Flights

I now have my plane tickets! (Well, not physically in my hand, but reserved electronically.) I will be leaving from San Francisco at 9am on February 12th and will be arriving in DC that evening. Our staging events don't start until 2pm on the 13th, so I will have some time to relax/explore/maybe even see some friends (here's to hoping). We all leave as a group on February 15th for the DR. Our plane leaves at 7am and it says on our schedule that we will check out of the hotel at 3am. HAHA. Way to start things out. I guess I'll be waking up at 2:55...

How do I send mail to Alissa?

Good question! I'm sure you have all already started making amazing care packages and buying little treats to send me, but you are wondering where to send them to! So here is my contact info:

For REGULAR mail while I am a trainee (until the end of April I think):
Alissa Mayer, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Av Bolivar 451, Gazcue
Apartado Postal 1412
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

For EXPEDITED mail (FedEx, DHL) you have to provide them with the street address and phone number:
Alissa Mayer, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
451 Avenida Bolivar
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Telephone:809-685-4102

There are apparently lots of taxes on packages and a good chance that they might get "lost" if they look too appealing, so the Peace Corps recommends sending items that fit into padded envelopes. Addresses might change, especially post-training, but I will let you know!

Preparations begin...

I have officially been invited to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic! I will be leaving February 12th or 13th (final departure info is yet to come) and will be working as an education information technology extensionist. It's a fancy title, but the plan is to teach basic computer skills to students and teachers and help them incorporate information technology into their education. I am super excited and am starting the mountain that is preparations. (Today I conquered my closet which was a huge accomplishment.) I am going to try and keep up this blog (instead of sending mass emails) so you can all check in when convenient and see what life is like in the DR. So here goes...