Pre-Service Orientation

I'm in Miami. In ten hours, 33 fellow vounteers and I will be getting on a flight to Brazil and then ultimately Paraguay. The past few days have gone by quickly. Here's what happened:

After arriving at the hotel, checking into my room, forgetting my welcome book, locking myself out of my room, getting through registrtation and an ice -breaker, our orientation began.

We were welcomed to the beginning of our training and given brief introductions to the staff and other trainees. All of the volunteers were friendly, and everyone shook hands and smiled, but I was anxious. Everyone seemed to be a lot more qualified for their positions and more prepared then I seemed to feel. That feeling slowly passed as the sessions went on.

We discussed our personal definitions of success, issues of safety and support, and our various anxieties and aspirations. Mine varied from being excited about meeting our communities, being able to make some lasting change, and speaking another language, to feeling anxious about not being properly accepted, missing home, and this.

After dinner and a good night of sleep, we began our second day of training which dealt with "How to Deal with unwanted attention", managing risk, and various policies that will get us fired (such as riding a bike without a helmet!).

It was nice to learn through training that the Paraguay program has a) A very low turn over rate b) one of the best Peace Corps doctors heading up our Medical Office, and c) the lowest crime rate out of all the South American Countries that the Peace Corps serves in. So that's pretty good. (Although we are at risk for Dengue Fever)

Many cultural introductions, ice breakers, and pre-departure logistics later, we were let out, free to explore Miami and enjoy our last night in the States for who knows how long.

My group turned out to be a lot of fun and I think I am the youngest by a few months. The age range is from 22-34, we have two married couples, and the avg age is 26. All interesting folk.

All right. That's enough. Thanks for reading. Now on to Paraguay.

Casey