Feelings boarding my morning flight to Los Angeles were neither excited nor anxious. Rather I was calm and a little sad. These past four years I have flown a lot between Seattle and Boston, the two ports that led me to the two places I called home, my family home and Holy Cross. However, today I was flying to neither and I knew I would not be seeing either Seattle or Boston for quite some time.
The night prior to departure was hectic as I packed my belongings that I would take to China with me. Rummaging through shirts, pants, clothes for different seasons, and miscellaneous items that would bring me comfort in my new dwellings, I stayed up late to finish getting everything situated. At 5:30 am my mother drove me to the airport, and at 7:50 am my flight took off.
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Completing Day One as an official Peace Corps Volunteer in training was a lot better than I had expected. My nerves became at ease as I slowly met others in my cohort, learning names, people’s stories, and forming relationships that I know will be valuable as I begin my China journey. The five hours or so of “staging” or training before we leave for China tomorrow consisted of learning who else was in the cohort, finishing up any last-minute paperwork, and learning the basics of the Peace Corps. The cohort was split into two groups, based on last name, to make the groups more manageable for the staging instructors.
Today was the first day of work and tomorrow we fly out of LAX to South Korea and then to Chengdu, China. Our flight will be a total of ~13 hours in the air, plus a ~3 hour layover in South Korea. I look forward to the adventure, but as of right now I pray my two checked bags are under 22.68 kilograms and that my carry on is small enough to carry on.
This was a busy day, filled with a lot of great interactions. Some that I did not mention was having our last meal in the United States be In-N-Out and getting an oatmeal cookie with checking into our hotel. Unfortunately, with all these great interactions and travel, I am left a little tired, especially with staying up late to pack the night prior.
As prefaced in the “About” section of “Flipping the Page” I may go back and edit this post/ add to it as I reflect on today and improve this post. This is not the strong, first post I dreamed of having, however I hope if you have made it down this far, you stick with me as my blogging improves and I learn how to use WordPress effectively.
Till next time, write to me in the contact section with any comments, questions, and concerns. Thanks!
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