Staging

I have arrived at staging! That is kind of like the orientation portion of the trip. It is in Philadelphia. And we are just here for one day of orientation, one night in a hotel (where I am now) and then tomorrow we go to the airport and board for Morocco!

What's fun about staging is that this is where you kind of get to check everybody out that you'll be traveling with and training with for the first three months in the country. Here are some estimated stats, from my opinion

There are 68 of us total, split between youth development volunteers (which is what I am) and small business development volunteers.

It's probably 60% women, 40% men. Maybe even more women than that.

I would guess the average age is about 28-30 years old. There are a number who are much older, like fifties and sixties, and a lot who are younger too. We were split up into two training classes so I would say that in my class of 35, about 10 have just graduated from college and are about 22 years old. So I'm a year older-- not the youngest but far from the average!

The amounts people packed vary greatly! Many people just brought one small suitcase but many also brought as much luggage as I did, which means a maxing out of our weight limit. It's quite diverse. And the things people chose as important are just as diverse. Some brought a TON of clothes and nothing else. I brought mostly toiletries and things like toothpaste, deodorant, and underwear. Some brought only Western clothes and some brought only Morocco-appropriate clothes (which is what I did)

In terms of readiness-- we were all in the same boat with atrocious Arabic with just a few exceptions of people who had taken a class or two before. No native speakers, to my knowledge. Many had decent French

Tomorrow I will get a better feel and finally get on that plane!

The excitement is only just beginning!!