Hola todos!
Sorry for the delay in my update, and sorry in advance for the lack of details. I am leaving tonight to move to my site in Lambayeque, so, once I get moved in I'm sure I'll have some free time to write a nice long post.
In the meantime...it will be quite a long trip to my site, and somehow I have to make it there essentially by myself with two large bags and three small bags. I have a lot of household items to buy once I get there, including a nice mattress and storage shelves for all my clothes and other junk. However, today I had the good fortune of finding a nice, big, fluffy down pillow for S/. 11, or roughly $4.
Once I get to my site, I will have to contend with a latrine that is about 50 yards from my house and only a hole in the ground (though at least it has a cement floor) and a makeshift bathing stall in the backyard. However, I have a nice big room with a bed. Hopefully they will have the cement floor, door, and better curtains installed by the time I get there, though I'm not counting on it.
On Thursday we had a Thanksgiving celebration for our host families. We had prepared a skit, a traditional dance, a modern musical number, a slide show, and an embarrassing Spanish quote guessing game for the entertainment, along with pictures of us in recycled newspaper frames for our families, and lots of snacks.
On Friday, we wrapped up our training. In the afternoon we had a nice swearing-in ceremony. The ambassador even came and spoke. We had to swear an oath that is essentially the same as the one used by the military. It felt a little weird to say something along the lines of 'protect and defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic' when talking about the Peace Corps, but at the same time it felt important to join the long and broad traditions of foreign service.
So, wish me luck in settling in to my new site, and hopefully I'll more to share soon!
