Soooo... the adventure begins.
Right now I am in the airport in Washington DC with my fellow Peace Corps trainees waiting to be able to check in for our flight and go through security.
Yesterday we met at a hotel in DC for orientation and safety training and to turn in paperwork. Normally there are around 40 or so people in each stage, but there are 23 in ours. Around half are Water and Sanitation volunteers, and half are Education volunteers like me.
Most people are around my age, there are no married couples, and there is one woman who is older who did Peace Corps in the 60's and is back for another go at it.
Everyone is really amazing, welcoming, and nice. We all (with the exception of Renate, the previous volunteer) went our last night for dinner and drinks. Already we are bonding really well.
It is around 3:30 now and our flight leaves around 10, so we have some time to kill.
We have a layover in Paris and will then head to Bamako, the capital city of Mali.
Some volunteers are getting nervous to arrive. I feel fine now and am excited for the adventure, but maybe I'll get nervous when we get there. We shall see!
The training center we will be staying at has internet supposedly so I may post soon.
If you would like to send me letters or treats you can send them to the address below. If you send me letters I will totally send you letters back. We can be pen pals :)
If you do send a package, make sure you insure it and track it. Some people have told me that uninsured and tracked packages have a way of dissappearing.
The address is:
Jamie Casterton
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 85
Bamako, Mali West Africa
I hope you are all doing well in Minnesota, Florida, and Michigan (or wherever else)!
Love you all and thanks for your support! P.S. You are invited to come visit me in Mali!
Love, Jamie
p.s. I don't have spell check... so don't judge me!
Jamie! I am so glad that you started this blog and I hope that we can follow your journey through your updated over the next two years. I can't believe that I won't see you until 2013!! (unless I make a trip to Africa). I hope that you have the most incredible, life changing experience ever! I will miss you tons and will be praying for you, your safety & the people that you are helping. Oh man... I'm getting a little emotional... I better end it here! Love you tons JamieCas!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Pumpkin! YAY FOR BLOGS! I will stalk you as if you were a TL! I'm so happy what you've worked so hard for has finally come to fruition, if anyone deserves it, I can't think of a better person than you. You best believe I will send you letters and treats; I'll spray them with perfume so you won't get lonely...
ReplyDeleteLove you so much, good luck, and God bless. <3<3<<3 Lily
PS your blog is super cute, and I'm totally judging your spelling abilities..