Lesley and Kurt Icenogle. Photo compliments of Melissa Arong. 

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Icenogle!

Had this thing existed yesterday I would have used it to say congratulations and best wishes to Lesley and Kurt. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the wedding, but in addition to being a week before departure, it was also my little brother's high school graduation. From the pictures Mels sent me it looks like it was a beautiful day, and Lesley looked gorgeous. I'll probably upload one or two, since I'm playing with this new feature while I have a semi-modern computer at my disposal. So, in case you two ever read this, have fun in Hawaii, and I swear to God your present is on its way!

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You're going where?

Don't feel bad if you can't locate my future home. In the weeks since I recieved my invitation, I have yet to meet someone that had not traveled to Africa who knew where Mauritania was. I myself could place it only because I was forced to label every country in Africa for African Studies back in sophomore year of high school, and, well, anyone can tell you I have a memory for inane details.

I add the "someone who had not travelled to Africa" caveat because two days ago I ran into an old friend from high school. As it happens, she had just withdrawn her application with Peace Corps to take a job with an NGO... in Senegal and Guinea. If you haven't pulled out a map yet, when you do you'll find that Senegal is immediately south of Mauritania. Small world, isn't it? Lissy had spent a semester studying in Dakar before she graduated from Yale, so she also has an excuse for her excellent knowledge of the geography of West Africa.

By the way, in case you would like to calculate how far it is from your home to mine, I refer you to the very useful website. I find it interesting that my mother is so much more worried about this trip, when it is nearly 3 times as far to get to Dunedin New Zealand than it is to Nouakchott. I'm actually closer to home.!

Back to packing.