Day #1

This is the most surreal thing I have ever experienced. Friday night thanks to my mother, we were able to squeeze 2 years worth of crap into 2 suitcases and a carry-on backpack. I had to use a larger suitcase than originally planned, but we got it all in and both bags were under the 50 lb. weight limit! The bad news is at this point I have a terrible cold (most likely from all the stress and changing weather). This is not a good way to star off the big adventure.
My dad dropped me off at the airport Saturday at noon and my flight left for Denver at 1:20pm. The layover was about 2 hours so I was able to get one last McDonalds fix at the Denver airport. The flight to Phioladelphia was delayed, but I did get to Philly around 11pm. My baggage claim curse continued as my 2 bags were the very last 2 off the carosel. It happens to me everytime and it makes for a very stressful 20 minutes. I caught a packed shuttle to the hotel. Everyone on the shuttle was very quiet and it was awkward. When the shuttle arrived at the hotel, everyone got out and it turned out everyone on it was paret of our group. It was kinda funny, but I was glad because I thought I was going to be the last one arriving that night. After we got our rooms, one of the guys, Joaquin, suggested taking a walk to find a local bar. The hotel is situated right on the university's campus. We took our stuff up to our rooms and met in the lobby about 10 minutes later. My roommate's stuff was there, but he was nowhere to be found. In the end, Joaquin, his roommate Zach, Daisy, and Monica all took a stroll over to this Irish Pub where we got sauced on Guiness and Jamison. At 2am (last call) we stumbled back to the hotel and Daisy recognized my room number as being a friend of hers so she came in and woke up my roommate. She left, I passed out and found myself wide awake at 8am which sucks because this could be my last morning to sleep in. I met my roommate this morning. His name is Richard. He is part of the over 50 group, retired and joined the Peace Corps to experience a new culture and really get to see the world. So far everyone seems really nice. I think I posted pictures of all these guys in a previous post if you care to put a face to the name. They are all from California with the exception of Monica who is from Spokane.
Richard, Daisy and I are going to meet for breakfast at 10am and then I think I'm gonna catch the train to Liberty Square to see the liberty bell, delcaration of independence, etc. I probably should grab a philly cheese steak too. Staging starts at 3pm and goes to 7pm today.
I have internet access in my hotel room so I will be able to post a couple more times. Thanks to Shawna who is the only person to email me so far. I miss you dearly! I also want to thank my parents for letting me stay with them for a few months. I hope I wasn't too much of a pain and I'm sure you're glad to have the house to yourselves again.
Gotta run.