Over The Mountain, Across The Sea

Peshkopi continues to stay warmer than I expected. I bought two cubic meters of wood back in October, fearing that snow was on our doorstep. All in all, it's a bit chilly in the morning but I remember feeling much more miserable during my high school lacrosse practices at 6:00 AM, but that was in Los Angeles. Almost daily, the phrase comes to mind, "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing." Though it'll only hurt me in the end, I'm somehow looking forward to when the myth of "bad weather" becomes a reality.

I had never intended this blog for anyone other than friends and family. However, given the off chance that a future volunteer stumbles here, here's my abbreviated packing list. Other volunteers' lists were helpful when I was preparing to leave, so I feel indebted. However, I'd like to get back to reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, so I'll avoid mentioning everything. These are just a few of the things that I was particularly glad that I brought.

- Quality headphones (do yourself a favor and upgrade from those apple earbuds)
- Portable speaker for your laptop
- Lots of gifts (mine were peanut brittle)
- Kindle
- Chef's knife
- Ice-pack
- Warm boots for winter
- Ear plugs
- ... As I remember more, I'll add them. Now it's time to return to my book.

I figured that I'd actually attempt to find a song that's title had something vaguely to do with what I wrote about. Here's the first thing I came across: "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea." The Bobby Vinton version is what I'm familiar with but writing this encouraged me to listen to what I'm thinking is the original by Johnnie and Joe.

What's a post without a picture? Here's a picture of a fellow volunteer, a good friend of mine.