Let the blogging begin!

So I've finally "left" after what seemed like weeks of saying good-byes to friends and family. I'm actually just in Arlington, VA and won't leave for Bolivia until the 29th. Being so close to the nation's capital makes everything overtly patriotic, like at the Holiday Inn here we ate lunch at the "National Diner" and the CVS up the block sells magnets with Bush's smiling face...really amusing. Also the inside cover of my new passport has this giant eagle (apparently all the new passports have this feature and if you haven't seen it yet just think of the soaring eagle at the opening of the Colbert Report.) We have become official and registered and even got a Peace Corps debit card with the American flag logo of course. I have to say that the people here are all really interesting and have some amazing life experiences. We did some ice breakers but they weren't awful and we talked a lot about anxieties (I forgot to bring up my anxiety about "do there sharks") and we talked about our aspirations and all that good stuff. I'm feeling really good about this group and the work that we'll be doing in Bolivia. They haven't given us too many details yet but we're an excited group full of optimism and candy and Thai food. I hope you all know that in Bolivia I'm just an email or phone card away and I'm just going to end this now before I get too sappy or start tearing up like I did at the airport.

hasta luego
michelle