Our friends are the best!

Phoenix, AZ---No, we STILL haven't left (the country), but here's a lesson we've already learned about the Peace Corps: No one goes alone.

Even if you plan to sell all your wordly possessions, making this transition from a settled life into the unknown would be impossible without the help of friends and family, sometimes in unexpected ways.

For example, Margaret found someone to buy a lot of our household items, then she offered her place for us to stay the night before we left Seattle, THEN she took us to the airport for a very early flight.

Michelle and Karl offered their garage for storing some of the things we couldn't part with for two years, and they hosted a lovely party for us, where we got to see so many of our friends before we took off.

Heather helped me go through a lot of my stuff to get ready for the big sale/giveaway and provided other logistical help...not to mention helping me keep my sanity in that last week in Seattle. She also got us a free night in DC!

The people at Dana's Body-Zone, where I was teaching kickboxing, gave me a terrific sendoff and reminded me how much I'm going to miss the supportive environment there. Not to mention the generous gifts that will come in handy during our road trip later this week!

Dov and Kendra put us up while we were in Tucson this week. They have a 2-year-old and another on the way, but they opened their home and made us feel like we weren't actually vagabonds.

My family is having a barbecue today, so we'll get to spend some time with the James Gang before flying back to Seattle and starting the tour of Keith's family. I hope I haven't left anyone out, but I know we'll have even more people to thank before we get to Armenia.

As we learn just how much we depend on those around us, we hope we can adequately express our gratitude and also offer something in return.