Plans are made

Well friends, time marches on. My departure date is about 5 weeks away (what?!) and I'm starting to panic thinking about all of the supplies I do not have yet. I've got about half of the basics covered but am still looking for a sleeping bag that isn't a mummy but is compact and warm so that I don't get frozen and do not wake up in a panic attack due to the claustrophobia my feet experience in mummy bags. Any suggestions? I'm thinking down.

I'm typing this blog in a public library in Michigan sitting next to some dude mumbling to himself about "very unusual" things, "very unusual, indeed". At this time of the day, the public libraries of the world see some of the most interesting street urchins looking for free internet access and a warm/cool place to hang out for an hour. My sister was married last weekend and I'm now having my last bits of quality time with my dad and step-mom before traveling to the dark continent, thus I am in Michigan. When I get back to South Carolina I will start packing up boxes with future supplies and making notes for my mom to send them 4, 8 and 12 months in the future.

Oh, someone gave the guy next to me a puppy- that's exciting.

My plane tickets should arrive in the mail in a week or two and after that milestone the more specific information will start rolling in, i.e., what hotel I'll be staying at in Philly for orientation (Center City, Center City, Center City...), my orientation schedule, who my temporary roommate is and lots of other Welcome-to-the-Peace-Corps fun facts. For now, I leave with you some Kingdom of Lesotho (Le-soo-too) general information.
---Meanwhile something exciting is happening to the dude next to me: "My goodness. Wow. Geez ow. Whew."---

Tap water is not reliably potable.

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966.  

Natural resources include water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay and building stone.

Less than 5% of the country's population lives to be 65. Life expectancy at birth: 40.38 years,

Lesotho's time difference measures 7 hours ahead of Washington, D.C., or Eastern.


https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lt.html
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/lesotho
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_949.html