Orientation in Philadelphia

October 9, 2011

I can’t believe I am actually off! It’s been quite an interesting time already getting prepared to leave to Tanzania for two years.  I’m always an over-packer, but thought I was doing really well since I was still under weight requirements.  But….It turns out I could not carry everything I packed! Oops! So after a great last sushi night with everyone still in Orange County, I repacked for the 5^th time! And got about an hour of sleep before I took my last longgg hot shower J

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind! I am typically not too emotional of a person, but I guess that’s because it’s not every day you have to say goodbye to everyone and everything you love and know.  I must say I truly enjoyed my summer after finishing at UCSB.  It has been a long time since I’ve lived back home for so long and I am glad I did.  I enjoyed cooking many new things with my mom, getting dropped off at a bar by mom and picked up by Ashleigh with Steven  and Ali A. (hahaha that was one fun night!), countless memories with all my loves in SB, doing the breast cancer walk with mom, time at home doing absolutely nothing, driving my sister crazy, spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, reliving high school with Ali M., Ali A., and Matt now that we’re all back in Laguna Niguel…, seeing my brother off to Ireland to pursue his Masters Degree!, reuniting with Alibaba, San Francisco with Hannah and Megs, 4^th of July Fiesta and Pukes and Staggers in SB, and so so so many more memories!!  I’m going to miss you all so much, but I will carry these memories and many more with me!

I am so happy you are all participating in the game of sending letters to me!  I have a bunch of stuff to read on my plane rides and have opened a few! Alibaba, Cor Cor, and Luce- I love love love the photo album!! I haven’t opened the other gift but think I am going to love using it J  Ali M. and Ali A.- amazing photos too!! I love how creative you are and piecing together everyone into the pictures…especially since I ran out of time to really print any photos!  Alibaba- Your poem is amazing! hahaha I already started using my journal Ashee but had to stop reading your letter and the others from everyone else since I started having to hold back some tears :( The game continues to see who will be the winner of sending me the most love- so start sending them to Tanzania  pleaseeee!

October 10, 2011

So made it to my staging orientation in Philadelphia! The flights were not bad at all and getting to the hotel was quite simple since I did not need to carry my bags too far to get to a shuttle…we’ll see how carrying them in Tanzania goes!! Colin got to the hotel right before I arrived so we checked in my room, met the other volunteers from the West Coast, and we all went out for dinner and some beer.  I knew meeting everyone here would bring a lot of relief to this whole process since we are all going through the same thing.  Everyone is wondering how we’re going to carry so many bags, how big the spiders are going to be, and whether or not alcohol is still free on international flights J Off to orientation...

...My orientation went great!! They did a wonderful job of getting us to open up and get to know each other.  We did different skits and activities to learn the best ways to cope and handle anxieties and how to stick to our aspirations and the core goals of why we are a part of the Peace Corps.  I really like everyone in our group! A commonality definitely exists for us all and I love how open with each other everyone is.  I just  can’t wait to get to Tanzania now!! I ended up being the only girl who checked only one bag (thanks Ali!) so was convinced to check my hiking pack tomorrow to make my carry-on a lot easier.  So packed again- but for the last time thank god! Ha After our long orientation, a few of us went to a last nice dinner to have Italian food and good wine.  Off to get one last good night’s rest before heading to the airport tomorrow! Love you all xoxo

Here are some photos of me attempting to carry my body weight in luggage at 6am on only one hour of sleep