Staging Details!

So I just got back from camping with my aunt and uncle today as was treated to an amazing surprise in my email.  We finally got our staging information for the quick orientation before we leave the country.  Our group will be spending 1 day in Philadelphia on the 13th of September and then on the 14th we fly out of JFK airport for Botswana.  Our flight leaves at 11:15am and then after a 15 hour flight we land in South Africa on September 15th.  While the thought of a 15 hour flight should be painful, instead I am incredibly excited.  Finally knowing the flight details just makes this so much more real.

These past few weeks have been what I consider to be a bittersweet whirlwind.  I'm leaving Grand Rapids this Friday to spend the rest of my time before departure seeing family in IL and NC.  Saying goodbye to people is much harder than I thought it would be.  But I keep reminding myself that it is really only goodbye if I let it be.  There is still mail, and of course seeing people when I get back.  And it is in that spirit of continued relationships that I wanted to use this blog post to share my address when abroad (well at least the address I am using during Pre-Service Training until I get my official placement in country).  So if anyone wants to send me mail during the first couple months you can reach me at:
Adam Hii, c/o Peace Corps Botswana, Private Bag 00243, Gaborone, Botswana).

Other than visiting friends most of my time has been spent packing and I am proud to say that in that regard I am nearly ready to leave for Botswana (I still have a few things to get yet, but I am almost there).  Language lessons have also taken a back seat to packing and such.  Yet I know once I am in IL I will have more free time so I plan to get back to the grind on that very soon.

And now I have a quick request to you all out there.  I need to update my address/some way of contacting people for when I am gone.  So if you could be so kind as to give me a mailing address/updated email/skype/etc. I would greatly appreciate it.  And if you don't feel like doing it in a comment you can always send me an email or fb message.  hiiadam89@gmail.com

Thanks for everything Grand Rapids and all of the wonderful people you have brought me in contact with.