"Shock & Awe" in L.A.

Arrival in L.A. was a very mixed thing. I had left my Iphone (and therefore my music,) in Monterey. How appropriate that my window/tether to the world would be the first thing to go, albeit by mistake. The other volunteers at the staging hotel had the feeling of “friends of friends” that I knew could have been roommates at college had I known them then. Very few were from California, yet all immediately gave the impression that they were open-minded and worldly. This would have seemed a contradiction only a day before. Many of us went to a sports bar and had one last Sierra Nevada.

The staging speeches in L.A. were at least somewhat “shock and awe”-themed, trying to weed out any stragglers among those who would drop out. Jim Metzgar, the China/Philippines/Mongolia desk was introduced, and appeared to be awesome. He had served three years in Mongolia, and was best friends with Kieran, the Defense Language Institute teacher who had prepared me in Monterey.