Training

Sorry to those that have been waiting for an update from me, turns out my modem doesn’t work in my room very well, only near the pila. I am currently towards the end of my training, which is 11 weeks in total.  These weeks have been a rush of Spanish and technical training.  I still feel like a total idiot anytime I meet someone new and have to speak Spanish, so by no means am I fluent and by no means can I understand everyone here.

As of today, I cannot say that I have traveled near and far here, as most of our travels are to nearby sites or are part of training.  I have been to a coffee plantation and a macadamia nut farm, both were equally delicious.  We hiked a large hill in our training community. I have learned to cook rellenitos and tamalitos, and I have eaten my weight in guacamole. I’ve also learned to tolerate things I usually don’t tolerate well, such as fireworks and crowing roosters at 4 am.  If someone were to ask me my points of advice just from these 10 weeks in country, I would definitely recommend: stay away from strawberries, lettuce, and cabbage; always keep pepto and hand sanitizer handy; use a clean mug and wash daily for water instead of nalgenes; wear cheap clothing on the camionetas, even big sunglasses make you look rich and pickpockets will target you; dress in layers and be prepared for random downpours of rain from May to October.  For a successful stay in Guatemala for any future PCVs, my advice would be to be as formal as possible, especially with introductions; know how to make small talk last an hour; insist on helping with cleaning; fawn endlessly over food you enjoy and ask how to make it; do not buy alcohol in small communities; and know that gossip is like a drug here.

For the rest of my training, I travel to my site, which is brand spanking new to the Healthy Homes program! I meet with my counterpart that works at the local Puesto de Salud, meet my new host family, and start figuring out what my next two years will look like.  After my visit, I swear in and become a volunteer.  Pretty exciting, if I may say so.