Staging in Los Angeles

As of 8AM this morning, our staging facilitators called Washington D.C. and we are all officially serving in the Peace Corps! Wow! The past two days has been a whirlwind. Yesterday my flights did not go according to plan, but I managed to get to Los Angeles with all my bags and only one was overweight. It is absolutely nuts and I feel like I should wake up from a dream at any point now.

I am where I am supposed to be and these are my people. As much as my life has been amazing, I feel like I have really found my tribe and my calling. I am so ecstatic to be getting on the plane tonight! I have one more thing tup finish and then all my U.S. responsibilities are done. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of meeting people who want to do the same thing as you and applied for this crazy adventure just like you. They get it! They don't tell me it is stupid because I'll get hurt or that I'm going to be living the life by living on an island; they just understand me.

The concept of two years is really starting to sink in, but at the same time, I have no schema to even begin to interpret going overseas for that long. I am a day dreamer at heart and I cannot dream about this because it is so out of my world. I have begun to realize that every job following this one will probably pale in comparison and that I will be constantly searching for more.

We have done a lot of orientation, get to know you activities, and basic trainings on safety and culture today. We were given time to create a skit to put our "Peace Corps: Core Expectations" to use... and of course, my group performed a song parody to "Let It Go" about how to deal with witnessing corporeal punishment by one of your community partners, as an education volunteer.

Fiji and Tonga Volunteers at Peace Corps Staging

After September 8th, 2015 my phone is set to turn off, but that gives me time to contact people if I need. Please download what'sapp, viber or skype to chat with me! I want to keep in contact with everyone and that is an amazing way to do stay in touch. My blog will be the first place you will start to see how I'm doing. Eventually, I'll have a way to book time to make a call or run with me, in your timezone, too! I will land at 12:50PM, Wednesday, September 2, 2015 Central Time, but it will be 5:50AM, Thursday, September 3, 2015 Fiji Time... I think, the timezone thing is still a little confusing. 17 hours ahead from Central Time!

The next step is our flight tonight, Fiji Airways 811, and then we begin pre-service training in the morning in Fiji. We receive our host families and placements for training Saturday. I'll try to post on here when I've made it to Fiji, but no guarantees.

The bus to the airport! #peacecorpsfiji

If anyone wanted to mail me anything my address is in my "contact me" section!