33 pounds.

That's how much I've lost since I came to Guinea. I was 220 pounds the day we left for Forecariah; 187 the day we finished in Forecariah and come back to Conakry.

Sorry there's not a new, large post on leaving Forecariah and swearing in at the embassy, but there's a lot to swallow in the process, and I'd like to do it justice. Hopefully I will be back on here before Halloween with a decent wrap-up.

Until then, please know that I am incredibly happy right now; the last few days in Conakry have been some of my happiest, most euphoric moments. The friendships I have made here are great and will only become stronger. And, I am very proud of everyone in our group - all 25 of the people who started that first day in Philly have made it all the way here, a rarity for Peace Corps.

I'd like to give special shout-outs to the parents of Tiffany, Alison, and Valentin, and of course to all those other G-16 parents out there reading this right now. Your kids are all wonderful people and I consider myself very lucky to have them in my life. Except for Jesse, of course. We could all really do without him...

Joking. I love Jesse; there are none better than said guy.

Lastly, for those of you who would like to leave a comment but don't have a google account, I've updated the settings so that anonymous comments can be made. So go ahead then, make 'em!