We're ready.

So!

I arrived this morning in Philadelphia, PA for my Peace Corps staging event. I got in at around 11am and soon found some similarly lost looking young people with way too much luggage for domestic travel - my fellow Peace Corps Trainees (PST's - peace corps loves acronyms). We all hopped in a shuttle to the hotel, checked in, ate some lunch and went to register for training.

Staging consists of some orientation before getting to Africa. Today we ran through some "ice-breaker" activities, learning who everyone was and how everyone was feeling. Feelings were quite mixed: nervous, anxious, excited, scared, happy, exhausted. Lots of people were just "ready to go". I think everyone is tired of all the paperwork between the application process and all the new information we keep receiving - I know I am. We discussed our anxieties and our aspirations, and went over some logistical info.

It was a long day, but the best part was meeting all the other people going to Burkina Faso. I think there were only 2 other IT education PCT's; lots of Maths and Science teachers, as well as a few in Women's Empowerment projects. We even have one married couple going. Everyone is about 20-30 years old, average of about 23 I'd say.

Another long day of staging awaits, followed by our last night in America. Tuesday morning we get ready to go and by the evening we'll all be on the plane to Paris and then on to Ouagadougou.

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