How did I even get here???

Well since I'm new to this whole blogging thing, I figure I better take it for a test drive before I leave the comfort of my own couch!

As I sit here on my big red couch, in my downtown condo, watching a Tivo'd Office, I can't help but think about just how far away it will all seem in only two days...I suppose I should back up a few steps and explain how I got here in the first place.

I guess I was your average kid. Lots of scraped knees and endless annoying questions. I used to love the questions and still love them now! (trust me...any of you who know me at all know I love asking the weird questions...) But there was one question that I never knew the answer to: What do you want to be when you grow up? Sure I had ideas...a Broadway star, a master journalist, maybe even the person who picks the toys that go into boxes of Cheerios :)

When I was a kid, the possibilities were endless. What I hadn't counted on, was that at the age of 27 I wouldn't be much closer to answering the question than when I was 7. About a year ago, I decided it was time to do my best to try to figure it out...or at the very least, have an amazing experience in the process!

I always promised myself that if I truly discovered what my passion was, I would follow it. Sounds simple, huh? I thought so too but as it turns out, I really didn't know! I started to think about it and open my eyes to the possibilities around me and that has brought me here. I decided about a year ago that I wanted to pursue philanthropic work abroad. It is something that I have always wanted to do and I know that it isn't going to get any easier than now to "seize the day."

I began my search of philanthropic opportunities. (By the way, if you ever want to feel really good about the world we live in, do this search...you cannot believe how many people have dedicated their lives to such wonderful work) I came across a program that was a perfect fit:

• 6 months (April 19-October 19)
• 4 countries (Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Peru)
• Teaching English to hundreds of students (and hopefully learning Spanish along the way!)
• Discover what my next passion is!

I hope this blog will serve as both a personal journal for myself and a vehicle to take you all with me on this amazing journey. I hope you will find it funny, educational, entertaining and inspiring. I also really hope that this will not be a one-way communication. Please, please leave comments and emails...I don't even think I can understand how much they will mean to me once I get there!

As I board that flight early Saturday morning, I will only have one ticket in my hand and will be entering the world of the unknown. But knowing that in some small way, I get to take you along makes it so much easier to get on that plane.

I miss you all already--

xoxo,
Debra