Day One

So I just posted yesterday, and not all that much has happened since then, other than the whole arriving at staging and meeting the other like 80 volunteers I'm heading to Mauritania with and going through my first full day as an official member of the Peace Corps thing. You know, the usual. Ha!

In all seriousness, the past 24 hours have been a trip. I left DC last night around 5:00 after a fairly upbeat farewell to my family and Andrew, who all came with me to the airport. I just wanted to say that my last few days at home were really wonderful. They weren't sad or tearful, as I was a little afraid they would be. To be sure, the weeks before then had been stressful, with all the preparations and good-byes, etc. Which is not to say that the last few days weren't, but there was a certain calmness in between all the crazy packing that surprised me. I can only attribute that to the awesome people I had around me, and of course the awesome people who are just as much a part of my life but weren't able to physically be with me. You keep me sane.

Like I said, my staging group is about 4 times bigger than I thought it would be. Craziness. Everyone seems really nice, and just being around and talking to people with the same anxieties and hopes has been a bit of a relief. Now I know I'm not completely insane!

Last night people formed random little groups and started getting to know each other. A bunch of us bought some six packs and just chilled in one of the rooms for a few hours talking and watching the basketball game. We were up this morning for 8:00 AM registration, and tomorrow we're meeting at 6:30 (ew) for immunizations. Needless to say, I'm probably going to take it easy tonight (West Wing, perhaps?).

I'll say bye for now, since I don't know if I'll have the chance to post again before we leave Friday morning. Wish me luck with the load of shots I'm going to have to endure tomorrow, and I'll be in touch from Mauritania!!