Lions and Tigers and Bears

…o’my. That was one of the titles of the sessions for “staging” for the Peace Corps. It covered some of the anxieties and aspirations we have for our service. Staging is where all the volunteers going to a country get together for a series of talks and exercises to make sure everything is in order (or tickety-boo as the Brits would say) before they ship is off to a developing world country (in my case Guatemala). There is some irony in the fact that it’s at a really nice hotel, but it definitely lent itself to a professional few days. In our case it was in Washington D.C. (okay actually Crystal City). That worked out well for me for two reasons. First I’ve got a few very good friends who live here so I was able to see them Sunday night one last time. Second, I’ve really gotten to know the D.C. area this year so I knew where to go. In fact, I went out to dinner and drinks only a few blocks from the hotel when I was out to D.C. in July. My first morning here I went for a running tour of DC with my roommate (I was the tour guide). I feel very fortunate, I think I’ll be with a great group of people. We’ll be fairly close for the next 12-weeks during our “Pre-Service Training” and then will be dispersed throughout the country. Undoubtedly many of us will continue to get together throughout our service. What are my thoughts. 1) I can’t believe this is actually happening, basically as I detailed to my friend Jaime the day I came back from Ghana last year 2) I’m not really that nervous. I suppose on 2) I have the advantage of a few life experiences to thank for that! Not sure when my next blog will be. Just depends upon communication and available time.