Unexpected Visit:
(Shawn & Chris at White Sands)
My friend Shawn, that I met in Alaska, had the chance to visit for a week! It was great to see him again after a year, and to share what's new before I head out to Africa. We went to a few places while he was here including Tent Rocks, Billy the Kid's grave, the Roswell UFO Museum, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and the Alamogordo Space Museum and IMAX. It was a great week! He left for home on 1/28. Now I only have 18 days left until I leave myself...
Peace Corps News:
(Washington D.C.)
I will be leaving for Orientation in Washington D.C. on February 16th! I will be off to Africa at 5:40 PM Eastern Time on January 18th and arrive in Zambia about 21 hours later on the 19th! Please pray for me, this is going to be a great yet challenging experience.
(Zambia Map and Flag)
A Mix Up:
(U.S. Passports thanks to msnbc.com)
Well last night I received an e-mail from another Christopher James Rodriguez that I met on a Peace Corps Yahoo group. He forwarded an e-mail from Peace Corps' travel agency he received meant for me. It said WE NEED ZAMBIA VISA FORMS AND PHOTOS ASAP! I immediately thought that they must have lost the ones I sent them back in September, so since it was already 7:00 PM here I figured there was no time to waste. I went to town and took passport photos, printed the proper forms, and sent them overnight through FedEx. I called them this morning and the said they received the other Chris Rodriguez's passport, and since he is going to Suriname it did not have Zambia visas in it. They then thought it was mine and called/e-mailed him thinking it was me saying they needed the visa stuff right away. Before I called this morning to clarify things and tell them that new photos and forms were on their way they had figured out the mix up. They checked the Zambia folder and found MY (This Chris Rodriguez typing) No Fee Government Passport with the proper Zambia visas inside. They apologized for the mix up and told me to pack my bags!
Well, that about does it for now! I hope I get to see all of you in the next 18 days. If not please e-mail me your addresses so that I can put them in my new address book and send you some Zambian Snail Mail :) ...
God Bless, and Peace be with you all!
My E-mail: chrisruaf@msn.com
