Well we are back and have survived our 30 hour road trip and Orientation down in North Carolina.
Sarah and I left for North Carolina early Tuesday morning and started our 15 hour trek to Charlotte. It was a good trip. We passed through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Crossed the Mason Dixon line, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and at about 10:00 pm we arrived in Charlotte. We kept ourselves busy by looking for license plates from different states( we saw 30 states on the way down), and taking pictures of all the state signs as we crossed into different states.
On Wednesday we made our way from our Hotel to SIM headquarters. We arrived mid-morning, got a tour and settled into our room for a few hour break before our first meeting. Over the course of that night we meet 6 other STA's( short term associates) that were in our training group. We met the girl that we will be going to Bolivia with which was nice. We also met a couple that is going to Niger to work on Bible Translation, a girl who is going to Kenya to teach in the slums, a guy who is going to Zambia to work at a house for street boys and a guy who is going to China to work in a factory. They were really nice and it was fun to hang out with them for the few days that we were in North Carolina.
The time in North Carolina was over all really good. We received good information, met a lot of missionaries that had served all over the world, and were able to ask a lot of questions. During our time there, the three of us that are going to Bolivia, were able to talk to several people who have lived in Cochabamba and who had connections to Carachipampa. We were also able to connect with the former director of Carachipampa and his family, which was really informative.
Our training was done on Friday night and Saturday Morning brought about the time to start on our trek back home. The return road trip went well, but we were both pretty tired. So we took turns driving and napping. However, we both agree that it was way better to drive, because we saved a lot of money.
I arrived back in New Hampshire yesterday and when I was out and about today, I saw a bear crossing the road! I think it is safe to say that I am back in New Hampshire!!
Adios!! - Rachel
