staging

i am currently 2/3 of the way through staging here in philly, and it's going well. the getting to know each other and informational activities are relatively painless as those things go, and everyone is really nice. it's pretty amazing to be in a room full of people and know that you have a shared purpose and are like-minded in many significant ways, despite any differences in background.

so, a little about my group: we are 58 (one person couldn't come at the last minute due to health reasons); we are about 2/3 female and 1/3 male; we are approximately 1/3 health volunteers and 2/3 teachers (english and science); we range in age from 21 to 29; we come from all over the country (there's even another vermonter!); and as far as i can tell to this point, we are all really interesting, friendly, thoughtful, committed people (assuming i can count myself in those categories!).

the more i talk with people the more excited i get about getting to know them better, getting on that plane and getting to mozambique. although i have to admit, i am still largely in disbelief that this all is happening. i've been reading about these steps of the process for so long that it feels almost routine....

i have no idea what my communication will be like after i leave here tomorrow morning, so don't worry if i don't post or email for quite a while. but do send me messages!