WE ARE GOOD TO GO

There are almost 8000 volunteers in the Peace Corps, so every year about 4000 rotate. We are in Group 8 (the eighth group to serve in Swaziland after a hiatus) and will replace Group 6 which started as a group of 36.
While our actions might not be quite "frantic", our last-minute preparations are filling the days (and nights) with anxiety. We're excited! On the other hand, some things have fallen into place so effortlessly that it almost "seemed to be". So here are the final plans to begin our adventure:

• June 10--leave SEATAC for Newark. We'll visit friends and family in New Jersey, Long Island and upstate New York, until...
• June 23--arrive in Atlanta mid-afternoon. We'll be staying at the Wingate-Buckhead.
• June 25--Staging begins mid-day when we'll meet Group 8, get instructions, learn PC policies, safety briefing, and innoculations.
• June 26--7:25 p.m. we board our flight direct to Johannesburg, fly almost 16 hours and land at 5:05 p.m. on June 27 and spend the night in Jo'burg (in the last rooms not reserved for the World Cup).
• June 28--We fly from Jo'burg to Manzini, Swaziland at 7 a.m. Finally, we'll be bused to our PST site where ever that might be.

If possible, we might get a post out from Atlanta, BUT you might not hear from us for a while. For ten weeks (pre-service training or PST) we will be in intense training and won't be able to access major towns or the PC office. We won't have cell 'phones until the end of PST. The "shopping town" near training has an internet cafe with only two computers for probably 40 volunteers and will probably be closed on our day off anyway. Life is calling--here we go!