So lucky...

What a crazy day. Arguably one of the most important of my service, and potentially my life.

Today I found out where I will be living and serving for two years. It is a tiny little town near the Municipality of Uspantán, in Quiche, Guatemala. And it is fantastic.

I had the good fortune of visiting this town already! And falling in love with it. It's mountainous, green, warm, gorgeous and absolutely tiny. Oh it also has electricity and water, as well as likely internet connectivity (via a phone modem for my computer). Also there are chickens, a lot of them. Though tiny and quite rural, it's only 40 minutes by bus from the fairly large town of Uspantán, which boasts nice hotels, lots of stores, some awesome clothes shopping options, a pizza place, a large hospital, and tasty Mexican food. It's not exactly Antigua, but it's definitely a good place to have nearby. So in other words, I will be enjoying total immersion with the people of a tiny town with access to amenities and a fair amount of variety in food. In other words, it couldn't be better.


Emotions upon finding out? Absolute happiness - I received the site I asked for. Not everyone is so lucky. I had been there, and I had loved it. I told my APCD (associate Peace Corps director, the "boss" of my program) how much I liked it. I really couldn't have been happier when he told me I was going there. However, I certainly had to wonder who my female partner was going to be - it could have been anyone out of the 20-some women in my program. Then, when it was announced very slyly that my site mate was actually PRESENT (there were 8 of us in the group finding out at that moment) I got really excited - I got along well with everyone there. And then, when he told me that Cat, one of my closest friends from training, was my partner, there was screaming and tears and hugging. It was certainly one of the most shocking moments of my life. We hadn't even considered the option of being put together and that made the moment even more wonderful, and utterly memorable.

We are also fortunate enough to have a family of volunteers welcoming us to our site! We are the first to be placed in our aldea, but there are a few volunteers in the center and others nearby. Two other pairs from my training group have also been placed in Uspantán, although in very rural sites. However, I am so excited to have a group of six of us so close by and to be welcomed by already established volunteers.

Site visit is next week. Impressions will be carefully noted, stored, and brought back to share with everyone soon!

It's mid-training already!

After more than a month in country, I'm happy to report all is still well. I have done a lot: avoided major stomach illness, gotten to know my new home by wandering around its dusty streets and politely greeting everyone I see, wondered at how cheap and also expensive things are here, bonded with my host family, enjoyed way too much Sarita brand ice cream, climbed a volcano, made friends with my neighborhood stray dog by giving him crackers, fallen out of a tree, laughed day and night to hear the sound of the very vocal"ZETAGAAAS" vendors parading up and down the streets, been taken aback at the amazing and unexpected view of the Volcano Agua from my roof, gotten to appreciate the wisdom and complex life of my host mother, been happy to be surrounded by beautiful colors, realized how much I have to learn from the other volunteers, and been amazed at how at home I feel here. While I recognize I'm still in the "first adjustment" stage and that there is a second, more difficult, adjustment stage to come, I feel good. Guatemala is a complicated place, and I can't say that I feel ready to speak about it yet - not until I know it better. However, I do feel comfortable in describing a couple of experiences I've had so far!

I gave my first charla! For those who don't know, charlas (literally "chats" in Spanish) are basically interactive presentations that we give in health centers (or elsewhere) on various health topics. Once we get to our permanent sites, we will be doing countless charlas for waiting rooms, health centers/posts, health promoters, and wherever else possible. My very first charla in Spanish was at my local health center in my town. I did a pretty simple one on washing your hands. I started out by greeting everyone in the waiting room (maybe 10 people, tops) by shaking their hands. I had red glitter on my hands, so everyone ended up with glittery hands. Then, I used this experience to lead a discussion about what the glitter could represent - germs! - and how we can avoid germs in our daily lives. This was followed by an activity where the audience helped to put in order cards with the steps for washing one's hands. Altogether it was a very simple presentation. I was lucky as the audience was very participatory - their kind smiles at first saying, "Let's humor this random gringa that wants to talk to us about washing our hands", and then later their smiles saying they were truly enjoying the activity. A great experience for my first charla, with many many more to come!

The experience of language class has been really good. My group and I have certainly been improving (I went up two Spanish levels!) while having tons of fun going on educational trips. We went to a giant, very typical Guatemalan market in Chimaltenango, visited a coffee farm and went on a coffee making tour, climbed a mountain near our town, and cooked lots of Guatemalan and American food. Having a fantastic teacher was part of the great experience - Peace Corps does a great job making sure we have lots of language guidance, and the teachers make sure we enjoy lots of cultural experiences.

As for my future site: we found out that the sites for Healthy Homes volunteers will be in the departments of Totonicapán, El Quiché, San Marcos, and Huehuetenango. That means I'll be living in one of these departments, all in the Western Highlands! Can't say a lot more other than I cannot WAIT to find out where my home for two years will be - but that's not for a few more weeks.

My last lovely experience was when I was teaching my little host sister in English how to say "I love" finishing it with foods she likes, when she said "I love...Megan." I was delighted - both at her English skills and also that I finally have a real little sister! This experience shows the cornerstone of my time here - personal relationships with individuals in this country, and how important my host families and friends are - and will be - during my time here.


This week we are off to explore some parts of the departments of Quiché and Totonicapán for field-based training. We'll be visiting two different "real" volunteers in their sites for a few days each. We will be giving charlas and getting to know the communities where these volunteers serve. It will be an adventure, and I'll finally get to see the areas that will become our homes for the next two years!