day one

the day started off at the philadelphia airport. mom sang songs, kindergarten songs, as me and ryan just sat there watching people. or mostly people were just watching us, because i was laying on top of both mom and ryan as mom did the hand motions that went with her songs. we were too early for my flight. so i said bye and left.

the whole trip i was trying to pick out people who i thought could be peace corps volunteers. (i was right on). so i slept during the flight and then one of my bags wasn't there once i got to miami. this made me extra late. i didn't freak out about it, actually i didn't really care at all and assumed this bag full of my entire life would be fine. i was right. i couldn't find the shuttle bus to my hotel because the radisson shuttle bus does not exist, so i waited for 45 minutes for a ghost. i took a taxi to the hotel and checked in, but i didn't have any business casual clothes to wear to orientation (which started 30 minutes ago). so i strolled in, ripped and frayed cargo shorts and all, and joined the conference.

most of the peace corps volunteers don't look quite like i thought they would. i figured it'd be a combination of overachievers, minorities, retired couples, and mostly crunchy granola kids. i'd say its mostly overachievers. there are 70 of us. this pre-orientation is basically a general introduction to peace corps policy and some icebreakers too. the first night i was just going to be a recluse and stay in, but at the last minute i decided to go to south beach with the other volunteers and get dinner. it went really well, and i met some vegetarians. i was glad i went because i was feeling pretty down, and it made me feel better about everything and get my mind off of home.

miami is a sexy little slut. some parts of the city are disgusting and completely poverty-ridden and falling apart. other parts are swanky and upscale and glittery tank tops everywhere. it's almost like being in another country. almost no one is white and everyone has slick and shiny brown hair.

day two

today has been less eventful. i got an amazing night's sleep, and woke up completely surprised to be in a strange hotel room. all day we've just been having lectures and stuff. here's the highlight of the day:

we had to finish this sentence with the first thing that came to our minds. so the director said, "I am..." and the first and only thing i could think of was "I am a girl." so i wrote that down and thought about what else i could write, but then i didn't want to force anything and ignore the purpose of the exercise. so i handed it in and the director read everyone's outloud to the group. most people said something related to the peace corps, i guess i missed that. most responses were like, "I AM ANXIOUS AND EXCITED FOR THIS ADVENTURE AND I HOPE TO BE A PASSIONATE AND SUCCESSFUL VOLUNTEER TO INFLUENCE POSITIVE CHANGE!!!!" so basically it was a bunch of those responses, and then all of a sudden, "i am a girl." the whole room laughed. it was classy.

i just went to this little grocery store for some dinner. i felt like i was already in another country. like mexico maybe. someone asked me if i worked there. i said, "si, agua acqi. adios." the peace corps gave us $140.00 for these 2 days to pay for airport transportation and meals, etc. my plan is to use as little of the money they give me so i can save up to buy neat stuff. (dog, guitar, gifts, plane rides home). i was impressed with their generosity. hence my going to the grocery store for dinner. i got a bag of tortillas and some peanut butter. i thought it'd be a good plane snack.

so tomorrow morning i leave for the west indies. we have to wake up at 4:30am for our 10:50am flight. the irrationality, I KNOW. saturday morning i meet my host family and live with them for the next three weeks. i might not be able to keep in contact for a while, so don't be worried if i disappear.

my love.