Pre-Staging

Just a few short minutes ago, I received my staging email from SATO travel! Honestly, I kind of expected the whole process to be a pain since we have to go through this third-party organization but, thankfully, it wasn't an issue and I was able to make my travel arrangements within about 8 minutes. The lady on the line was easygoing, fast and polite which is refreshing given the kinds of scum-of-the-Earth one finds associated with the airline industry.

Because Peace Corps gets government discounts, the flight only cost $255! That's a good deal! I feel a little better about easing the burden on taxpayers (even just the slightest) since I was thinking it would be closer to $500.

I will be departing from Sioux Falls airport on July 5th at 11 a.m. and I will fly through to Chicago O'Hare. I can't count how many times I've been to that airport. I remember flying through there when I was only 7 years old and alone. It's a wonder really...the things that become a sort of "measuring stick" for your life. O'Hare doesn't change. Going through there only reminds me of the changes taking place and how far I've come since being a chubby kid gawking at the florescent lights on the ceiling of one of the walkways.

But I digress.

From Chicago, I'll be leaving at 3 p.m. to Washington D.C. and landing sometime around 5:45 p.m. Staging starts early the next day and is sure to be a whirlwind of activity and preparation. There, I will share a room with 1-2 other volunteers also going to South Africa who (judging by Facebook) will be very similar in their tastes and personalities so it's guaranteed to be a good time.

Just three more weeks in the States - I absolutely can't believe that even when I think about it. I'm grateful that I will be able to spend the 4th of July with my family and in America. It means a lot and it'll be a fitting end to my time here. Between now and then, I'll be buying clothes, packing, making lists (undoubtedly checking them twice/thrice), saying goodbye to the many good friends who make this all simultaneously worthwhile and yet somewhat painful. I can't wait to go over and make you proud and make myself proud in the process. I can't wait to be a part of something that puts even the slightest bit of goodness back into a world that has given me so much of it. At the same time, I know that I will miss every one of you terribly and that this is a job that will grind away at my ambition and patience. There are many tough times ahead, but nobody ever gained anything without taking a risk and I can't stand to preach the virtues of Humanism and stand idly by when I have been blessed with so much.

Three weeks!