Comments are Greatly Appreciated

Dear Reader,

I hope through your readings you have laughed a little, smiled, been surprised, or at least had some sort of emotional experience.  However, our relationship is pretty one-sided.  I write, you read, you enjoy, you come back for more.  I leave for Ethiopia in 4 days and after that, I will have limited contact with "the outside world" - AKA you.  I will probably miss everyone from home and get homesick, but it always helps to realize I'm not really alone.  You can help by:

1. Following my blog.  Sure, you may have the site bookmarked or you're subscribed through a reader, but it makes me feel special when I have lots of "followers".
2. Commenting on my blog.  I will get to see that someone is actually reading what I write!  This will also motivate me to continue writing and letting you know what is going on in my life.
3. Send me a quick email.  I probably won't have all the time in the world to read a 3 page email, and I definitely won't have the time to write an adequate response.  Just saying "hey, I was thinking of you" is more than enough.
4. Mail me a letter.  I'm not sure how feasible this actually is, but it's worth a shot - right?

So here is my challenge for you: Let's see who loves me the most and doesn't want me to feel lonely (or forget about them) in the next 10 months.  If you want, I can even keep tallies in my handy dandy notebook.  Yes, I really have one and it will be on my person at almost all hours of the day.

And now back to packing.  Almost done!  Definitely less than 100lbs.  I might buy a non-stick pot/pan.  Spoiled American...