Ok, so here it goes. I really hope that this post finds all of you well.

     I have never had a blog before, but I will assume that both close friends & family, as well as complete strangers will be possibly interested in reading about my time overseas. This being said I will do a general introduction for those who don't know me...

     My name is Bryan, and I am less than a month from being 24.  I grew up in a military household with my parents and 4 siblings (Corie, Katie, Bill, [me], and Thomas; in that order). Growing up my brothers and I spent almost all of our free time outside and did a lot of camping, fishing, hiking, go cart building, go cart racing, go cart crashing..., tree climbing, swimming, tree fort building, and anything else a child's imagination could dream up. Some of my favorite things in life are traveling, dogs, camping, scuba diving, the ocean in general, and fishing with my buddies while drinking a 6 pack of Narragansett* beer. I went to school at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI were I studies Aquaculture. 

------side story: growing up I wanted to do many different things including being an airline pilot, joining the army, being a geologist.... I had applied to West Point to follow in my father and grandfather's footsteps as a career military officer, I also applied to University of Colorado in Boulder to be a geologist, and eventually URI for International Business and German Studies. BUT Senior year I had a geology/oceanography class in high school, and in the second half of the year during the oceanography portion of the class, for ONE day out of the entire semester, my teacher Mrs. Johnson taught us about this thing called Aquaculture. From that day on I was simply hooked on this idea of growing seafood, and it has become the primary focus for my future career.------

     I am very fortunate to have grown up in a family deeply rooted in our faith in God, and I fully believe that this trip to Zambia is a mission challenged to me by our father above. That said, it is unlikely you will hear much about my faith while away because (and probably not to my parents approval) I spend very little energy bragging, talking about, debating, or evangelizing my faith; it is something very personal and private to me.

     The idea of joining the Peace Corps started nearly a year and a half ago. My good friend, dive partner, and college buddy Hunter Shaffer applied and was invited to serve in the Peace Corps, and left for none other than ZAMBIA last summer. He had started his application well over two years ago, and I was very jealous that he was going on to something real and exciting while I remained in RI finishing school (graduated December of 2009) and working the same old job to get by. I have always been a independent person who enjoys working hard and experiencing new things, so even after the idea of the Peace Corps was already in the back of my mind, a Peace Corps recruiter came into a class of mine in the Fall of 09 and pushed me over the edge. Here is a rough time line of the last year of my life and how it came to be that I was invited.

• December in 2009 - I officially opened up and began an online applicaiton
• Jan-March 2010 - I took my sweet time filling all the information out (a lot longer than I should have)
• Early May 2010 - Online application was submitted and I was linked up with a personal recruiter named Norman Trembley.
• June 28th, 2010 - I was officially nominated for an Environmental Education project in the Pacific Islands Region. (after looking up through peacecorpswiki.org I soon found out this project was intended for FIJI and I immediately jumped the gun and began telling everyone I was going to FIJI, little did I know what God really had planned....)
• July-November 2010 - I went through the most painful process of the Medical Review; 3 visits to the blood lab, 2 to my doctor, and 4 visits with my dentist and I finally finished my medical paperwork and mailed it all in. 
• January 3rd, 2011 - Dear Bryan, we are pleased to tell you that you have been Medically Qualified for service in the Peace Corps.
• March 2nd, 2011 - I receive a phone call and completed my Suitability Review. I had a very nice talk with a young lady named Heather, and she informed me that the position with the original project I had been nominated for had already been filled (thank you 4 month medical process), but that she was considering me for 3 other projects and I will be getting something in the mail telling me where shortly.
• FRIDAY, MARCH 4th, 2011 - My online application had been updated and when I woke up that morning and checked my email I read the most awesome message and news I think I have ever received in my entire life: "CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED TO SERVE IN THE PEACE CORPS!"
• Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 - I receive in the mail my official invitation to serve, and this is when I found out I would be heading off to Zambia to be a "Rural Fish Culture Extension Agent!"

     When I read ZAMBIA, I was so excited to be going to the exact same country as my friend Hunter and working on the same project I could barely sit down. I had to play cards in a local high low jack card league that I sub in for sometimes, and could barely play cards right because my head was racing so fast. I didn't sleep for days, and spent several days taking any chance I got to call more and more family and friends to announce the good news.

     Now I am in the process of getting all my passport stuff taken care of, tying up all financial ends, and preparing myself physically and mentally for this trip. I continue to substitute teach everyday, work at Jerry's in the afternoons and sometimes nights, and prepare for the adventure that lay ahead.

     I think I have written quite enough for now, I can't really think of anything else to tell you about just now. I will post again tomorrow, with a more in-depth description of what my project is and what I expect to be doing in country. I will also try to throw in a few things about Zambia, so that everyone can get an idea of the country I will be staying in. 

Think Kapenta, 

~Bryan