I'm in Vienna - when I went to sign into blogspot everything was in German! I guess thus starts my adventures in translations!

There are 38 of us ranging in age from some recent grads to a couple in their 70's. It's wonderful to see how everyone mixes and connects with each other, though. We'll be each others' family for the 27 months in Macedonia, so it's good. Orientation in DC was mostly getting to know each other a bit along with some policy review and logistics - many questions were answered: "You'll find out more when your in-country." And soon we will be there. We're all a bit bleary eyed - it's 4:27 EST but 10:27 here. I was able to wake up with a Starbucks here - I wonder if they've even made it to Skopje.

The big talk among the group was luggage - did we all fit our lives into 2 fifty pound suitcases. One of the young men argued that was too much, but especially for the women it was a stretch. After much reorganizing, mine weighed in at 49 and 50 pound. Imagine me wrestling those through the airport with a 30 pound pack on my back and my computer case filled to the brim with electronics. I was quite proud of myself. It does feel good to put things down, though.

Next stop: Skopje!