A Long Time Coming

To preface this blog entry, I would like to make a little note for my parents (all four of them): You are awesome. You have loved and supported us in this incredible journey that we have embarked upon in every way that one could ask. For this I thank you and, therefore, apologize vehemently for not contacting you all individually on a more frequent basis. The past week-and-a-half has been a whirlwind, as you're about to see; but do not worry, we have not forgotten you and, in fact, feel terribly that we haven't communicated more.

Those of you not parents, thanks for bearing with me through that. Public apologies can make everyone feel a little awkward.

So last week was our final as Peace Corps Trainees. We stayed at the luxurious Garden City Hotel (please note that italics signify sarcasm) after being informed that our most recent host family in Belmopan could no longer host us due to personal reasons. There is a story behind this, which I am more than willing to recount for you in a personal e-mail or over the phone; however, for the sake of propriety I feel compelled to omit this anecdote from our blog. Suffice it to say, we have now had three host families when most trainees only have two, and we were supposed to move in with a fourth after swearing-in to continue our assimilation. Thankfully, since we had already found the place we're going to be renting for the remainder of our time here, the Peace Corps staff here in Belize were willing to make an exception for us and allowed us to forgo the fourth host family and move directly to our new place. More on that to follow.

So last week. We spent the better part of the week doing the final training bits. Lots of summarizing and the obligatory "See how far you've come," talk. I must admit that our training group is fantastic, and our group dynamic is equal parts loving, accepting, competitive, and challenging. Even still, I'm glad to see the training itself come to an end. On Friday morning, all the volunteers, trainees, and staff assembled with host families, Belizean counterparts, and others for our official swearing-in ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Governor General's home here in Belmopan, where "His Excellency" himself stood next to the US Ambassador to Belize and the Peace Corps Belize Country Director and shook hands with each of the 36 new PCVs. Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Following the ceremony, there was the annual trainees/volunteer futbol game. Now as you can imagine, I was incredibly excited about this. In fact, I organized two "practices" in the week leading up to the game in hopes of helping us win. But mostly, I just wanted to play. Our trainee group had a good bit of talent, and a lot of heart, but the current volunteers had plenty of resources as well, especially since there are two "classes" of volunteers in Belize already--meaning about twice the number of trainees. The game was hard-fought. The trainee team had a large share of possession, but the resilient volunteer defense kept goal-scoring opportunities to a minimum. After two 25-minute halves, the game finally ended at a 2-2 draw. Both teams had given their all, and neither team had reason to gloat or pout. I'm not sure I can imagine a more fair outcome.

Immediately after the game and a quick shower, we all boarded a bus to go to the other side of town to attend the ambassador's reception of the new volunteers. Here's where the fun happens. We went to the personal home of US Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally where his wife catered dinner for us and opened their home to entertain us. This, I am assured, is not a common occurrence in Peace Corps, but apparently Mr. Thummalapally has a heart for us and the work we do, so he shows his appreciation in this way. All I can say is thanks. It was a truly unforgettable experience. Even down to the end when his wife asked our bus to wait because she didn't want to break-up the fun.

Of course, back at the hotel, a party did continue into the wee hours of the morning. An enjoyable time was had by all--or at least all I have spoken to since. The next morning we awoke relatively early and began moving into our new home. We're living in the guest-house, you could say, of John and his finacee Sylvia. Their place was recommended to us by some of the Peace Corps staff, and apparently they have had pretty close relationships with previous volunteers. It only took one look for us to fall in love with the place. It may not be particularly spacious, but it's incredibly comfortable and functional. I was going to post pictures, but due to super-slow internet and the amount of time you've already waited to see this blog, I'll try to describe it instead.

Our place is a small three-room guest-house. Three rooms as in bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. It is, however, incredibly well layed-out with lots of built-in shelving and a vibrant color-scheme. The house is situated behind John and Sylvia's place so it's just barely viewable from the road. Out our kitchen window is the small garden with some herbs and vegetables, and between our place and theirs is a beautiful pergola with ivy growing up the sides and overhead and a table and chairs underneath. I'll try to take the time to show pictures later, because it's a truly idyllic place and my words hardly describe it.

Finally, this week is our first "on the job." It's been interesting the past few days trying to figure out how scheduling will work, and where we need to be for which activities. That pretty much brings us to the present. Oh, one additional thing for my darling sister. Thanks so much for posting the picture of Luna for us. I can't tell you how happy it made us. I mean, Kathryn immediately broke into tears because she misses her so badly, but just seeing her was wonderful. Okay, that should be enough food for thought. Until next time!

Peace,

Cisco