Staging updates and travel tips

Hey all,
I booked my flight to staging yesterday and now it really feels like it’s happening! Ahh commence nervous breakdown. No, just kidding. Actually I feel surprisingly calm and less freaked out than I thought I would. I still have 4 weeks for it all to set in though. I think at this point it’s Peace Corps or bust though, I’ve been talking about doing this for so long and been delayed enough. Nam or die!!
So, here are the details: I fly out of Burlington, VT at 7:17 am on Tuesday, August 18th, and arrive in Washington D.C., after a stopover in Philly, at 10:49. Staging is basically a one day intensive orientation where we become official PC trainees. Schedule for training looks like this:
August 18th
1:30: Registration, hand in 5039594 pages of paperwork I have to fill out beforehand (so far all Peace Corps activities have consisted of filling out paperwork. I might be in for a boring 2 years).
3-7: Meetings and info sessions, covering Peace Corps mission and background, anxieties and aspirations for service, risk management and reflection on commitment to service.
August 19th:
8:00: Checkout of hotel.
8:30: Go to clinic for vaccinations (not actually sure what shots I need for Namibia. I do think I have to take malaria pills for 2 years. I’m not sure what the side effects are for taking malaria pills for 2 years straight aside from the regular side effects of nightmares, sexy dreams and nausea/lightheadedness. While taking meflium 2 years ago I fell down the stairs at a hookah bar in Cape Town and then basically passed out on the street until my dear friends gave me a chocolate bar and a bottle of water. Side effect could also be due to not eating all day and smoking too much hookah).
5:40: Flight to Joburg takes off! The flight is 17 hours 40 minutes long. Yes, that is a very long flight. But I’ve already flown to Joburg twice, once when I studied abroad in ’07 and then when I went back after graduation in summer ’08. Actually this time it’s not so bad because we spend the night in Joburg and then fly to Windhoek the next day, as opposed to the last 2 times when we landed and I had to catch connecting flights, either to Cape Town or Port Elizabeth. Or my flight back to the US 2 years ago, when I had to do the whole thing in reverse with a wicked hangover. Try lugging 2 overweight suitcases, a laptop case and a ridiculously heavy backpack across half the world while trying not to puke up a R14 bottle of wine (approx 2 US$ aka NOT GOOD) and countless SA beers. Ha! This time I’m packing light.
Speaking of which they also included a packing advisory sheet which said not to bring more than 80 pounds, but I looked up the baggage limitations for US Air and it said 50 lbs per bag were allowed so I might risk it. Or not, since I have to lug those bags all over Africa (hopefully not hungover, but we’ll see).
I was told I need to have a going away party so it’s going to be August 7th in NYC, at an undetermined restaurant/bar. If you can make it, yay! If not, see you in 2 years. Or, better yet, come to Namibia. There are really cool sand dunes. And me! For the next 2 years at least…