Staging in Philadelphia

Yesterday evening I flew into Philly to begin staging, which is basically a short orientation and preparation for arrival at post. Today I got a chance to meet the forty other volunteers in the agriculture and health programs going over to Niger with me to begin service. We also officially made our transition from being Peace Corps invitees to Peace Corps trainees. In addition to completing some last minute paperwork, we went over some anxieties and aspirations of becoming volunteers in Niger, talked about some important Peace Corps policies and received some general information about how to arrive at post on Thursday. I really enjoyed getting to know the other volunteers today. They all seem like such wonderful people, and I look forward to training and working with them over the next three months and two years. It was such a strange sensation to pack up my life into two small bags and leave my family and friends here in America knowing that I won't be returning for another two years. However, I'm so excited to begin the next phase of my life and to see what it's like to live in another country in a completely different region of the wolrd. While I do have some anxieties about how I will be viewed and accepted in my new community, how I will adjust and whether or not I possess the right skills and knowledge to be a successful volunteer, I also feel ready to start my first job as a college grad and to experience a new and different approach to life. I look forward to learning a new language, surrounding myself with a different culture, meeting new friends and gaining invaluable public health experience. I'm sure I will miss everyone I have grown close to here in the U.S. but I have no doubt that I will meet warm, kindred spirits in Niger and, I have the sense that, after a while, I will feel at home in my new country of residence. I'm still not quite sure how often I will have internet access, since I have heard that most of the rural villages don't even have electricity, but as promised to all my friends and family, I will do my best to update this blog as often as I can. I can hardly believe I'm leaving the country tomorrow. It's so amazing to think that I'll be arriving in west Africa in about 48 hours. Right now, the forecast in Niamey for Thursday is rainy and hot. Just my kind of weather :) I'm sure you all probably think I'm crazy, but I'm really looking forward to the climate. For you french speakers, je suis tres heureuse a commencer mes aventures avec le corps de la paix. Au revoir!