The Meatless Cheese Steak Ain't Got No Meat

I'm happy to say that after waking up at 3 in the morning with just grapes and oranges in my stomach, I arrived safely to Philadelphia today at 1PM (PST).  However, it wasn't fun dragging two bulky suitcases with my throbbing hands and carrying my elephant-sized backpack around the airport.  I was relieved when I finally met up with eight other volunteers and we were excited to talk about our assignments with one another and where we were coming from.  After we crammed into a van with our oversized baggage, we were dropped off at our hotel.

After we left our belongings in our rooms, we walked about ten blocks to satisfy our cravings for the infamous Philly cheese steak.  When Matt (another volunteer) and I ordered the "meatless cheese steak", the chef stated, "The meatless cheese steak ain't got no meat."  I laughed because he looked at us like we had a squirrel on top of our heads.  As if he were to say, " Why would you come here to order a vegetarian sandwich?"

Anyway, after the nine of us ate our dinner, we roamed around and saw the Liberty Bell.  After being tourists, we just played a few games when we got back to the hotel.

Right now, I'm in my room typing this post while I struggle to keep my eyes open, as if they weighed heavier than my backpack.  I can't wait to go to sleep.  When I wake up, a group of us plan to get breakfast.  At noon, we'll have our orientation until about 7 PM and we'll get to meet the other 50 volunteers heading to Mozambique.  At 2:30 AM, we will be taking a bus to New York where we will catch our flights to our final destination.

I promise to keep you abreast of my journey in Africa.  At the same time, I'm not sure how reliable my internet will be.  If you don't hear from me in a couple of weeks, it will most likely be because I may be having trouble accessing internet.

Here are some pictures I took today...

"...it ain't got no meat"