Only have about 20 minutes to type this post out, so it won't have nearly the same level of scintillating wit that they normally have...err..

I wrote more details about my trip thus far in my journal, and will post some pictures and more later (perhaps)...I may not have great internet access over the coming weeks, especially as language training starts in about 4 days.

Getting to the hotel from the Philly airport was quite the (mis)adventure. I still got to the hotel early, but it was an enjoyable experience (for the most part). Ended up having a great conversation with the first cab driver, who was from Ethiopia and happened to be studying Electrical Engineering at a local community college in Philly, but wanted to get out of Philly and transfer to Virginia Tech. Long story short, he drove me to the wrong "Crowne Plaza" hotel, so I had to take a second cab. Altogether, $28.50 + ~$19. Ouch. It was worth it, though. I think it'll be a good microcosm of the winding journey to be had in Morocco. I'm sure transportation miscues will prove imminent.
 
Staging in Philly was a little prolonged, but we were also all suffering from massive sleep-deprivation (I went to bed around 1am the day of the flight, was just about to fall asleep when my cell phone alarm went off at 3am. Left the house around 4am, plane for Philly left around 6:55am), dire hunger, and coldness for those of us near the windows (let the record stand that I was indeed in this latter group). It was about five hours total, with some skits to act out and a lot of icebreakers, but it was nice because I think it helped allay many of our fears and made me/us realize that all of us Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) have remarkably similar aspirations and anxieties. 

There are about 60 of us in our group and we are quite a diverse group. There are trainees from all over the U.S and from many different ethnic backgrounds - people whose families are from Guyana, Iran, and even Palestine. I am the only person from Indiana. Several from CA, NY, the Carolinas, and WA.

Flight to Casablanca was about 8 hours. We drove to another city by bus, where we will stay for 2 nights (one more night after tonight). Today we met the PC Morocco staff, who seem terrific and I got a tetanus shot - tomorrow I'll get a few more.

The hotel we're staying at is pretty incredible. Everything is very pretty. It's probably some mix of Phoenix, Utah, and Miami, even though I've never been to any of those places.

I'll post pictures to my Flickr account and/or this website sometime when I get the chance. My nervousness level is nearly zero now. I became nervous right when my dad dropped me off at the Indy airport (palms started sweating)- but now that we're all arrived in Morocco, I don't know what to be nervous about. I'm anxious to begin language training, but in an eager, "let's do this!" way, and not in a stressed-out or negative way.

Ten more minutes.

Spent some time polishing up that terrible first section.