The Perfect Night

Almost every single person that I love and that has made an impact on my life in a positive way was in one place at one time. How could it not be a good night. I can't believe all the love and support I received at my "Shrimp and Suds" going away party at my Aunt Shell's house.

My friends from high school, my friends and teammates from college, a high school teacher, my great aunt Peggy, my friends parents, my mom & step mom, my aunts friends and relatives, my mom's best friends.. we're all there to show their love and support for my decision to leave for the Peace Corps for 27 months. A lot of tears were shed and a lot of laughs were shared but I could not have asked for a better going away party with my friends and family. All the people I love will probably never be in the same place at the same time ever again in my life and I was so blessed to have such a great send-off party.

My best friend Lanner made a donation in my name to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to adopt a Pygmy Elephant. It was one of the most thoughtful and perfect gifts I have ever received. We decided to name the elephant Branner (Brenna + Lanner).



My best friend Lanner said oh she's just being Brennnna.



"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain
This quote was in a card that one of my closest friends Megan gave me.



"Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do!"
- H. Jackson Brown Jr.
This quote was on the front of a card that Heenan gave me with a journal that she had special ordered with her favorite quote on the front of it.


"I'm not good at good-byes, so let's just pretend we're playing hide and seek"
was on the front of a card given to me by Margaret who will be married next time I see her, crazy.


"Congratulations, today is your day, you're off to great places, you're off and away"
was the Dr. Suess quote read aloud on my "Oh the Places You'll Go" card I received from my favorite high school teacher Mrs. Southers and my great Aunt Peggy.

Raleigh "in the frame"..

I just got back from visiting my friends in Raleigh & Charlotte for the week and it was so good spending some quality time with my friends who have become family. All the support and love I have towards following my dream to being in the Peace Corps and living in another country is amazing. I really don't think I would feel so good about leaving if I didn't have all this support and love from my friends and family.

Catching up with friends this week made me realize that no matter where we end up in life there are always those certain people you can pick up with no matter how much time has passed.


In two weeks my life will change forever. I can't wait to see what the future brings.

Let the countdown begin

For many today is a day they share with the special Valentine.. for me it's the day I received my flight information and staging papers for the Peace Corps. I depart for Washington, DC exactly one month from today then leave for Albania March 15th. We fly DC to Munich, Munich to Tirana. I have a lot of mixed feelings about leaving, probably because I feel like I still have so much to do. Staging it looks like will be a brief overview of exactly what the Peace Corps is and what is expected of the PCV's. Tomorrow, I'm taking my final road-trip to Raleigh to visit with all my friends that still live there! I'm going to be able to catch the Peace/Meredith game, the Senior Game and two of my friends birthdays, I think it will be a great last trip before I leave..

(Dad, Coach Johnson, Me, Momma on Senior Day)

I can't believe my Senior Day was a year ago, time has flown by.. It seems like just yesterday I was playing my last basketball game.. I just booked my flight with SATO travel from Raleigh, NC to Washington DC for March 14th.. My flight leaves out at 8:20am and I arrive in DC at 9:30.. Staging starts at 12:00.. hopefully I have all of the paper work and things I need to be prepared for staging. Everything finally feels real and not like it's never going to happen. Finally having my flights scheduled and a determined date on when I'm leaving is finally making it sink in that I only have 4 more weeks left in the states. Looks like its about time to say goodbye to sweet Ol' North Carolina and hello to Eastern Europe..

Well, a little to the left..

The clock is running out on my time in America so I'm trying to see everyone and anyone I can before I leave for Eastern Europe for two years. Not being exactly sure on what type of communication I will have with people back in the states makes me realize the importance of seeing everyone before I leave. It really sinks in that I'm going to be gone when people are talking about planning beach trips this summer or what they're going to do on their birthdays in a few months. I haven't even began to pack yet, although I have been on a few shopping trips to try and knock out one of 100's of to-do-lists. I'm just going to get what I think is essential and hopefully will be able to get most of my necessities over there.

I'm being aloud 2 checked suitcases that equal 80 lbs. With a sleeping bag, winter boots, a winter coat, the kitchen sink, my two cats, and all of my friends and family, I can imagine this being like a jig-saw puzzle trying to fit everything in. I haven't gotten my official staging papers yet, but an email confirmed we're still on for March 14th as of right now. We just got paperwork asking us questions about our host-families while we're in staging and if we opposed to any "types of family." "Young active family" "single woman home" "elderly couple" "smoking family" were some of the types, I didn't check any expect "no english in the home" but I'm sure I could adapt if need be. When I stayed with my Japan host family, there was very little English on their part and almost zero Japanese on my part and we communicated better than I do with some people that speak English. The closer the date comes the more and more real it becomes.. My going away party that my aunt is so generously throwing me should be a good closure point for me to say my final goodbyes.

Never look a howler monkey in the eyes..

Click here for the Peace Corps new
TV public service announcement.

Peace College to the Peace Corps

(Peace College, Raleigh N.C.)

I graduated from Peace College in May 2010 with a BA in Comunication. Peace is one of about 50 all-womens schools left in the United States. Peace College was founded on the values that empower women and give them a leg up from their male counterparts so that the students can be just as competitive in the world. I found the smaller classrooms and personal relationships with my professors aloud me to experience a unique learning environment that, in my case, was effective. I met life long friends that I now consider family during these four years of school. The common theme of Peace College is "you don't go to Peace to find your husband, you go to find your bridesmaids."

(Roommates and suitemates sophomore year: Lanner, Candra, Brenna, Emily)

(Teammates, to friends, to family: Brenna, Karissa, Margaret, Megan B.)


(Teammates: Brenna, Brittany Lynn, Lanner, Margaret, Amanda, Lauren)

(Spring Break '10 - Brenna, Alyssa, Lanner, Megan S., Megan B.)


(Beach Music Festival '10 -Megan R., Lanner, Brenna, Megan B.)

I also just finished playing four years of college basketball. This is the reason I initially attended Peace College and although it was sometimes challenging, I wouldn't take back the experience for anything. Exorcise is a normal, daily routine and has been for most of my life. In the culture that I was brought up in, never once did it cross my mind that working out would not be part of my day to day routine (will be addressed later).

(2008-2009 Peace College Basketball Team, Junior Year)


(Starters @ Shenandoah: Megan, Lanner, Brenna, Margaret, Karissa)

When I graduated, my world for the past 4 years ended. My friends would no longer living down the hall from me and my teammates would continue to play on without me. This made me begin to feel like a lost puppy without a home, without a purpose and in a few short months without a means to support myself. I applied for the Peace Corps in April 2010, one month before I graduated from school. Many asked why? and questioned my motives especially during this economy.

(Senior Basketball Players: Lanner, Candra, Brenna, Emma)

(According to my grandma, "the Lord chose me and lifted my hat off"

The turning day for me to apply and pursue the Peace Corps was when I went to a required job fair for my senior seminar class. Every booth I visited politely said "We're not hiring" or "Apply online".. this obviously discouraged me and made me question why I wasted my past 18 years in school if no one wanted me to help their business with the skills and knowledge I had acquired. Then I saw the Peace Corps booth and added its brochure to the pile I was carrying around.


After I got back to my dorm that night I stayed up all night and thought about the possibilities that being a PCV would bring me.. world travel, total submergence into another culture, helping communities learn basic skills that so many in this country take for granted, and the list goes on.. I knew it was what I wanted to do. I could actually use my skills and knowledge I've learned in school to help people and make change?


So many people that I talked to said "oh yea, I was going to do that, then I had a kid" or "I thought about the Peace Corps but there's no way I could do it now, too many strings," I do not want to miss my opportunity of a lifetime to live in another country, learn their customs and not only teach others but learn from others. When studying abroad in school (Yucatan & Japan) I realized that I felt the most alive when I was traveling. There is no other way to describe it but that it makes me appreciate the world so much more by seeing it myself.

(Ux'Mal Ruins, Yucatan Peninsula Mexico)


(Ashley and I with our host family in Anjo Japan)

After reading not even half of the literature I'm responsible before I leave, I've read a lot about how as a whole, Albania still practices 'traditional' values where women aren't allowed to do all that men are. Women aren't to be seen in pubs after hours, coffee shops or sometimes even soccer games. Some volunteers testimonies I've read so far are split on whether or not they feel this repression or not. Exercising in any respect is unknown to the culture, especially for women. However different that these customs and ideas are of my own or the culture that I have grown up it, its obvious that I will honor each custom that I am faced with. I believe do believe that without the past 4 years of realizing the significance of women's empowerment, however, I would not be able to face such a drastic change with little concern but I feel strong enough to take it on.

Sweet Home Albania

Peace Corps Placement: Albania

Community & Organization Development Facilitator

Orientation Dates: March 14-15, 2011

Pre-Service Traning: March 16-May 27th, 2011

Dates of Service: May 28, 2011-May 27, 2013

(The Albanian flag, indicates the overall background is Red with
a black two-headed eagle in the center. Albania means Land of the Eagles)

So I received my placement New Years Eve day for Albania. Needless to say I had two things to celebrate that night. What a wonderful way to bring in the new year!

From the literature I've read so far I have gathered that in Albania women are still repressed and are not allowed to do most things that the men in their community do. I've been bombarded with packets, applications and tons of other paper work to do before my departure. We will spend our first three weeks in the capital of Albania, Tirana, where we will undergo extensive training on the culture and our position in as a PCV in our specific communities. This will be the only time that all members of the Peace Corps of Albania will be together until the end of the service. We will stay with host families these three weeks then it's up to us if we stay with host families or live alone when we are sent to our communities.

(Tirana, Albania's capital, photo taken by previous PCV)

(A town in Albania, photo taken by previous PCV)

So what does this all mean for me? It means I have tons of planning and paperwork to do before I go. My official position title is "Community and Organization Development Facilitator." This could range from teaching natives their way around computers, helping at the community center with organization, community involvement, etc. The weather could be hot or cold, depending on what part of the country I go to. I have tons of things to get and think about! Did I mention it's nestled in between Greece, the Adriatic Sea and Italy? Here it is on a map.


I could be placed anywhere from a city, small town or a remote village. Depending on where I am placed will let me know about my accessibility to the internet, etc. From the literature I have read so far I will be issued a cell phone but minutes will be limited. I plan on keeping up this blog the entire time I'm away, so if you haven't heard from me in a while or are looking for a way to contact me, looking here would probably be the best bet.