Staging & MY LAST NIGHT IN AMERICA

I don't have any pictures for this blog besides me holding some "We'll miss you" balloons from my best friend Casey McGuire :) I loved them and I actually really like this picture. As Aaron would say... I look like the character from the movie "Up".

 

 

Last night at HOME!

So, after a final last dinner in New Jersey I woke up at 5 am and headed to La Guardia for my flight. It's never easy saying goodbye to your parents & realizing that you won't be seeing them for at LEAST a year is tough. My dad will NO longer be there to solve a crisis & I won't be able to just go to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with my mom whenever I want. Here I go being a grown up.

I had a quick flight to DC & that's when the longest day of my life started. I handed in my paperwork and officially went from Peace Corp Invitee to PEACE CORPS TRAINEE. Apparently a big step in this process.

I had a full day of information. We discussed our anxieties and our aspirations. I met some pretty awesome people and already know that PERU 17 will be very close by the end of this unreal journey. It was nice to finally be in a room filled with people with the same passions and reasons for doing something that most people only dream of. When we were asked "Who is nervous about the next 27 months?". Everyone in the room raised their hand. All 51 of us. It's a nerve wracking process- there's no denying that.  There are both Youth Development (me) and Small Business volunteers. At the end of the activity our leader ended with "This is going to be the hardest job you EVER have. I'm here to remind you of that, but it is worth EVERY second." I can't wait.

After the longest day of my life me and a few other volunteers went dinner and a few drinks. We have volunteers from literally ALL OVER the country and from all walks of life. I can't wait to experience this with all of them.

I already miss everyone back home and wish that all of you could be with me on this journey (physically at least because you're with me always). I leave from DC at 12:00pm and we go to Miami where we are literally going to be running from plane to plane. This is where my phone will be OFFICIALLY off & I'll be available by email and Facebook until further notice. From Miami I will be taking a 5 and change hour flight to Peru :) I arrive in Peru at 9pm (10 p.m. in the United States). After a day at a retreat center... I will be picked up by my host family and then things really get interesting....

"You can be anything you want. But you have to take a risk sometimes. Reach out. One thing I can tell you for sure is this: we only regret what we don't do in life." - Kristin Hannah

Hasta la próxima vez 

-Brielle 

 

P.S. : Amanda Slack, you are the best.