Washington, DC

Wednesday, June 8th, 2016: 

The Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) took place from 9am-5pm. The keynote speaker, Mark Taplin, served multiple tours in the Soviet Union and several other countries and is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the State Department. The lineup also included Zunera Mazhar and several members of American Councils and CLS. Almost as impressive are the people on my cohort, ranging from 18 years old to mid-50s, undergrads to PhDs. My own cohort has 13 people, whom I look forward to getting to know better in the coming months. 

Think I can say I pulled off my OOTD. (See below).

Tomorrow we embark on our journey, going from DC to Frankfurt, then on to the Delhi airport, where we'll rest for a couple hours before flying into Kolkata. After a thorough In-Country Orientation, we'll finally get to meet our host families. I can't wait to give them some "traditional" American gifts: Limited Edition Sriracha-Flavored Trisciuts, S'mores and Lemonade 2-in-1 gum packets, Minnesotan wild rice, and some Arizona tchotchkes, presented in a Buffalo Exchange reusable bag. :)

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Tuesday, June 7th, 2016:

Just thought of a snazzy little title for the travel blog: "Bideshi" is the Bangla word for "foreigner", which seems appropriate, since I'll be a stranger in a strange place very soon. Plus, "Bideshi" is just an awesome word, and people who care enough to follow my story get to hear it in their heads every time they check it. 

As I write this, a plane is carrying me from Phoenix to Washington DC. I'm listening to the playlist a la Gabe, one of my bhondus from Barrett. It starts off with some fantastic Nigerian jams and seamlessly leads into SBTRKT and We Are Twin. He's one of those debate kids that pushes envelopes and gets into ferocious, verbal sparring matches. This summer, he's traveling to Seattle as a Doris Duke scholar to learn about water systems and conservation, which makes me so proud I can't stand it. 

From my plane seat, I'm following along with someone else's screen, unbeknownst to them. I think Gabe will be happy to hear that DC Legends looks even cooler when set to "Musicawa Silt". 

I presently CANNOT wait to channel my mom while wearing her powerhouse, Michael Kors black dress, a staple of her wardrobe, at tomorrow's State Department Keynote presentaiton and Pre-Departure Orientation. In the meantime, I'll be scrounging around our nation's capital in a Beatles tee.