the final countdown

i leave Benin in 20 hours...depending of course on when the taxi to Togo wants to take off. I've been in Cotonou for over a week as I came down early for the newbies' swear-in ceremony and joint Peace Corps Benin 40th anniversary celebration. Had a lovely dress made and things went off without a hitch. Watching them take the oath (which is eerily similar to the military oath to serve and defend the USA), I flashed back two years ago in Natitingou when we were doing the same thing, having the same feelings of trepidation, excitement, and clueless-ness. What a wild ride they're in for! My replacement Christine got to post a few days after and David climbed the reception tree to tell me she was already doing amazing and I have nothing to worry about. One more thing to check off the list. I've been doing medical tests and having meetings with supervisors and basically getting the check sheet filled out for Peace Corps admin that says I am actually allowed to leave the Peace Corps. This involves running around the three floor bureau all day in sweaty, humid Cotonou, trying to figure out who needs to do what; all while attempting to stay fresh for meetings with the bosses...riiiiiight, i'm just a big daisy. my project reports are finished, i hate budgets, thank god for our fabulous staff who have really worked with me to make sure I can catch my flight. each volunteer is required to write a DOS (description of service), mine ended up being 6 pages, describing what i've accomplished or at least attempted during my service. looking at the final product, i have an immense feeling of gratification. it was especially nice to meet with the country director and hear her positive feedback and appreciation of my contribution to Benin. Every now and then, that kind of thing is really great to hear, particularly at a tumultuous time like this. All that is left to do is wait for the staff to come back from afternoon siesta time (i will NOT miss that, it screws up the whole day!) and give my last "sample" to the doctors to make sure I still have all of my intestines. got a little freaked out this morning as my body wasn't cooperating and they said "no sample, no check" referring the the readjustment allowance we get and incidentally, what i'm traveling around the world with....after copious amounts of coffee, papaya, and spicy spaghetti, we're a go for check signing. ohhh peace corps.
pretty sure my last post said it all but i needed to write one more sign off blurp. I leave tomorrow for Accra,Ghana where I catch a plane saturday night to Egypt. I meet my partner in crime Annie at the Cairo airport at 6am and we hit the ground running. the new blog to follow is www.boozerswithoutborders.blogspot.com it's Ramadan in the Islamic world right now so i don't know how much boozing we'll be doing but we'll have plenty to say anyways.
cheers to all, i'll be back in the states on christmas day, who knows after that....