Seven days and counting!

I leave in one week from today. So what have I been doing all month? Mostly eating! I have dubbed it "bear going into hybernation preparation" or "Last Supper Syndrome."
"Hi, Jane. I'd love to get together with you before you leave. Can we have lunch/dinner?"
At the restaurant: "We should have a cocktail to toast your new adventure." "And another."
"How about dessert, since you probably won't be getting cheesecake in Belize?"
Good thing I'll be eating beans and rice for the next 2 1/2 years, because that's about how long it's going to take to loose the weight I've been gaining!
OK, so I've been doing a few other things also: like actually filing my income taxes BEFORE April 15th!, getting a passport, making a will (not that I'm expecting to need it, but the Peace Corps requires it - what do they know that they aren't telling me?), going paperless, electronic and changing my address on everything from credit cards to bank accounts, arranging to get absentee voting ballots sent to Belize, canceling telephones, cable, internet, car and health insurance, putting important papers and valuables in a safe deposit box, compiling a hurricane evacuation plan for my friends to follow (just in case), making contact lists for family and friends (just in case), selling my car, preparing the condo to be gone for two years, including installing a "humidistat" on the air conditioner (pretty cool - no pun intended), getting medical and dental clearances and copies of eye glass and medicine prescriptions, buying lightweight clothes, towels and sheets that dry fast, downloading over 8,000 songs on my IPOD, and did I mention I got SCUBA Certified on Saturday?
Last Sunday, I had a party at a restaurant on Clearwater Beach where over 75 friends came to show their incredible love and support as I embark on this great adventure (or are they just anxious to see me go and want to be sure I'm really leaving?) Everyone had lots of questions, so I put together a little FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions). Here's the first of four questions I'll try to answer in the next few days before I leave.

1. Where is Belize anyway? Belize is a small country in Central America about the size of New Hampshire with only 300,000 people, the lowest population density in Central America and one of the lowest in the world. It was formerly British Honduras until September 21, 1981 when Great Britain granted Belize full independence. Belize lies just below the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, bordered on the east by the Caribbean Sea and to the west and south by Guatemala. Belize is one of the world’s most biologically diverse nations and unlike what we have recently become aware of in Haiti, 93% of Belize is under forest cover. It has the largest coral reef in the western hemisphere, the largest cave system in Central America, over 500 species of birds, the only jaguar reserve in the world and thousands of Mayan temples. Belize also has a very diverse culture and population, over half are Mestizos, or people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry, Creoles, Mayas and Garifunas, who are descendants of African slaves and Carib people, also live in Belize. English is the official language, but Spanish and Creole (or Kriol) are fast becoming the language common to all. Other languages spoken in Belize include Mopan Maya, K'ekchi and Garifuna.
There have been over 1,700 volunteers who have served in Belize since 1962. There will be 40 people in my group who will work in education, agriculture, health, environmental conservation and small business development.
Well, that's your history lesson for today. I have to start packing!