Shots, Goodbyes, and 78 Amazing people

Greetings from Philly-

"Staging" or Peace Corps orientation began just yesterday and by tomorrow night I will be on a plane headed across the ocean to my new life. After an easy run yesterday morning, I headed to the "Greater" Rochester International Airport, and gazed at my increadible family for a few brief moments before I had to walk away, take off my shoes for security, and go off on my own. And sitting there in the airport, waiting for my delayed flight, I could do nothing but write. I wrote about my family and how much they mean to me. I got to reflect on this strange turning point in my life. And though I was teary-eyed as I walked away from the three most important people in my life, I couldn't help but embrace the sense of freshness, excitement, and independence I felt. For a moment, it was just me, God, and a very nice snow-plow salesman that I sat next to on the plane. He told me about his girls- 12 and 9, into gymnastics and theater (sound familiar?) and upon steping off the terminal declared that he will tell his daughters he met a real live hero.

But of course, I do not feel like a hero. For the past few days I have been filling out my paperwork all wrong, listening intently as I am told how to deal with harassment and illness, sifting through all of my fears to bring the core reasons I joined the Peace Corps into the forefront of my mind. We've had to be professional, but toward the end of the day some of the activities provided me with the opprotunities to both attempt a headstand and strum out the chord to "Born in the USA" on my new little 3/4 guitar. The biggest thing I learned through all of staging is this: I am in good hands. The Peace Corps is an incredible organization. They know what they're doing. And perhaps one day, I will too.

There are 78 of us that will get on the plane tomorrow- after a morning of yellow fever and malaria vaccinations and a 2.5 hour ride to New York. Of course, I can't say I've truly met all of the trainees yet, but the ones I have are absolutely incredible. Right at the baggage claim, I met two guys- one with a striking resemblence to Chad Day- and together we figured out where the heck we were supposed to be (well, two of us. The other guy was going to a different country than us and realized after we checked in that he was at the complete wrong hotel). There are married couples, older people, younger people (I am the youngest here that I know of)- each one fascinating. I can't wait to get to know them better.

This morning was my goodbye America run- 12 miles around the beautiful and historic Philly. What a blessing I have for this opprotunity- and I am out of my mind with excitement about arriving in Bamako.

So my apologies for being lengthy and a bit over-reflective. I promise there will be humorous cultural faux pas and other type things to write about from here on end. I miss you all already, and send my love back home.

Emily

PS- Because of safety reasons, I have taken my address off of the site. Please email me or call my family if you would like my mailing address (remember, I will be getting a new one mid-september)