The beginning of my trip (belatedly)

Hello folks, I figured it has been a long time since I've posted on this blog thing....so here goes. Below is the blog post I orginally wrote at the beginning of the trip, but have not had consistent enough internet access to post. Please read below....and I have more posts saved on my computer - they will come soon. For now...enjoy:

Hey everyone…as many of you know, Tuesday 6/9/09 was the beginning of my trip to Moldova. Although not extremely eventful I will give you all a brief run-down of what happened:

Tuesday was an event that Peace Corps calls “Staging.” Essentially it is an orientation/ “meet-and-greet” for all of the new volunteers who are departing for one particular destination. There are approximately 65 of us headed to Moldova. I lucked out in that Peace Corps decided to hold our staging in Philadelphia. Other invitees however came from places as far as Seattle, meaning they began their travels a day before me.

In the morning my family dropped me off at the Sheraton Hotel in University City. After a misty-eyed “farewell moment” in the lobby I stepped into the elevator. What was I thinking on that elevator ride? What enlightened thoughts flitted through my mind in the first seconds of two years’ worth of physical separation from my family and friends? I think it went something like this: “Sweet! I have a room on the nineteenth floor – I can’t wait to spit out the window.” Oh well…I suppose the best words don’t always come at the appropriate moments (And besides, much to my dismay, the window was sealed shut).

I entered room 1923 and deposited my luggage. At this point a tiny thing happened that I had not experienced in any (significant) way before – I got a little nervous about the trip. It was a fleeting moment however, wisped away when my roommate Greg entered with his father. Greg, coincidentally, is from the Philadelphia area too, and his father’s Phillies cap was enough to quell my subtle discomfort. Is it a cliché to say that there is something in the simplicity of baseball that cuts through the veneer of the world’s seemingly more complex problems? Yes. But, it is also true. (And would be even truer if the Phillies had defeated the Mets that same night).

The Staging session began around noon – shortly after I checked in. Sparing you all a long, boring, detailed description, I will sum up the next few hours in a several loosely connected words and phrases: a lot of paperwork…I was the only person who forgot a pen/ I borrowed one from another volunteer… team-building…warnings, suggestions, recommendations on health, security, etc…. meeting new, interesting people…tending to administrative matters….travel itinerary…and some more stuff that is unremarkable.

The session ended at around 7:30 pm; at which point the newly minted Peace Corps Trainees went out in the city of brotherly love for some drinks, dinner, and brotherly love-making (okay…not exactly that last thing, but we did establish friendships that will play a critical role in keeping our sanity over the next 27 months).

The next day, we awoke and boarded buses to New York’s JFK airport at about 7 the next morning. We arrived at the airport at approximately 10:30am. Fortunately we made it there JUST before our flight was scheduled to leave for Turkey; and by “JUST before” I mean that we were 7 hours early. After a relatively painless baggage check and security walkthrough, we waited at the gate for our flight. The full travel plan is as follows: a ten hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey followed by a layover of an additional seven hours, and then a 90-minute flight to Chisinau, Moldova. Sounds long and annoying, but we are all excited. I am writing this, my first post of the trip from JFK eagerly awaiting the first leg of my trip.