D.C. might be longer than expected!

So here I am, sitting in my hotel room in D.C. on my roommates computer waiting to find out what happens next... Maybe I should back up and explain the situation up till now.

On Monday I arrived in D.C. and met 50 other soon to be Peace Corps Volunteers. We had to go through the registration process and than all gathered in a conference room to meet one another for the first time. Let me tell you, up until this point my emotions were all over the place. Most of you know that the majority of my anxieties stemmed from meeting all the other trainees. That issue was shortly put to rest. Everyone has been completely amazing, and of course I expected everyone to be open, and excited, but it has been more than that; everyone is genuinely nice and so easy going. I have been placed with an extrodinary group.. there are even parts of me that question my place among this group because they are all so accomplished and well educated individuals. In saying all of that I feel very honored to be given this opportunity and I plan to run with it!!!

On Tuesday we had pre service training all day starting at 8:30 to 6. It consisted of team building excercises, cross-cultural information, open forums for questions, and a lot of time to get to know one another. I have decided that I am horrible at remembering peoples names. I have spent alot of my time asking people what their names are, only to find out I already had that exact conversation only 20 minutes earlier with them. Last night I went out with 5 other people to a concert featuring a band named 'Apples and Stereo' (I think that is their name). It was alot of fun, and gave me the opportunity to get to know people that up until that point I had not had too much interaction with. We got back to the hotel between 11:30 and 12 and I went straight to my room for a nice hot shower. After that I spent alot of time packing my stuff, while trying to be super quiet because my roommate was asleep. I finished everything at 1 am and decided that a power nap was in order. I laid down and at 1:30 we recieved a wake-up call. At 2:00 the whole group checked out of the hotel and at 3:30 am left for the airport. Once at the airport we discovered that our flight was cancelled and we proceeded to wait for 4 hours before we were able to head back to the hotel. During my time at the airport I learned how to play hearts and had a lot of fun, considering that I had been awake since 7:30 the previous morning. Some people sat and talked, while others decided to utilize the time and get as much sleep as possible. All in all the group was really patient and willing to go with the flow. We got back to the hotel around 8:30 and many went straight to bed, I went to the hotel restaurant and ordered breakfast. After breakfast I went to bed for 2 hours. Right now I am just basically running on fumes and hoping that I am able to get a good 8 hours of sleep soon. I guess I will just have to wait and see!

At 3:00pm we are meeting to discuss the flight situation. As of right now the outlook is not so good for us arriving in Honduras tomorrow, so D.C. remains the only part of training that I have experienced.

Hopefully I will be able to update everyone as soon as I find out what is going on. I love you all and miss you very much.

The count down.....

I started this site as a way to stay connected with everyone in the states while I'm in Honduras over the next 2 years. I am down to 3 weeks until I leave and I can't begin to explain what I am thinking at this point. I am definately looking forward to the challenges that I am about to face and excited to see how a new culture and location impact my life. Over the next few years I plan on updating this site as one of the primary ways of staying in contact with most of you. I am sure that individual emails will be few and ar between from me, as I expect I will not have alot of down time, at least in the beginning. I encourage everyone to post comments on the site and it will be a great way to make sure and answer any questions that anyone might have. Hopefully I will be able to download pictures, that is if I am able to figure it out!

So far I am still not completely positive what I will be doing. Alot of it has to do with the needs of the village that I am placed in after training. My official title is a Health HIV/AIDS Educator. I fly from Columbus on Feb 12, 2007 to Washington D.C., while in D.C. I will meet all of the other volunteers that will be in my training group. We will stay in D.C. until Feb 14, 2007 for Orientation. On the 14th we fly from D.C. to Miami and from there onto Honduras. The flight plan on the 14th does not appear to be a fun one. AT 2:30 am everyone must be checked out of the hotel, at 3:30 am the bus leaves for the airport, at 6:05 am we fly on American Airlines to Miami, from there we have an hour and half layover and at 11:20 am we depart for Tegucigalpa, HN!!! At 12:40 pm central time we arrive in Honduras!!!

At this point all there is for me to do is spend alot of time with friends and family, pack, pack, pack, and wait...

Hopefully I will be good about updating this site. Check it regularly if you are interested in what is going on with me!