Staging and beginning of the journey !

It’s 3:00 am on Wednesday morning and I am writing this from the Reagan National Airport in DC. There are 44 of us sitting in front of the check in counter waiting with more luggage than most of us can carry, eyes half shut and  trying to feel the excitement. It is only the 44 of us traveling without any Peace Corps staff…this will be interesting!

We all completed staging yesterday where we went over Core Expectations, discussed different safety and security issues and did a bunch of ice breakers. We talked about our anxieties and aspirations - it's so good to know we are all worried about the same stuff (getting violently ill without the comforts of home, getting homesick and feeling lonely, getting through the real lows and not having enough water to drink). It was also really nice to go a day without answering questions about the logistics of Peace Corps (we all bonded over this - how for the past month or so we have been answering the same questions over and over). This was refreshing :)

 I’ve met some really cool and interesting people and am more excited and ready than I have been.  Today we will be heading to Miami for a 2 hour layover and then we’re off to our country that we will be calling home for 27 months! We will be arriving in the DR at 12:20 pm and headed straight to a retreat center for shots and hopefully, as most of us are hoping, a good night’s sleep…crossing our fingers! Thursday we will be meeting our first host families and begin language and cultural training!!!

As I got off the flight from Boston I was definitely nervous. I didn’t know who I would be meeting, if everyone was feeling the same way and what is to come once in country. Upon arrival and meeting people I was put at ease. The staging event helped relieve a lot of us from some initial anxieties and unknowns. After the event we all went out for our last meal. A group of us chose pizza and beer!!! I am now having left over deliciousness in the airport for breakfast :)

I will update this as soon as I can once in country. I am ready to get there and am much more at ease about everything. So far so good on the safety front – so, Castello family, please don’t worry – PCDR is great with safety and security!

love you and missing you all

Happy Reading!