Experience Albania: Travel, Pictures, History, Culture

Here I am, in the heart of Philadelphia, just a block away from the U Penn campus (very pretty and old). It is a very neat city and my group and I have had plenty of time to get out and explore it in the past two days.
…which have been fast-paced and very busy!
Monday was an emotional rollercoaster, which included the hardest goodbye, a three hour flight to Phili, the convening of Albania Group 9 (all 40 of us), five hours of orientation, and a late dinner.
Today was another full day, consisting of more lectures, group work, and preparation for tomorrow’s big departure.

But I have now officially completed the “Staging” portion of the Peace Corps experience. I can confidently say that there are some wonderful and amazing people in my group.
They range in age from 21 to 71.
There are two married couples (one that is set on bringing Ultimate Frisbee to Albania and brought six disks to prove it!)
There are two others from the Minneapolis area.
I am thankful to feel connected to such a great range of people and am excited to become even more integrated into this group.

We take off at 11:30 tomorrow morning for the JFK Airport, with a departure for Vienne at 6:30 PM. If all goes on time, I will arrive in my new home at 12:30 PM on Thursday!

I am looking forward to the sheer reality of joining the Peace Corps.

And after the past two days, I definitely feel prepared for this next step - while there will continue to be countless steps after this one, at least I’ve started!
As the fortune out of a fortune cookie I had in San Francisco reads:
“To reach distant places, you have to take the first step.”