Here We Go...

I'm in Washington, D.C. for the staging event until early Wednesday.  I left California on Sunday morning after spending the weekend at Stanford to watch Heather's water polo tournament.  After getting in on Sunday night I was able to meet up with my childhood friend Alyssa who now lives in D.C. which was an awesome introduction to my few days in the city.  We started staging events Monday afternoon so I was able to see some of the monuments and memorials around the Capitol in the morning.  Staging so far has been interesting with broad and basic information and meeting other volunteers.  Everyone seems really prepared and excited with a lot of previous international experience.  Volunteers in this group are divided up into three groups: HIV/AIDS and child survival, water and sanitation, and business.

We leave for Honduras Wednesday morning quite early.  As soon as we get there we will head for the training center in Santa Lucía for an orientation and introduction to our host families.  We move in that afternoon and get to spend the rest of the day getting to know the family which I'm really excited for because as of right now I know nothing about them.  Then for the first few days in country we have several orientation activities, cultural activities, vaccinations, and a language proficiency interview.  Training is going to be very busy with activities, classes, and discussions during the week from 7:30 to 4:30 and on some Saturdays.  I'm really looking forward to meeting the Honduran people and learning more about their culture.