Well, for those who made it to my going away party last Sunday and or those at pizza this Sunday afternoon, thank you! Even though it was very hard to say goodbye, I’m extremely thankful I was able to see all of you. After leaving Old Chicago I still had to go home and pack the rest of my luggage that I will need for the next 27 months, in a beer induced haze. I managed to pack very well, there has been only a very few things I have remembered that I forgot; one being my Nalgene water bottle and the other being my Rudy Jersey that my sister bought me for my Birthday. (By the way Fuck the Lakers for taking out my boy Rudy in the game the other night. My roommate and myself saw highlights last night on SportsCenter while we couldn’t sleep before out 1:30am checkout time in DC) Anyway, back to my trip, well both my forgotten items and any others can be mailed to me once I figure out my next address.
My parents and sister drove me to the airport Monday morning (actually, I drove… it will be the last for quite some time) and was a mixed emotion event. After a tear filled goodbye I got on the plane and it headed east. I sat next to a very nice doctor who talked more than me from Corvallis. He was on his way to DC as well for a conference. At our short layover in Chicago, he repeatedly told me how much good it was of me to be doing this adventure and offered to by me lunch. I tried to say no but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I’m not going to lie; it did feel good to see a stranger have so much respect and appreciation for my upcoming service.
I arrived in DC around 6:00pm Monday evening and took a shuttle to my hotel. After checking in at the hotel I picked up a map and was about to get on my way to go see the monuments when I noticed three girls about my age looking like they might be volunteers as well. So I struck up a conversation and my assumption was correct. They too wanted to go see the Monuments and off we went. It was a very clear night in DC that made it a perfect night to sightsee. I was very glad to come in a day early to get that opportunity; the majority of our training class did not. Tuesday we checked out the DC Zoo and had lunch before our orientation started. By the time we arrived back at the hotel it was packed with people who were in the exact same boat as me. During the orientation I met the rest of the 51 other volunteers I had yet to meet and then about 15 of us went out for pizza and beer before last minute repacking for our five day retreat we would be going on once we landed in Costa Rica.
So at 1:30am, myself and the other PeaceCorps volunteers checked out of our hotel in Georgetown and headed for the Regan International Airport to fly to Miami and then San Jose, both flights were a haze between sleep and thought of my upcoming activities. When we arrived at San Jose, around noon, it was about 75 degrees and sunny which was a nice additive for no sleep. There were 3 buses and a large enclosed truck waiting for us along with PeaceCorps employees. After loading a ton of baggage into the truck we boarded the medium size buses and dove about an hour into the mountains for our retreat where I am writing this entry. It is a beautiful place that sits upon a steep hillside. This is where I will be till Sunday when I will move in with a family at an unknown location for my next 11 weeks of training. I believe this is a nice retreat that is actually a treat before moving into what will most likely be a much more underprivileged residence without the luxuries of the internet, a courtyard, sports, lots of people and relatively good food.
I had a great trip arriving here. It is very pretty, birds are constantly chirping and everybody in my training class is very nice. I can already imagine I will meet some good friends for a long time to come. This afternoon something very interesting happened, I was laying in the shade talking to some friends when we felt the ground shake! At first I had know idea what was going on, and then I quickly realized it was a small earthquake. Nothing major, but the ground shock for about 10 seconds very slowly. To be honest I liked how it felt, lol. Our program director came outside a few moments later and informed us that there was a large earthquake somewhere in the Pacific this morning and that was an aftershock. Interesting to experience on my first day here, Since I have never felt one. I’m sure it wont be my last, but hopefully they will all be as non-harmful. Well, after a long day I need to take what I am told will be a cold shower, so this is adios amigos! I’ll update you all probably after I move into my training village but it might be a week or two before I get a chance to find Internet (my village wont have it).
Love you’ll and take care, I’ll do the same!
-Leif
