Official Trainees!

It's finally happening. We are official PC trainees. We are in Washington D.C. for more "staging" tomorrow and then leave for Honduras on Wednesday. Today we were scheduled to go to a luncheon with Laura Bush. This is not a normal PC thing but the "Conference of the Americas" is going on right now and they wanted some PC people for a photo op. She was giving a speech in the neighboring room, we stood around for about an hour, then she came in and talked with us for a few minutes- asking where we were from and thanking us for our service. After the pics the Secret Service whisked her away. We are supposed to get copies of the pic and I'll try to post it.

It's great to finally meet the other trainees. There are 48 of us in all, with a strong NW representation. There are people from Wenatchee, South Bend (southwest WA), Eugene, Boise. and SW Oregon. Most people are young (the average PC age is 27), but we have one 60+ guy and a middle aged woman. It is a pretty impressive group as far as degrees and job experience in volunteering and leadership activities. Unlike many of you seem to think, there aren't any hippies, in fact the closest thing to some hippies is a weird couple from Bellingham :)

We got to meet a few PC big wigs- Communications Director, some other important Directors, and the Latin America Director. Emily and I were able to talk with the Latin American Director at length while waiting for Laura Bush, she was a wonderful lady with lots to say.

I must say it's really nice to be here and see other people that are going to be doing the same thing as us. It makes us feel halfway sane. We discussed our anxieties and fears and everyone was nervous about missing family, and hoping that people would come visit...hint hint. We also talked about weird stuff we brought, one girl said she brought a crib board but wasn't sure how to play. I said I brought a crib board too and I'll teach you how to play! Another girl had a friend that was "arty," he made her a doll of himself, complete with his real hair and recorded messages inside the doll from him. How come we didn't get any of those?

One more day left in the U.S....hmmm....what should we do? I know! We'll spend it sitting in a hotel conference room listening to lectures about health and safety! We wish we had some time to get out and see D.C. a little bit. All we've done is drive by the monuments and walk around our expensive area, Dupont Circle. It seems like a nice city with lots to do...it'll have to wait.

We hope all is well with everyone and we miss you already. We welcome all comments- funny, serious, mean, sarcastic, let your personality shine through! I'll try to keep this relatively up to date and I'll also be posting a trivia question with each blog (post a comment with the answer- first one wins), so check back with regularity and you could be rewarded.

Today's question...

How many Peace Corps volunteers are currently serving in Honduras? This is the first one so I'll give you a hint- use one of the links to find the answer.