The Jumping Off Stage

Regarding: November 5th - 8th, 2016

November 5th, 2016 the adventure began.

The night before I was going to leave for staging I realized I had not packed.

“But that’s ok,” I told my park family, “I’ve got a list of everything I’m bringing. So it’ll probably only take, like, an hour or two.”

5 hours later: I conceded I had miscalculated.

10 hours later: I was miserable, but packed. I was also eternally indebted to my mom (again). Pro Tip: Listen to your mom.

The car ride to the airport was a silent mix of exhaustion and emotion. My parents watched me walk through security. I was randomly selected to be searched. And, in no time at all, I was on my own.

Woof.

Truthfully, the rest of the day is kind of a blur. I vaguely remember looking to see if I could spot any other volunteers making their way to D.C. I thought my giant sunhat and awkward amount of luggage had marked me pretty clearly as someone going to Africa with no idea what they were getting into. The election was in full swing, and I remember skimming newspapers to get a prediction on who would win. At some point I landed in D.C., herded my bags to the curb, made it into an uber, and arrived at the designated hotel. A homeless man offered to help carry my bags into the lobby if that gives you any idea of how awkwardly this was all going.

Once in the hotel, I passed out until my roommate arrived. Then began the flurried small-talk:

“How’s it going?”

“Where are you from?”

“Where’d you go to school?”

“Why’d you join Peace Corps?”

It’s hard to remember these conversations in the best of circumstances. But it is particularly difficult when you’re meeting 32 people on no sleep, so I probably had that conversation at least 50 times over the next 3 days… and still didn’t remember a single thing about anyone. Including their name.

But staging was fun. Sure, it was intimidating to meet 32 strangers with the expectation of becoming family. I remember meeting everyone and trying to project a confidence I didn’t feel. I remember being surrounded by strangers and being told they would be my support system. I remember not really believing it. I remember missing home and everyone I had left behind.

But I also remember the adrenaline. I was starting! I was actually in Peace Corps!! I remember looking at the Peace Corps’ logos and banners decorating the conference room, and reflecting how long I had been looking forward to this moment. I’d been hearing about this phase in my life for… my whole life (thanks Dad), and I began to get emotional; it had really started!

Ahhh!!!

To give a macro overview of my life during staging…

Staging Schedule

Saturday - November 5th, 2016

Flight from Dallas, TX to Washington, D.C.
6:00 PM - Registration

Sunday – November 6th, 2016

9:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Sessions
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM – Lunch
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM - Sessions

Monday – November 7th, 2016

9:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Sessions
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM – Lunch
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM - Sessions
6:00 PM - … - Frantic re-packing and re-weighing

Sunday – November 8th, 2016

4:30 AM – Check out of hotel
5:00 AM – Bus arrived for loading and departure to the airport

The 3 days of staging were a good foreshadowing of what to expect schedule-wise for the rest of PST. Although there weren’t many specifics on Uganda, we spoke instead about topics such as Let Girls’ Learn, and how to cope with some of the general challenges of adapting to a new culture. We were also introduced to the concept of “energizers”. Energizers are activities done to help a class bond or rejuvenate the class if energy is lacking. Examples of energizers include songs, dances, “dinner parties” (where the class dances around until finding a partner), games, and more. Energizers are a controversial subject within our cohort, but I have to say, although they can be awkward, at staging they were fairly effective -- there is nothing as “energizing” as being forced to sing and dance in front of a group of strangers.

I spent the two lunches with my roommate running to D.C.’s R.E.I. to pick up last minute items I had forgotten during my night-long packing tirade, and dinners were a flurry of introductions and first impressions. I think dinner highlights include my final McDonald's cheeseburger + hot cakes binge, a last minute reunion with a Cornell mock trial alumnus, and the domination of a sushi restaurant that was not built to accommodate a party of 30.

Before I’d had a chance to really meet a single person, I was re-packing and re-weighing everything I had packed just 36 hours earlier. In fact, some of my first impressions of people are them coming to my room to borrow my luggage scale (an item, I should note, I told my mom I “wouldn’t need” and had to buy in D.C…. Pro Tip: Always listen to your mom).

I would give almost anything now to re-watch this first stage of Peace Corps. It was a hectic and stressful time, but full of excitement and anticipation of what was to come. It’s so funny, I don’t remember a single person I spoke with. I remember staging as a marathon of overly enthusiastic superficial conversations with strangers. And then, one day (weeks later), they were friends. Now knowing them so intimately, I would love nothing more than to see us in our first few days together and laugh about how awkward the whole thing was.

Here commemorates the first time I blinked to find a Peace Corps milestone had passed.

The next one would be touching down in Africa for the first time in my life.

So, in closing: staging was hectic, but exhilarating. Our trainers were phenomenal (a common theme through PST), and I found myself surrounded by some of the most wonderful people I could hope to meet. I still had no idea what I had gotten myself into, but I knew I was in good company.

At risk of ending on a note that's so cliche it ruins the rest of the post:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

— Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Welcome to Peace Corps, kids.