In which Tim describes his travels...

The last few days have been a whirl wind of which I can safely say I have never experienced the equal. To give you a small taste of what it's been like, the following is a blow by blow, day by day account.

Sunday, 2/24 - Departure
Tim frantically shoves some last minute items into his bag, and boards a plane for Washington DC. He spends the night with a dear friend from MSU days.

Monday, 2/25 - Site Seeing
He arises early to meet up with Cousin Mike. They spend the morning reconnecting, and then head into downtown DC to meet up with Stephanie (married to Cousin Mike), and have lunch at a curious restaurant/bar/bookstore fusion joint that turned out to be quite charming. The three then spend some time walking around DC, and Tim enjoys the fifty degree weather so much that he spends four hours on his own walking to monuments and being completative before meeting another friend for dinner in China town. Tim heads back to Cousin Mike's place for his final night spent with family for quite some time.

Tuesday, 2/26 - The Adventure Begins...sort of.
Tim gets up early yet again, and hauls his entire 90 lb collection of luggage onto the DC subway at rush hour for a half hour ride followed by a half mile walk to his hotel. He is very tired when he gets there, but must keep moving, for he has an early appointment at the WHITE HOUSE. Unable to gain access to the President, Tim contents himself with touring the public parts of the mansion, thus fulfilling his long standing desire to step inside that remarkable meeting. Tim then proceeds to the Congressional Office Building for a meeting and photo shoot with his Congresswoman (Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin 2nd). He is impressed by how down to earth she seems in person. And the day is far from over. Tim meets with one last friend for lunch before reporting back to his hotel to officially take up his title as a Peace Corps Trainee.

Before reporting to sign in, Tim is quite nervous. This truly feels like the point of no return. As soon as he ventures into that room, he will be starting down a long and challenging path, the full consequences of which he cannot foresee. He does not know what kind of people will be there with him. He is completely convinced that he will be the worst spanish speaker, and by far the least qualified "environmental development professional" in the group. But he says a quick prayer, and steps through the door despite the fear and doubt.

And he was glad he did. He started chatting (as he is often prone to) with those around him. He was surprised (!) to discover that many of his companions shared fears similar to his own. He immediately felt much better. After scaling a mountain of paperwork, Tiim sat down in a large circle to begin preparation for the experience with his 36 new friends. And what a diverse group. They hail from literally every corner of the country, and a wide range of academic disciplines. It is a remarkably quirky and fun blend of people. Many were already seasoned travelers, while some were looking forward to their first extended trip outside of the United States. The atmosphere of shared anxieties and aspirations, combined with the help of a brilliant team of trainers/facilitators led to the team bonding very quickly.

2/27 - ALMOST THERE
The team spends all day in training meetings, continuing to get acquainted, and eagerly counting down the hours until the plane lifts off for warmer climates, hopefully with all of them aboard. Last minute arrangements are made, bags are packed, and many on the team decide to go out for a pricey "final meal in America" kindly financed by you lovely tax payers. Then it's to bed early, if any of them are able to sleep amidst all this excitement.

2/28 - Wheels up!
Alarms go off at THREE OCLOCK in the morning to summon the team to the lobby of the hotel to check out and be counted. Tim was foolish enough to volunteer himself as a "group leader" on the previous day. This made him responsible for making sure that eight other members of the group made it to the end of the trip without geting lost, mugged, arrested, etc. He had to count their heads at the hotel, on the bus, in the check in line at the airport, at the gate, at the lay over in Miami, and then as they finally got off the plane in SANTO DOMINGO. He is proud to report that all arrived safely.

Tim stepped off the plane into a bright sauna of a country that made Wisconsin winters seem like a far distant memory. The sun was shining, and one felt like the air could be cut with a knife. Tim felt weary under the weight of the fleece vest that he had been wearing without thought for the last several thousand miles. He shed the vest, donned his sun glasses, and smiled. He was finally in the Caribbean. At the gate, Tim and his friends were met by the jolly and amiable director of PCDR (Peace Corps Dominican Republic, get used to acronyms...) who helped them negotiate their way through immigration and customs. Through the doors, an enthusiastic throng of current volunteers were jumping up and down cheering, holding colorful signs. The group proceeded into the parking lot, feeling an awful lot like a group of high schoolers who were supposed to go on a field trip to Washington DC but must have stepped onto the wrong plane. "Deer in the headlights syndrome", if you will. It was almost hard for them to believe that they were expected, and were being welcomed with such enthusiasm. After being separated from their luggage (it was being delivered to host families), the group was herded like cattle onto some waiting buses that wisked them past the ocean, through the city, and straight to a nunnery. That is not a joke. They were taken to a nunnery for their first night in country.

They were greeted with cool water, fresh fruit, and strong coffee. And there was little time to rest. They were immediately given a presentation on the manifold diseases waiting around every corner to kill their idealism, issued mosqutoe nets, malaria pills, and bug spray, and given a rabies vaccination. Next came a delicious dinner of roasted chicken, potatoes and vegetables, and the group of ecstatic and exhausted brand new friends who now felt like they had known each other for years were finally given an evening to relax.

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And that brings us up to the present time. I am lying under my brand new green "mosquitero" wondering at the joy of this situation. At the risk of sounding cliche, I will say that it truly feels amazing to be here even though I've yet to do anything. Tomorrow is a very big day, as I will be moving in with my host family and taking a test to see just how good or bad my Spanish is. I will blog as time presents itself.