Every Long Journey Begins With One Simple Step

Well, first post to kick off my peace corps adventures. Staging happened today in Philadelphia. We did lots of things that one would expect at a staging event, we were--staged? The morning started with my saying good bye to Dad, Sam and Nan. Rough, as good byes always are. On the way out of town, dad and I were driving behind an SUV, inside a person was waving, instinctively I waved back thinking "Oh, that's so nice I wonder who is waving good bye". Soon after dad realized it was not someone waiving and was in fact, a dogs tail wagging. Yes, that was just about the perfect way to depart from my little Hoppy town. 

Philly was a whirlwind. The flight got in only a few minutes late. After tracking down my bags I was told that the shuttle I wanted was in a different terminal. And so, my 100lbs of luggage and I trekked all the way down multiple long hall ways, huffing and puffing, only to realize there was a shuttle to the other terminal. The information lady didn't mention this fun fact. Once at the right location, I was given a number, ticket 11, and told I would be called when my shuttle arrived. Thirty minutes later I was still waiting, at this point getting a little impatient, given my schedule of noon arrival for training and my watch reading 12:15. Numbers 9 and 10 were called, no 11. Twenty minutes later and my foot tapping, numbers 13 and 14 were called. Still, no 11. At this point I walked back up to the desk to question whether tickets 13 and 14 were in fact about to take the shuttle that I had been hopelessly waiting for, for 50 minutes now. Sure enough, my buddies 13 and 14 were both taking seats of the shuttle that I should be in. Luckily, I was able to wedge myself between to very excited tourists enough to close the doors of the over heating 16 passenger van. Checking in went smoothly, as did sign in, I waived the life insurance (day one finance class: don't get life insurance unless someone needs your money after you die, and well, that is not currently a scenario I need to worry about) dotted my T's and crossed my I's [ ;) ] and was all set and ready to go. I'm not sure if staging made me more excited or more nervous. Being able to share this experience with like-minded people is a comfort, their sharing their anxieties of things I hadn't even considered...not as comforting. 

Our group is big 50+ people. We have been broken into smaller groups for travel and training, I am in group "Purple". All the other members of my group are also doing Agri-business Development, that should make training more focused and all that logistical schtuff.

This morning in the car Dad reminded me that "Every long journey begins with one simple step." This rings true in many ways, I tend to over think most things in life. I get overwhelmed by the mountain and instead opt for the hill I know I can conquer. I believe Peace Corps will not only provide me the tools and opportunity to take life a little slower and live one-day at a time, but also to realize the intricacies and beauty in the little aspects of life that I so frequently overlook. These small steps will lead to the feat I aspire to, my metaphorical mountain in looming. I think the small part of me that wanted to be an avid hiker crumbled today when I was wheezing carrying my crap from one terminal to the next. Ultimately, I aspire to manifest a more well-balanced lifestyle, integral in living life to its fullest.

And so begins the journey,
Peace-Out America