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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Peace Corps Staging - Atlanta

I made it safe to the hotel in Atlanta and have since been busy with orientation and getting to know the 52 other volunteers. It's so great to be around other worldly people who all have similar aspirations and goals in life. No one here questions "why" we're here, but rather "how" we can improve ourselves and share with our counterparts once in country, it's very refreshing! We come from all walks of life, many of us recent graduates from college, some of us putting family and/or careers on hold, there are four married couples--one of whom are in their 60's and have already served two previous stints in the Peace Corps. There is even another Oregon Duck here that I knew in college and was neighbors with Sophomore year; imagine my surprise when I saw a familiar face at the hotel! Most of us have traveled extensively to other countries, and many have lived in other countries for a long period of time. Though we are not a racially diverse group, many of us speak another language fluently. I am definitely excited to get to know this wonderful group of people as training proceeds in the next three months and build some lasting friendships.

I feel that I have found a group that will become like family down in Honduras and help with bouts of homesickness and loneliness. Though I am thinking of you all and missing you already, I truly feel that I am making the right choice by taking this step into the unknown. Please keep me posted on your lives and how things go for you these next few years and I will keep you updated on things here whenever I get a chance.

Mom and Dad, thank you for the beautiful card...it speaks to me perfectly, my roommate here even shed a tear over it. I will share it with our group and hopefully it will be an uplifting reminder of why I'm here on low days.

Well, We wake up in 3 hours to fly out, I suppose I should try to get some sleep. Let's hope for a safe flight to Tegucigalpa, home of the Toncontin International airport, aka sketchiest runway in the world. I'd advise NOT looking at youtube videos of plane landings. :) Enjoy the snow in Eugene