The Pope and I

Guess who both arrived in DC today?! Yup, that's right! The Pope and I have been tearing through the Nation's Capital! While he was doing his thing today, I began my Peace Corps staging. Today has been an exhausting, exciting, nerve-wracking blur. It began at the crack of dawn this morning in New Orleans where I had to say an emotional, airport goodbye to my mom, dad, and dog.

I cried my entire way through security, through the boarding of all 4 zones, take off, and only ceased crying when I was able to use my computer on the airplane and watch my go-to movie "Bend It Like Beckham". Shoutout to the American Airline flight attendants who kept me in a constant supply of Kleenex! Arriving in DC, getting my luggage (Mom- the bungee cords came in clutch here), and catching a cab to the hotel all ran pretty smoothly. When I arrived to the hotel, I checked into my room, and had maybe 15 minutes before registration. At 12, on the dot, my entire Guatemala training class filled the hallway outside our meeting/conference room. It was amazing to finally meet everyone! We played plenty of icebreakers, did some hilarious skits about how we would deal with inevitable awkward situations in Guatemala, and really had a great time getting to know one another. Training lasted until 7pm and after, some of us headed off to get our final meal. You would think I would want a big, juicy burger or some type of greasy, American food but some other volunteers and I decided to eat at this little Ethiopian restaurant right near the hotel. I am totally my mother's daughter! Now, I'm back in the hotel and have exactly 3 hours and 3 minutes until we all have to be up for our flight to Guatemala. I don't know when I'll have internet access again once I leave the States, but I so look forward to writing my next blog post from GUATEMALA! Besos y abrazos!