Staging

I'm in Washington, D.C. at staging (orientation). Got in last night and there was this guy at the baggage claim and I think I got hustled by him. He took me to his car, which didn't have a meter or look like a taxi at all (it was Cadillac), but I got to the hotel fine, even though the fare was $45 flat. I shouldn't have followed that Ethiopian man.

But were given today a debit card to cover expenses and the government was surprisingly generous. I have plenty of money for incidentals and food and taxi rides. I had great Thai food tonight.

Today we went over a bunch of things, like our anxieties and fears and expectations for Turkmenistan. One really cool thing I learned was that Peace Corps is the only game in Turkmenistan, that we are literally the only aid group over there. No Habitat for Humanity or World Bank or UN or CARE. Just the Peace Corps. The awesome thing about this is that, as a volunteer, your results are more apparent. A common complaint (and reason for ETing) among volunteers is that they can't see the effects of their accomplishments. It was reassuring to learn that in T-stan that this won't be an issue.

Peace Corps really does open you up to many new experiences. For example, the guy I'm rooming with during staging, he had never ironed a shirt until I showed him how this afternoon. And as for me, he showed me his socks, all of which are tye-died. No joke.