On My Way

It's still dark. I can just make out my window in the dimness. I roll over, glad to have more time for sleep, and just then alarm goes off. So much for that.

I shower, dress and finish packing a few last minute items. We've given ourselves 1 hour and 30 minutes for the drive to Newark Airport. I've figured that I'll have just enough time to finish The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but my dad drives fast and we make it in 1 hour and 5 minutes. I finish the book with 10 minutes to go, opting not to read the epilogue because I like the ending the way it is. Maybe I'll read it when I come home. Reading calms my nerves.

Check-in, security, and boarding proceed without issue. The plane is more than half-empty, the seat next to me empty. After a long period of waiting, the captain announces that there is an issue with a generator. Once it's been repaired, we've burned too much gas and must to return to the gate to refuel. 1 hour and 30 minutes later, we're in the air. I had planned to use the plane ride to learn some Nepali, but they have a large selection of free movies and my self control collapses. I watch 21 Jump Street, Oz the Great and Powerful, and The Great Gatsby, with brief naps in between each.

In San Francisco I take a shuttle to the hotel where staging is to be held. The driver is very aggressive, and several times I fear my life will end before my service has even begun. I arrive at the hotel 15 minutes before staging begins, giving me enough time to put my bags in my room. I am the only one with a single.

For the next 5 hours, twenty seven of us sit around four round tables while Stacey, our Staging Coordinator, and Cara, our Staging Facilitator, discuss the broad goals, expectations, anxieties, aspirations of our service. Many of us are exhausted and hungry from our travels, but they strive to make it engaging and lively. We do icebreakers, draw, and perform skits.

Afterwards, a number of us go to Trader Joe's to buy food for the next few days. Then we go to Boudin to splurge on a nice final dinner (the Peace Corps has given us some spending money). Everyone is already hitting it off. After drinking a bomber of Racer 5 IPA while watching TV in bed, I quickly fall asleep. In the morning, we'll leave the hotel at 8 for the airport.