1st day.....arrived in Miami

Ok folks, maybe I am spoiling everyone by putting up another blog so soon....

Arrived in Miami 12:30 local time.....WOW! was I greeted by a humid heat wave and it was only supposedly 80F. It was good for me though...gonna have plenty more where that came from for the next couple years. However, as soon as I thought that I would be out in the humidity for awhile--I arrive at our hotel for check-in....and welcome back to the AC.

Checked in at 13:30 and found myself amid a training group of 39 volunteers. We are a good bunch, diverse in the age groups--from just out of college to the retired. There are a few married couples too. Everyone is slated to go the Eastern Caribbean; 3 of us are going to Dominica.

We played a few ice-breaker games and are beginning to know each other. We will be here tomorrow and fly out to our next stop--St Lucia--Wed @ 11. After a few days in St Lucia, I think we are breaking up to our respective islands. We probably won't see each other for quite awhile, but we will all meet up from time to time for group conferences and discussions through the years.

We have the evenings to ourselves and many of us went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner--Versailles. It was moderately priced, but the food was really good--as was the sangria. Of course I had a limited selection with my diet. I had black beans and rice, fried plantains, and garlic/egg soup. I have the feeling that I will be eating similar dishes for quite awhile. ^_^

Not too much else to report today. I sent out a mass text to the numbers that I have in my phone. Thanks for all the great replies. Don't forget to send me your contact info to my email--just in case something happens to my phone/address book.

ciao tutti!
~your wannabe jedi
~Shawn