And So It Begins...

WARNING: This is a loooonnnnggg post.  Since I’ve been here in Guatemala, all of the trainees have been on a “technology diet”.  So, I haven’t had the opportunity to post blogs online.  This post is a huge conglomeration of what I’ve been up to and my first impressions.  In the future, I’ll aim to have shorter posts and blog more frequently.

THE NITTY GRITTY OF PEACE CORPS TRAINING:

            Sometimes I felt that the application process to the Peace Corps was a bit haphazard and random.  I have felt the exact opposite way about training.  Training is a pretty busy and intense period of learning so that in nine short weeks we are prepared to be (by ourselves) leaders in a Guatemalan community.  So, here  are the details….

            There are 29 people in my training group.  In the group there are 19 Healthy School volunteers and 10 Child & Maternal Health volunteers.  (I’m in the Healthy Schools group!)  We all arrived in DC for an afternoon of rather generic training about what we could expect from the Peace Corps and what the Peace Corps expects from us.  We went out for one last American meal and spent the night at a hotel.

            Well, it was really half a night because we departed at 2:30 the next morning for the airport!!!  We got to the airport a bit too early, so we had to wait around a bit before checking in.  In case you were wondering, it takes an incredibly long time for a group of 29 people to check in.  Here’s what we looked like, running off pure adrenaline.

            Two planes rides later…. WE ARRIVED!  We were met by Peace Corps Staff and took our first chicken bus ride to the Peace Corps office.  A chicken bus is usually an old school bus that failed the emissions test in the US and was sent to Guatemala.  They tend to be brightly painted and are decorated by the driver, so they have very distinct personalities.

            Anyway, we arrived and had a well-deserved lunch and then settled into a three day “mini training” in which we got a crash course in everything from medical emergencies to transportation to the dos and don’ts of Guatemala.  During this time, we stayed with host families, mostly in pairs.  Because all 29 of us trainees were really close together, we’d meet up after our trainings to play basketball, soccer or Duck, Duck, Goose with kids at the local park.

            After those first three days, we were divided into groups of three or four based on our program and our language ability.  These groups determined where we’d be sent next.  Each of us now has our very own host family and we do not get to see each other nearly as often.  This is very good for our Spanish and our cultural adaptation, but bad for our social lives.   I am in a small village with two other volunteers, James and Meg.  (There's a picture of them below.)   There are seven volunteers in the town that my village is a part of.  Those volunteers are about a 30-minute walk away.  Now that we’re settled in, we’re hoping to see each other more often.

            On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursday mornings, and Fridays, we meet with our small language groups, pretty much all day.  Our Language and Culture Facilitators not only teach us Spanish, but also see that we’re adjusting to Guatemala and answer questions we have about what’s going on around us.  Also, they take us on mini field trips to places like the town hall, museums, and the police station.  On Tuesdays, we take a 30 minute chicken bus ride back to the Peace Corps office to participate in trainings all day.  We have lots to learn about how to take care of ourselves and accomplish our jobs.  On Thursday afternoons we meet in our technical groups (i.e. Healthy Schools) to learn more specifics about our program.  On Saturdays, generally the whole group is together for some training or a type of activity.  On Sundays, we do our homework, hang out with our host families, and rest.

A LOOK AHEAD:

•            I’m looking forward to taking more pictures while I’m here.  Guatemala is a pretty modest and conservative culture so I didn’t want to take too many pictures right away, but I am definitely going to start taking more pictures now that my family and the community is used to seeing me around.
•             I’m also excited to learn more about my job.  The program is changing a bit so, we’re sort of in limbo right now, but really want to hear some more concrete examples of what we may be doing.
•          I can already tell that gender is going to be an issue here.  The woman in the house does EVERYTHING.  In some houses that other volunteers are in, the men are not even allowed inside the kitchen.  I’m starting to understand how it plays out in the house, but I know I will be challenged when I see how it plays out in the work place.
•             Also, I’m definitely looking forward to shorter blog posts, but at least now you know what I’ve been up to the last few weeks and what the next few weeks will look like.

MY FIRST DAY:

I recorded this in my journal on the first day.  I certainly want to remember my first impressions of this experience and this country.

The toughest part of arriving someplace new is leaving the old place.  The past few days I have been sad.  I’ve been overwhelmed by good-byes to friends and lots of family members.

Yesterday, I attended an afternoon of orientation in Washington, DC with the 28 other people whom I have the pleasure of serving with in Guatemala.  Meeting them made the experience much more real.  Still, I was having second thoughts about my decision to leave the comfort places I knew and the company of people I loved.

Then… it happened… I ARRIVED!!  As soon as we left the airport and began driving towards our site, I fell in love with the country.  There are dramatic mountain views at every turn, bright colors on every building, and the people have kind, amiable faces.

We arrived at the Peace Corps office for a crash course in everything we would need our first night, then my roommate, Kendra, and I headed to our temporary host family.  We spent the evening walking around town and playing basketball with the local kids. 

I’m so exhausted, but I like it here and I think it’ll make a good home.

I promise shorter posts in the future… I just figured this was the best way to let you know what I’ve been up to for the past few weeks, so that from now on I can tell you about my impressions and what I learn.  Thanks for reading!

The Final Countdown

So, this is it... Today is February 1st, which means that there are 11 days until I to meet my fellow Peace Corps Trainees in DC and 12 days until we head out to Guatemala to begin our adventure.  If there was ever a time to back out, this would be it....

And, yet, I feel incredibly calm.  My good friend, Dana, even remarked the other night that I was too calm and it was freaking her out.  If anybody were to know about my fears or misgivings, it would be Dana, so it must be weirdly and remarkably true that I am calm.

I've tried to find the source of my calmness in hopes that I can bottle it and reuse it during my first bucket bath or attempt at having a meaningful conversation in Spanish.  I have been doing lots of yoga and getting a full night's sleep, but the most important reason I've come up with is this: I am calm because I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing at this exact point in my life.  The Peace Corps is a perfect reflection of who I am at this moment.  I am altruistic.  I am naive.  I am a citizen of the world and I want to get my hands dirty doing work that matters.

At it's conception, Sargent Shriver explained the Peace Corps to the Foreign Policy Association,
Our volunteers do not go overseas as the salesmen of a particular political theory, or economic system, or religious creed.  They go to work with people, not to employ them, use them or advise them.  They do what they country they go to wants them to do, not what we think is best.  They live among the people, sharing their homes, eating their food, talking their language, living under their laws, not in special compounds with special privileges.

Sargent Shriver later described a Peace Corps Volunteer,
That girl worked there to bring peace on earth.  Not the abstract kind of peace that politicians talk about, but the peace that men feel in their bones when they are loved, or fed, or clothed, or housed.

I am excited to be a part of such a noble cause.  If I want the world to be a peaceful place, than I have to be willing to help create the peace.  Now, if I had to report to a nine to five office job in a week and a half, well that would freak me out...

Sure there's pragmatic things that I'm worried about... like how am I supposed to pack, in 100 lbs, the supplies I'll need for a new job and what essentially amounts to a two-year camping trip to a foreign country.  Plus, I'm trying to brush-up on my Spanish and learn everything I can about the country of Guatemala.  I know I will leave the States with a knowledge that is sub-par, by my own standard.

Adjusting to Guatemala will be difficult, particularly while I get a grasp on the Spanish language, but I am confident in my decision to spend the next twenty-seven months of my life there.  The Peace Corps will give me the opportunity to meet many people, to teach, to live humbly - and I couldn't imagine I better use of my education or my time.

I would be amiss if I did not mention the sub-title of my blog.  Service and travel are a given - they're both in the Peace Corps job description - but how do I know that there will be blessings?  The answer is simple: I already have so many blessings.  The amount of support shown to me has been remarkable - from friends in Delaware, from family across the country, and from my hometown of Northborough, MA.  (I'm talking about you St. Rose of Lima Parish.)  So many people have provided well wishes, prayers for my safety, and - most importantly - shown genuine interest in the people I will be serving.

I am very excited to use this blog to tell you about my own work and to provide you with a personal look at the lives of Guatemalans.  So please, keep reading and be sure to contact me with any questions you have about Guatemala or the Peace Corps.

P.S. During my first nine weeks in Guatemala I will be in pretty intense training.  So, I may not be able to blog or otherwise communicate frequently.  I'm setting expectations low for blogging at the beginning, but hopefully I'll be able to work out a routine once I get to my site.  In the meantime, know that I am thinking of you, that I am grateful for your love, and that I am amassing some great stories to share with you shortly!