Yesterday I had a ´chat´ with my boss, the Associate Peace Corps Director who is the head of the Community Based Environmental Management Program. We all talked to him the first week about how training was going and our preferences for sites (mountains or cost, city or countryside, isolation, types of projects, amenities, etc). At the time, I tried not to have too many preferences--it takes flexibility to be a good volunteer, and I trust that the staff know more than I do about successful site placement. However, I did state that I couldn´t be too high in the mountains (more than 10,000 feet or so) because I get altitude sickness, and we talked about my interest in alternative energy projects, women´s and youth empowerment, and cuisine.
So, this week was supposed to be more of the same before site placements are finalized and we get our assignments next week. However, apparently he is already basically finished with his ´game of chess´. He is also infamous for not being able to keep it a secret once his decisions are made. He gave me some very telling hints about what department I will be placed in, but I am sworn to secrecy until it is official. Also, we had our first Environment trainee go home on Tuesday (Health, at the other training center, has already lost 3), so things could still change.
However, I can say that he promised me a site that wasn´t in the mountains. He also told me the names of three other people that will be in my cluster (people that live close enough that you could make a day trip of a visit). I will be the first Peace Corps volunteer that has lived in my site, which I think will be both positive and negative. Apparently the mayor in my town is very receptive, which is rare, as well as the school. My town has about 300 families, which would make it around the same size as the town I grew up in. He said I will have running water, but I probably won´t have electricity (I think I won´t know for sure until I get there). I will have 3 school-age host sisters, and my house will be part of an extended family complex that is near the school. I´m hoping that I will get to work with the alernative energy project that is starting up next year, but he didn´t really say.
Yesterday we did our first practice sessions of teaching in the schools. My partner and I did a 30-minute session on trash, recycling, and composting for 4th graders, and I think it went well. Today we all brought in a day´s worth of trash from our host families, and did a big waste characterization study. Tomorrow we are traveling to Asia...a town on the beach a couple of hours away. With a different partner, I somehow have to explain global warming and its effects on Perú in 15 minutes to 13-15 year olds. Then we get a free lunch on the beach, and depending on the weather, we may get to go in the water.
That´s it for now, but tune in next week for the news of my official site placement!
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