Leaving my family in the
middle of SFO in a mile-long security line at the break of dawn was a tad bit
emotional and I had to control every ounce of my body to not burst into tears
as we said our goodbyes. Just when I was
able to control my emotions, my Dad comes running back with some extra cash and
my sister begins to send me text messages that were scripted out of a Hallmark
card. Needless to say, the tears
began. Once I made it through security I
knew that I was indeed in the right place and ready to begin the adventure that
Peace Corps is.
After a 5-hour flight,
3-hour time difference, and a crazy hour shuttle ride to the hotel in Philly, I
was officially on my way. I called my
family to let them know that I had made it and then called my best friend Em to
just have a heart to heart. Within
seconds of hanging up, my roomie walked in and I relieved a sigh a relief when
I saw that she had equally packed a similar amount to myself. Phew.
I soon found out that she, Sophie, came from Arizona and graduated the
previous year from a small liberal arts school in Vermont. We instantly clicked and I knew that this
girl and I would be each other’s support system and that we would be friends
for a long time coming. After hanging
out with some other awesome trainees, we all parted our ways and prepared for
Staging (Pre-Orientation), which was taking place the following morning. Soph and I stayed up way to late talking and
sharing stories from home.
Reality hit the following
morning when I ordered my last Starbucks, a Grande, Iced, Non-Fat Chai with an
Added Shot of Espresso. This morning
also marked the day that I became a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT) and no longer an
Invitee. I will finally become a Peace
Corps Volunteer (PCV) after I complete the 10-week training program in
country. Anyway, Staging was a
success! My fellow 44 American trainees
and I acted out PC Core Expectations, drew our aspirations and fears, laughed,
and nervously awaited our departure. At
the end of the day we decided to meet two Returned PCV from Uganda and one who
was on vacation back home in the States.
We ate, drank, and talked over our last American meal at TGI
Friday’s. They were a huge wealth of
information and helped calm some nerves.
Soph and I decided to spend some of our Peace Corps cash (thank you U.S.
Government!) at Target and bought Tylenol PM, trail mix, and a cookie crumble,
caramel, Italian Gelato. Best decision
by far! With our excitement and added
boost of caffeine we didn’t sleep and anxiously awaited for our clocks to turn
to 2:00am when we would meet again with our fellow Trainees to venture off to
JFK Airport. With our last American
showers behind us and bags in hand, we were off.
With forty-five wide-eyed, loud,
Americans rolling up to JFK at 5:00am with an 11:00am departure time, we sat,
played games, and napped on the cold linoleum floor surrounded by our 180
bags. As time ticked by, we soon found
ourselves walking through the gate and onto the giant airplane that would take
us 8,000 miles across the world. Next
post will be from Uganda...
Side Note: I anticipate
updating this blog much more frequently but Internet is very spotty. Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen
because this blog will happen. I will attempt to be as funny and interesting
as possible. I may not be able to post regularly
until after I Swear-In in August but in the meantime, feel free to leave
comments, Facebook, or even send a letter/package to me. :)
Some tips on mailing letters or packages…
- Write religious sayings
because who’d want to steal from God?!
- Tape up the edges of
packages
- Number all the letters
you send so I can find out if one went missing.
I’ll do the same.
- If you send a postcard,
put it in an envelope or it may end up as decoration in the Post Office
- Don’t declare a package
as having a value over $20
- Write on the customs
forms that the package contains, “Educational Materials”, try to make it as
least appealing as possible
Tara Matthews PCT
P.O. Box 29348
Kampala, Uganda
Miss you all oodles!
