I arrived safely in Paraguay as of 11 am, May 28th. We were greeted by the Peace Corps director and by some of our trainers for our first three months here. I was not prepared for how chilly it would be here! It is probably in the 40s today if I had to guess. I wore two long sleeved shirts, a fleece and my windbreaker to my first training session today in Guarambare, which is an hour bus ride from the capital city of Asunción.
My host family is great so far, and the food has not been bad, either. I must go for now, but I will write more later!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Bienvenido a Miami! ("Party in the city where the heat is on...")
I have arrived safely in Miami! I had a fantastic weekend with my family and friends. I could not have asked for a better send off than the one I had. I feel privileged and blessed to have so many people that care about me and love me for being me, idiosyncracies and all! I would not be able to make the decision to do Peace Corps if I had not been surrounded by the loving people I count as family and friends.
The hotel here is great so far, and I am rooming with one of the two people that I corresponded with over e-mail before arriving here at staging. We just ate at a Thai restaurant not far from our hotel and are now enjoying channel surfing and chatting. Unfortunately we have to pay for the Internet here in the hotel ($10/day), so I am using my roommate's computer now so that I won't have to pay for it.
There are volunteers here for training besides just those in the municipal services sector, such as rural economic development. I have only met two people (including my roommate) and will meet the rest tomorrow when we begin our first staging event here at the hotel. I am already hearing Spanish here and there spoken on the street and in the restaurant, so I feel am getting into my element. Still, I am comfortable here in my own culture still: TV is in English and we communicate in English as the primary language. In just two days I will be inundated in espanol 24:7. Well, actually Guarani and Spanish!
I hope to have Internet access during training at least a day a week, but everything is vague and unknown at this stage.
You are in my thoughts as I embark on this next adventure.
The hotel here is great so far, and I am rooming with one of the two people that I corresponded with over e-mail before arriving here at staging. We just ate at a Thai restaurant not far from our hotel and are now enjoying channel surfing and chatting. Unfortunately we have to pay for the Internet here in the hotel ($10/day), so I am using my roommate's computer now so that I won't have to pay for it.
There are volunteers here for training besides just those in the municipal services sector, such as rural economic development. I have only met two people (including my roommate) and will meet the rest tomorrow when we begin our first staging event here at the hotel. I am already hearing Spanish here and there spoken on the street and in the restaurant, so I feel am getting into my element. Still, I am comfortable here in my own culture still: TV is in English and we communicate in English as the primary language. In just two days I will be inundated in espanol 24:7. Well, actually Guarani and Spanish!
I hope to have Internet access during training at least a day a week, but everything is vague and unknown at this stage.
You are in my thoughts as I embark on this next adventure.
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