Departure, staging and arrival

I thought I would blog a little about what I will be doing the first few days of my trip. I recently received final paper work, flight information and an itinerary. There are still a lot of unknowns but I am getting more excited with the information that I have received! So here is what I know:

I will depart from Baltimore Washington International airport on February 6th around 11am. I will land in Miami, Florida and report to a hotel for registration at 6pm. ( never been to Miami, will need to download some Will Smith for background music!) I will spend the night in the hotel on the 6th and wake up for all day "staging" or orientation on the 7th. Staging is designed to be a brief, yet intense orientation to the Peace Corps and the general demands of being an effective and safe Volunteer. Dress is business casual, fancy! From the hotel we will go back to the Miami airport. We will board a non stop flight to Paraguay leaving at 11:30pm. Yup 8 hours through the night, gotta get some sleeping pills! Good thing I have my neck pillow and eye mask!

We land in the Capitol of Paraguay, Asunción around 9:30am. We will be greeted by our country director and Peace Corps staff. We will also have a staff photo taken and sent to our parents to let them know we arrived! Mom- you will have to post that! From the airport we will go though customs and have a half day of training. Later in that day we also meet our host families and move in... I hope mines a good one! The next day we will receive our vaccinations, local currency allowance and cell phones. Once our phones are set up I will be able to call home!

Once training begins it will last 3 months and will be very intense. I will post more about that when I start. When I am finished with training I will be sworn in as a PCV (peace crops volunteer) on April 19, 2013!

So that's all I know for the most part, very exciting news! I also have a mentor there. She is currently in her second year as a volunteer. She and I have already been in contact, she has been a huge help! I look forward to meeting you officially Michelle! She is from Virginia, how crazy is that??

I will leave you with a quote from my country director in his welcome letter to me-

"So, as you pack your bags for Asunción, try to leave your anxieties and expectations behind. Travel lightly with a mind open to the world of limitless possibilities that Peace Corps service in Paraguay offers you. Congratulations once again, and thank you for giving us the honor of traveling on this journey with you. Safe travels and see you soon at the airport in Asunción."