Where to start!? Since leaving Helena my life has been a blurr and I am just now getting to sit down and realize where I am. I can confidently say that I will enjoy not flying for 2 1/2 years. After 12 hours of traveling on planes, trains, and automobiles I arrived in beautiful Washington DC. Meeting 2 other Peace corps volunteers right of the plane was a highlight of the day and then at night, dinner with an old friend started to put everything in perspective. If the new aquaintances and friendly dinner weren't enough, I got back to the hotel and met my temporary roomate and another couple of fun PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). I waited for the morning and of course it didn't dissapoint.
The orientation day was one of the happiest moments in my life in a long time. I couldn't believe the enthusiam that flooded the room. Sharing my hopes and excitement with people back home was nice, but to be in a room with 35+ people who all really understood why I was there was a feeling I hadn't yet experienced. Everybody was excited and you could tell not only by the shit eating grins on their faces, but also by how passionate everyone was about what they were doing. Even when we all had no clue as to what we would specificaly be doing we were all ready to travel and experience the job of a lifetime. The orientation material itself wasn't anything to special. We went over what was expected of us and a few more in depth details, but many of same questions still remained in our heads (what rural area?, what kind of family are we staying with? things like this). If I hadn't yet completely commited my life to just going with the flow in most situations, this was the day I fully gave in. Another awesome side note was that the country director Sanjay Mathur happened to be in DC on Peace Corps business that day (very rare to be lined up like that) so at the end of our orientation he gave an unplanned speech to the entire 78 PCVs that are headed down. It was one of the most inspiring speeches that I've ever had directed towards me and it really was the icing on the cake.
We had to get up at 6:30 and get on a bus to the airport at 7:00 so of course it was time to go to bed right? Ha! Georgetown night life with 12 Peace Corps volunteers seemed like the better choice. In the end there were about 6 of us who kept it going till 2:00 AM or so to celebrate our last night in the United States. While my body wasn't so happy with me the next day, I am glad I was able to have the feel of one last US night out with a group of amazing new people.
A quick flight to Miami, a ten minute layover, and a bad Queen Latifa movie later I woke up just in time enjoy the view of Lima, Peru from the air (kinda, it's pretty much like LA so once we made it past the haze of pollution we could really respect how huge it is).
Peru 16 has 78 PCVs. This number is almost double that of the last group sent down and getting to our site required a full convoy of black vans packed with luggage and PCVs rockin out to Peruvian music and hits of the 80's. Our 1 day 2 night stay outside of Lima has flown by but I have loved every second of it. We seem to be at a compound because of the high walls and secured gated entrance, but all I could think is, this has to be one of the top five most beautiful and surreal places I have ever stayed. The place itself is not what you would expect from driving through Lima and seeing the broken down houses and incredibly dense population. There is a little pool, gazeebos, and futbol/basketball court. Oh, and of course, there are giant steep mountains surrounding on us on all sides that make me feel right at home.
Right away in the morning after breakfast I went into my Spanish interview, picture taking, and money distribution. Meetings for more details, meeting instructors, and ice breakers filled the rest of the day. These were all fun and inspiring and with 78 PCVs in one complex you get to meet someone new almost every half hour. Tonight, we took a trip to a huge community park across the street from our complex, played capture the flag, and jumped from our second story into the pool for a while. All-in-all a great day. The only dissapointment I can think of at this point is that I won't get to hang out with many of the people I've met and really gravitated to because half people volunteers are here for health and the other half are here for water/sanitation, environmental, or various other small groups. We will all get split up eventually, keeping in contact on possible vacation trips, but tomorrow seems very soon to separate from people I have really enjoyed spending time with from DC till now.
Besides that, we are meeting our host families tomorrow and I couldn't be more nervous. I know my Spanish will start to come easier, but right now I'm just hoping I can get through the day tomorrow and keep my family interested enough to keep me around. Excitement and anticipation awaits.
Goin with the flow....
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