Yesterday after arriving in DC Chris (my friend from Barcelona!) picked me up and we wondered around Georgetown for awhile before he took me to meet my fellow “Peace-Corps-ers” at our hotel. I felt like I was walking into the first day of college as I nervously wondered around and began to introduce myself. Talking with the other volunteers has proven to be quite interesting. The spectrum of backgrounds, personalities, and experiences seems to vary quite dramatically. During our extensive orientation session we discussed our collective aspirations and anxieties for Peace Corps service. It’s comforting to realize over 50 volunteers will be sharing in this experience together. Similar concerns and excited hopes were voiced- a foreign language, potential loneliness and isolation, health and safety threats, not being productive at our sites, missing out on emotional or exciting events happening at home, and the general unknown were all uncertainties that seem to be issues we’re all facing. However, these are outweighed by the thought of meeting new people and potentially life-long friends, truly embracing a new culture and country, obtaining Spanish fluency, promoting true and worthwhile positive change, gaining new perspectives, learning new skills/hobbies, and having a home and a heart in a new place.

This morning we woke up early and congregated to begin our long day of travel. The mountains of luggage were strewn across the lobby of the hotel, and the overstuffed backpacks and suitcases seemed as ready to leave as the anxious volunteers. We piled in buses and headed to Reagan almost five hours before we were scheduled to leave (better early than leave someone behind, I suppose). After long security lines, we anxiously awaited our departure and took advantage of last minute American food; in my case, an incredibly satisfying egg and cheese bagel. I’m sitting in the airport now waiting for our flight to Miami and getting to know all the other volunteers. It still doesn’t feel like I’m about to leave for 27 months!