So, the last two days I’ve been at the Crowne Plaza Detroit, right next to the airport- how glamorous! The place is actually pretty nice, but I’ve been having issues with their internet connections- so I’ll make this brief. Also, I am already packed up for tomorrow, but I have to get a few things out of my bag and into my carry-on.
As the title suggests, these two days at the Crowne Plaza were my staging. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it’s a peace corps term for “orientation.” All 76 of the volunteers slated to take off for Manila tomorrow have been in the hotel the last few days getting prepared to leave. We haven’t done much talking about country specific things, but more about PC policies and strategies for development and volunteer safety…among other things. Also, it’s been an opportunity to get to know the faces and maybe a few names of fellow batchmates.
Last night we had free to do as we please in fabulous Romulus, MI. Cabs into the city were expensive and I think the staff successfully scared most people out of wanting to go downtown. Instead of hitting up Greektown as I half-hoped I could, we got take out from the pizza place down the street. I got a Greek pizza, so I guess that counts for something.
Tonight we went to Ann Arbor for a special Peace Corps 45th Anniversary Celebration. It was rumored that the PC director would be there. He was not….but several other directors and organizers were there in addition to former volunteers and a filipino dance group from Lansing. It turns out that two of the dancers were students of mine last year. Talk about coincidences. I didn’t have a chance to talk with them, but it was strange seeing them there. They’re identical twins and were very quiet, I didn’t get much of a chance to talk with them and get to know them during my brief stint as an orchestra teacher.
Anyway, tomorrow’s the big day. I still feel very calm, no butterflies trying to escape my stomach as of yet. We’ll see how I feel 12 hours from now when we’re getting checked in at the airport.
I took a few pictures tonight and they’re uploaded to my camera. I may or may not post them tonight, depending on the stability and speed of my connection. It’s getting a bit late and I do want to sleep- even though I’ll have a full 16 hours from here to Japan to get some shuteye.
Next post will be from the flipside.