Pre-departure countdown

I haven't actually left yet, so I'm not officially "in the Philippines." BUT...I have just sat through two days of pre-departure orientation (what the Peace Corps calls "staging") here in L.A.

It's been pretty cool to meet a bunch of people (65 of us, total) who have all been going through all the same stuff that I have for the past year. So far, I can say it's been pretty invigorating to meet lots of new people....of course, I haven't spent three months of my life with them yet during in-country training. We'll see how that works out.


On that note, I was told today by some of the PC officials that I need to watch what I say when I'm writing on here. I can't offend anyone whether they be my coworkers or other people in the country...it would really suck if I got kicked out of the Peace Corps due to something stupid that I put up online. So, I'll try to be nice.



Tomorrow morning, I'm up bright and early to be on a bus at 9 a.m. We all head for the airport and then get on a plane at 1 p.m to head to Tokyo, Japan. I'm excited about this because it's probably the only chance I'll get to experience Japan....from an airport terminal. Then, after about a two hour layover, we head to Manila. It's my understanding that we will not actually be staying IN Manila due to elections set to commence the day we arrive. I know....it's so convenient....I fly to this country only start out by fearing political and social upheaval.



Well, I need to conclude, as I'm running out of Internet money...but, I've also been told that it may be hard to communicate during the first few days of my being in-country. Although we will be near phones and Internet, at the beginning, there is much settling in and figuring stuff out going on. Basically, no news is good news...so, if no one hears from me for a little bit, don't worry!

Everybody take care and I'm hoping the 11 hour flight (plus 5 more to Manila) won't be so bad...expect some letters or postcards....uuummm, sooner or later!