¡estoy aquí!

The past few days have been very hectic, but I have finally settled down in my new home. I apologize for the delay of updating the blog, but this is the first chance I’ve gotten to sit down and write. We arrived in Lima late on Friday night and took a bus to a retreat center. We spent the next day in orientation and getting to know the Peace Corps Peru staff. All of the staff gave us a very warm welcome. It seems like they will all be great resources for us.

The retreat also gave us the opportunity to get to know all of the other trainees better. Everyone seems very nice and I’m excited to get to know everyone. We come from all over the US: from California to Nebraska to Hawaii to Puerto Rico to New York to Virginia (I have 4 fellow Virginians in my group!). There are a lot of us who are right out of college or grad school or a few years out of school. There is also a married couple as well as a 65 year old woman who has been a nurse for many years. All of us seem to get along well. The next 3 months of training will give us a chance to share our experiences as well as grow as a team in order to serve the Peruvian communities as best as we can.

On Sunday, we were taken to the Training Center in Chaclacayo, a town about an hour away from Lima. The Center is a beautiful house that has been converted into a place for us to train as well as office space for some of the PC staff (check out the pics!). We will be spending some of our days in the next 3 months at the center with the Peace Corps staff, while we’ll spend other days in our neighboring communities. We have been separated into 5 nearby towns. I live in Huascaran with 11 other trainees. Huascaran is about a 15 minute walk to the training center. Some days I will walk to the training center, other days I’ll take a combi (mini-bus) to a nearby community to do training at a fellow trainee’s house, and other days fellow trainees will come to my host family’s house for training. I think it will be a great experience to have some of the training in the home, as we will be immersed in the Peruvian culture and language.

In addition to intensive language training, the pre-service training will focus on increasing our abilities to (1) facilitate participative community development, (2) build the capacity as a co-facilitator, learner, mentor and change agent, (3) integrate into a Peruvian community, (4) practice personal safety and wellness as a volunteer in Peru, and (5) participate as a professional in the Peace Corps Peru mission and focus.