Staging . . .

Things have been crazy these past few days. On the 11th I departed San Diego for DC to begin my Peace Corps journey. The flight went well and most importantly I was very fortunate to not be charged extra at the airport. I pretty much threw the 100 pound weight limit out the window. One bag was 66 lbs and the other was somewhere there about. Here is a photo of all of my stuff in the hotel:

I arrived a day early since I had a long flight but my roommate was here as well so we walked around Georgetown, which was gorgeous, and became acquainted over some Starbucks (we though we should treat ourselves before we go). On the 12th we had till 1:00 to register so we ventured out to see more of our nations capital. It was great - It made me feel very patriotic! Here are some photos. I have more on my Kodak page but I need to look at how others can access them still - stay tuned for updates.







That afternoon we were joined by 48 other wonderful PSTs (Pre-Service Trainees)!! Everyone was very nice and it was refreshing to hear from others who have been going through the same trials and tribulations. Everyone seems to be very energetic and excited about what's to come despite the uncertainty. However, there is at least some apprehension and/or stress with most.

Other than meeting each other we have been spending a lot of our time going over the general Peace Corps policies and procedures along with some logistics (taking care of insurance stuff, going over how we will all be transported to the airport etc . . .).

AND, last night my friend Kathleen came for a visited! It was great to have the opportunity to see a close friend before I leave. I think it made me sad but also excited about both of our quickly changing lives.

OK . . . It is 2:30 DC time now and I need to be up soon so I should get some sleep. I will write more later from BULGARIA!!