Peace Corps Staging in Washington D.C.

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Hi everyone,

Thanks to my mom, Cindy, Anna, and Nicole for seeing me off at Burbank Airport. My flight to D.C. was fine although I had an hour and fifteen minute delay in Dallas. I arrived in D.C. at National Airport at 10pm and was to my hotel by 10:45. My roommate Rebecca had already checked in, so I was able to meet one fellow volunteer my first night.

As a side note, our trainer Kathy lives in Paso where she and her husband own a vineyard. She used to sell her grapes to Tobin James!

Training lasted for a day and a half. It was pretty exhausting since I was jetlagged, but Peace Corps clearly tried to make it as interesting and interactive as possible. According to Peace Corps, my group might be the most educated and experienced group that Peace Corps has ever sent out. So I think that was an ego booster for all of us. After training on Saturday and Sunday, I had the opportunity to go to dinner with some returned China volunteers. They gave us a clearer idea of what we could expect, so it was nice to hear those first hand accounts. I even met Adam from the Peter Hessler's PC memoire River Town.

Overall, staging was a good experience. It was nice to finally meet all the people I'll be spending the next couple years with. I hope everyone is doing well!

Jennifer