Staging

Whew! It's been a bit of a whirlwind of 24 hours or so, but nothing compared to what's coming next!

Flight left Sacramento at 6:20 am--HUGE props to Amanda and Jarad for getting me there at 5am, and Jarad for getting Amanda home safe!

After a fun hour of sitting on the tarmac in Atlanta...(Fail!)....arrived in Philly, managed to figure out the shuttle system, got to the hotel, wandered around for a bit, then settled in for the night. Met my roommate (shh, don't tell Amanda, she'll get jealous!), Hailey, from Seattle, English teacher, very cool!

Today was a morning once again wandering the Historic district. Saw a lot of buildings, didn't know what any of them were, but they were all pretty! Saw the Liberty Bell from the outside, but the line looked hella long so didn't go in, though heard later that people were just able to walk right in? So who knows. Will have to come back to Philly someday and figure that out!

Then the real excitement started around 1, when people started to really arrive--just wandering around the lobby looking for blue-folder carrying folks. Lots of introductions, lots of names, lots of home towns--it's a very diverse group, but there is another UCD Grad here too! Who would've thought?

Spend the entire afternoon going over what our expectations, aspirations, hopes, and fears about service are, getting to know each other, and learning more about what service is about. Also some short info on general health and safety--important! Like Georgia said, DON'T GET MALARIA! Also don't get mugged, or dress inappropriately, or...well, I don't want to freak my Dad out too much.

Went out to dinner, got to chill with people for a bit, get to know them a bit better, start hearing everyone's stories. It's really interesting to watch the situation from a group dynamics kind of perspective--who plays what role, how do people interact with each other. I think my goal for tomorrow will be to do less observing and more participating though. *Is shy sometimes!*

Oh yes, and as of tomorrow, my phone will be shipping itself back across the country, so, I'll try to post and/or email and/or facebook as soon as I can! Until then, prayers, good thoughts, and love are much appreciated and accepted! Love to you all!