Staging begins
September 24th, 2007 by knucklewalking.In spite of discovering that the bathroom scale at my parents’ house reads about ten pounds lighter than the one the airline uses, I made it to Philadelphia this morning. Going on the cheap, I opted to carry all 90 pounds of luggage from the train station (shuttle into Philly from the airport) to the hotel which amounted to several blocks (a fewer more than the map showed when you add in the wrong turns) and I arrived red-faced and sweat-drenched to meet my fellow Volunteers. Then I learned that PC reimburses for travel so everyone else took taxis from the airport.
My group seems like a great one: Very diverse in age and background. There are twenty-four of us, all going to The Gambia and all working in Agriculture and Forestry. There are two married couples and the ages run from 21 on up. Today and tomorrow we are being briefed on aspects of safety, personal definitions of success, and tips to ease the transition into the life of a Volunteer. Some of us are very confident, others are willing to admit our insecurities freely and openly. Mostly it seems likely that, while we each have personal expectations and anxieties and even as the PC will go to great lengths to prepare us, this is something that will unfold to reveal a very unique and challenging experience for each of us.
We begin the (physical) journey to Africa on Wednesday.
Matthew
September 25th, 2007 at 12:42 am
[...] Staging begins In spite of discovering that the bathroom scale at my parents’ house reads about ten pounds lighter than the one the airline uses, I made it to [...]