Black Thursday

Staging was a day and a half of meetings and meeting lots of people. There are 65 in our group, and I probably met two-thirds of them and remember one-third of their names. Come Monday I'm sure to have forgotten them all. But it's a cool group with people from all over the country (and world), with quite a diverse array of experiences.

Washington D.C. has been bitterly cold - it snowed a couple of inches yesterday and we seemed to have it blowing in our face the entire time. They also don't seem to plow the streets and so there were lots of sliding cars and sliding people (bricks don't make for a very tractable surface). Besides the four (including me) here bound for Uz, there are a number of medevacs here for surgery, doctor appointments, and recuperation. It's good to talk to some actual volunteers who can give us the unromanticized low down.

The Inauguration is today and we (seems the PC is about 90% Dems - I'd say 100%, but I'm sure there's a few who are just afraid to speak out) plan to head over there and join a protest. Although with the massive security out there (the entire Mall is fenced off) it might not be worth it - especially if we can't get within tomato throwing distance.

Our visas are ready for pickup and we're still scheduled to leave on Saturday evening. Until then...