In the beginning...Washington, DC Staging

Its all beginning - I've just spent my first two days at "staging" in Washington, DC preparing to become a Peace Corps volunteer. My group of 52 met here in the Nation's Capitol -- both the Peace Corps headquarters and my hometown -- to begin our 27 months of service together. We have spent hours over these last two days learning safety procedures, discussing assimilation into Honduran culture, sharing our anxieties and aspirations, and getting excited about all we are about to experience. I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to manage my spanish language skills through dinner tomorrow night with my host family in country. We ended our two days with a special visit from Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez who wished us well...This photo is of me with Gaddi Vasquez and Honduras Country Director Ruben Hernandez...

We check out of the hotel at 3:00 am (EST) though i'm not sure i've yet adjusted to the time difference...Here we go...