After a lovely going away BBQ, packing and repacking until we got down to the required weight for our checked luggage, and saying our goodbyes, Richy and I boarded a plane Monday morning for DC. At the security line, we met another volunteer heading to China who had just said goodbye to her folks as well. The flights were short, the transfer went without a hitch, and we arrived in DC heavily laden with luggage. We got a great view of the National Mall from across the Potomac during our cab ride, and found ourselves at our hotel in the charming and historic Georgetown neighborhood.
We met up with some other China volunteers in the hotel lobby and went out to eat, chatting about our experiences and expectations. I'm kind of surprised that Richy and I seem to be about five years older than most of the other volunteers, but it's nice to have previous experience under our belts. After dinner, we hiked out to the Mall in the twilight (and thick humidity) and were elated to find fireflies flashing in the bushes (first time we've ever seen such creatures!). We arrived at the Lincoln Memorial just in time to see the lights turned on, and then walked down the reflecting pool to see the WWII memorial and got a closer look at the Washington Monument. It was so strange and interesting to finally see the structures that I have written essays about! It took us about an hour to make it that far from the hotel and our energy was fading fast, so we got a cab back and tucked in for a nice restful night.
Today we're scheduled to start staging, get introduced to our program and complete all necessary paperwork. I am looking forward to moving from Invitee to Trainee and finally officially getting this Peace Corps thing started!
By Katie
No comments:
Post a Comment