Peace Corps Eve

Just now we have finished our time at staging. Staging is when we gather for the first time and begin to learn all about the Peace Corps, and what will be expected of us, and what we can expect, in a general kind of way. This staging was all afternoon yesterday, and all day today held in downtown Philadelphia. We take a bus tomorrow afternoon to JFK airport on Long Island, and fly out tomorrow evening at 9:30 at night. We fly through Frankfort, in the Deutschland.

Staging has been a very organized training, and has covered most of what my questions were. I still have tons of questions, but the whole picture is starting to come together. There are 29 of us in this training class, 15 women and 14 men. Most of the group is under 30, but there are 5 of us who are older. There is one older couple who have signed on together, and every one else is here alone. We have had icebreakers and getting to know each other exercises. I have been sharing a room with Teresa, who is a lovely young woman from Indiana. It has been nice to have someone in the room to "process" the process with at the end of time together. Today for lunch we went to the Reading Terminal for lunch; A real Pennsylvania hoagie seems like a great meal for our last US day. It has been nice to finish up our time in such familiar territory for me. It has been extra special to spend some extra time more accessible to Linnea. We have no special plans for tonight, our last time stateside for a while. I am hoping to just relax and make some phone calls.

I will carry each of you with me as I move forward into the world. Thank you to each of you have supported me in your own ways, whether with words of encouragement, listening to me as I have worked through medical tests, helped me clean my home, move, or whatever. I could not be doing this without your support.