessary, catharses. If you want to keep in contact offline, I hope to keep up regular correspondence by snail mail (and in the case of postal service in The Gambia, emphasis should be placed on 'snail'). My address for the first few months, while in training, will be:

Edwin McLenaghan, PCT
C/O Peace Corps/The Gambia
P.O. Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa

I am as of yet unsure of whether I will have much access to the internet or to a cell phone during my pre-service training, but it would be safe to assume that, if I do not have any new posts up after my first few days in-country, it's probably because I lack the time or access. Until next time...