Leaving Oregon\DC Staging Etc.

Okay, So I am a little behind in my posting, as Mariel has so kindly pointed out to me. But I wanted to start near the beginning. I left for Washington DC on the morning of the 7^th. Leaving my wonderful family is one of the hardest things I have ever done. There to see me off was my wonderful parents, Gary and Marie, both my sisters, Shannon and Raeme, and their boyfriends, my two little brothers, David and Jeremy, my Bami, and my super supportive boyfriend, Reed. I miss them all today so much. It seems like forever already since I have seen them. I have never lived anywhere besides Oregon, and despite the beauty of Tanzania, which I will get to later, nowhere is as beautiful as my home. Going home will be a happy time for me.

On my flight from Chicago to DC I was sitting next to an energetic young man named Randy, who would be my first friend in my group, as weirdly enough he was also headed to Tanzania with me. Randy and I talked through out the flight and it was great to be re-inspired to continue this trek. At the airport, my father’s cousin, Janet was there to pick me up. I love Janet. She was so loving to me in DC where I still felt nervous and alone. Janet took both Randy and I to the hotel, saving us the cab fair! At the hotel we met my room mate , Amber, she is from Colorado and is really cool, unfortunately, I can say at this point that she has already headed back to Colorado. She was the third person to leave from our group. That night Amber, Randy Janet and I went for some food and drink. It was great to be meeting new people and have my family there as well.

The next two days were fairly unexciting, so I won’t bore anyone with the details, but basically we did a two day Peace Corps overview intermixed with safety and security briefings and get to know you exercises. The nights were fun though, it was great to be surrounded by so many fun people. Our group is 46 with about 12 boys, I am serious. It is pretty awesome actually, the girls are great fun and we are able to talk and talk and the boys just have to deal with it. Some of the most awesome people so far:

Linnea- From Washington State- boyfriend at home-27 years old-father blows glass- she is always looking to make trouble.

Ashleigh- Also from Washington State, the three of us make up the PAC NW crew, I am the only Oregon representative. Ash also has a boyfriend at home-she is a twin and one of the best listeners I have ever met.

Alee- From Upstate NY-knows how to Beekeep has worked on an organic farm most of her life. Totally cool hippy girl with tattoos of bees up and down her arms.

Meesh- One of the most fun people I have ever met. From DC- great at writing hilarious music has many Tanzania Songs.

Oh, there are so many—too many friends, as corny as it is we share the same fears, hopes, and jokes most of them surrounding struggles in the choo. When I miss my family, it is weird to have these total strangers know what I mean. All 46 of us are already best friends out of necessity.