The First Week of PCT

I have now finished a full week of official Peace Corps training and am pleased to say that my homestay and training is going well. Guatemala is truly an amazing country, and I am grateful to be staying here for my 27 months of service.

El Volcán de Agua

My host family placement for the first three months of training could not be better. I live 30 min away from the city of Antigua with Doña Lupe, Don Luís, and their son Fernando, who is 22 years old. The town itself is very small, with many boot stores along the main drag. There is a small cement park composed of a basketball court, and an open slab in front of a catholic church not too far from the house. All in all, I’d say that I lucked out. My house is very large compared to the others I’ve seen, with a perfect view of The Volcano of Water, HOT SHOWERS, and internet access 24/7 (which is almost unheard of in these parts). Still, I try to stay off the interwebs and talk to my host family and townspeople as much as possible. This past Sunday, my host parents celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary, and had a party in their backyard. There was a live marimba band and many family members in attendance with whom I attempted to dance.

Lunch with Farah (PCT) and Chepe

A typical day as a trainee begins with waking up at 7am, eating Corn Flakes with hot milk, and drinking a cup of instant coffee. Two things: (1) Apparently “Corn Flakes” is used to describe all brands of cereal, much like Kleenex is used to describe all brands of tissues in the US. (2) If Guatemala is the capital of great coffee, why does Nescafe make an appearance down here? I digress. After breakfast, I make my way to one of the other volunteers’ homestay to begin our daily Spanish lesson (Level: High intermediate). The lesson itself is with 3 other trainees and our Spanish instructor, Chepe Chapín. Chepe is a 38 year old Guatemalan instructor that is one of the best people, and characters, I have ever had the opportunity of knowing. After chatting in Spanish for the majority of the day, we say our goodbyes to Chepe, and usually go to the park and play games around 3pm. Yesterday, we played Go Fish with a Guatemalan woman and her daughter, who had a baby chicken that we greeted with open palms (I really need to start taking more pictures).

This past Tuesday, all of the PCTs met in the Peace Corps office in Santa Lucía. There, we learned how to avoid unwanted attention and had more ice-breaker sessions with our fellow “allies (PCTs).” Thankfully, a new era is upon us. We now have cell phones! With these platonic devices, we can now communicate with the other trainees living afar. The possibilities are endless.

Other Experiences:

-Rabies vaccination: 60% of all volunteers serving in Guatemala have been bitten by stray dogs.

-Many animals live with host families: It is truly aggravating to learn vocabulary from a parrot. 

-Camionetas: These death machines are chicken busses (school busses) used as public transportation.

-Mice: While I was writing this blog, a mouse came into my room and almost gave me a heart attack.