Wow...time must really be flying considering I have not written a blog since the beginning of the month. I apologize to all my loyal readers (aka my mother) I will try to make more frequent updates.
So to summarize the past month…went swimming in the river every weekend, awesome goodbye party in La Paz, finished FBT, tearful goodbye with my family in Yarumela and a happy reunion with my family in Santa Lucia, moved up to Advanced-Low Spanish level, 2 people in the health group went home, got site announcements and went on visits…and here we are, less than a week away from Swearing In!!
Honestly, sometimes I thought this week would never come. I remember when our project went over the COTE (Calendar of Training Events) and I thought how long it was and that swearing in seemed a lifetime away. But it went by so fast. This Friday we will all be trekking to the US Embassy to swear in as –official- Peace Corps Volunteers!
As I mentioned, we got site announcements…and I will be in El Negrito, Yoro! It is a town of about 12,000 (about 35,000 in the whole municipality) so it’s a medium sized site. It is about 5 hours north of Tegucigalpa and only 2 hours from the beach!! My main counterparts (organizations I am paired to work with that are already in the town) are WorldVision and the local Health Center. I am only the 2nd Health PCV to be placed there so while I have some big shoes to fill, there is a lot of work to be done which is really exciting. Emelina, a Water-Sanitation PCV is going to the same site which is pretty cool. We are close, but we both want to be independent and do our own thing so I think she will be a great sitemate. Last week, one of my counterparts, Doris, came to Santa Lucia to meet me and take me back to El Negrito with her for a visit. I spent 3 days in my new home, getting to know the town and the people a little bit. I loved every minute of it. I stayed with new host family who are all very nice. The last volunteer left her house for me, so in 2 months I will be moving in there. The prospect of having my very own house is incredibly exciting! I saw the outside and it looks wonderful (more reasons to visit!) Everybody that I met was so welcoming and friendly, they are all so excited to have me there and ready to put me to work! Some future projects include: nutrition education and monitoring the weight of babies, hygiene education and charlas, HIV-AIDS charlas to local high schools, forming a support group and micro-businesses for people who are HIV+, creating HIV testing at the health center, meeting and educating local midwives, working at the nutrition center with malnourished children, helping out at the bilingual school, and much more I am sure. There are also a decent amount of projects that Emelina and I can collaborate on which is exciting too. I am in Santa Lucia this week finishing up training and will be in El Negrito permanently May 3rd.
All in all, I am really happy with my site.
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4 comments:
Hola, sweet Andi! El Negrito sounds like a perfect match for you and no surprise at how happy they were to meet you. I can just imagine the sunshine you brought to them. Love hearing about the journey... love you and miss you, Momma
Glad to see that your horizon's are expanding yo! Haven't had much time to follow along with the adventures as of late but I have been reading up. Love the pictures love the energy and yes maam you are looking great! Keep up the good work
-Nelson
(Theman.com)
so you will have an official address soon?
Well being the bad sister that i am, I for some reason stopped reading your blogs starting with this one, I guess I did move in May and had no internet for almost 2 months, but that is still no excuse, this is the begining of me catching up on your blogs! LOVE YOU!
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