First day on the job!

This morning started bright and early at 4am. It was much earlier than any morning in recent history. I had set my alarm for 4:35am so that I could leave for the airport at 5am. The excitement woke me up.

Today, I left Washington, DC for staging in Philadelphia. My bags were slightly overweight, but I knew exactly what it was. The snacks! I packed ten pounds of snacks. I think they’ll be worth the effort. The flight was delayed. As I browsed the interwebs, I was overcome with emotion. Tears feel heavily as I waited for the plane to board. It finally hit me. I was about to leave the very familiar for a things unknown. When it did take off, I was fast asleep.

I made it to Philly, and to my hotel. I recognized some of the folks from my group from the Facebook group chat. We were able to talk and joke around before the staging event officially began.

Today was the first day on the job. Today was staging. Staging is an official introduction to Peace Corps, the Peace Corps family, expectations, and paperwork. The most impactful event of staging for me was the discussion that surrounded various scenarios. We got to know the people we would be serving with. We were given Peace Corps t-shirts, and took a group photo. We are officially Peace Corps trainees.

Tomorrow morning, we will board a plane headed to Johannesburg, South Africa. We will meet our training staff, and take a bus ride to Swaziland, our home for the next 27 months.

The next post will be from somewhere in Swaziland.

      Peace Corps Swaziland – Group 14