¡Aspirante no mas!

So, it finally happened. As of Friday, August 19th, 2011, I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. No more lowly "aspirante" for me! The ceremony took place at our training center in Santa Eulalia with the United States ambassador to Perú speaking. Her words were extremely kind and respectful. Needless to say, the whole day was devestatingly emotional. Luckily, I was too busy basking in the glory of my win in the guacamole-off the day before to get too caught up in the emotions (the Spanish word for "liar" is "mentiroso" in case you were wondering). Luckily, no one caught any proof of my (repeated) momentary lapse(s) of emotional control on film (I think). Instead, I've included photos I was able to take with the last thing I have that will take pictures and will remain nameless for fear that it will get stolen. Enjoy the wonderful people from my life here:





My fantastic host mom, Jannette



 





Mary Kate, Gato, Mateo, Me and Sabrina (a youth development powerhouse)




Me and the Georgia Girls (still going strong)



















Me and the boys just enjoying a casual laugh



Mí Pueblo Nuevo

I'm writing this from the comfort of my new home in Pueblo Nuevo de Colán in the "winter" heat of Northern Perú. Not much to see from the pic 'cus I took it from the plateau just above my town, but way off in the distance is the ocean and below is a lush valley full of farmland surrounded by absolutely desolate desert. Unlike anything I've ever lived in before, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. I arrived here on Monday afternoon to stay for the next two years of my life. Pretty hard to explain that feeling. The one word that keeps coming to mind more so than during my entire training process is "heavy." It just feels weightier being here and know it's for good. No more days at the lovely training center in Santa Eulalia, no more post-lunch hours spent hackey-sacking with the boys (Yeah, that's right, I got into hackey-sack. Figures, right?), no more karaoke nights in Chosica with all of the gringos backing me up on "Baby Got Back." It's sad, but I also feel extremely grateful for having had those amazing experiences before settling in to the real business at hand, my work in my host community. After all, that's why I came here.

Thank you to all of the amazing now-volunteers who continue to support me and never cease to blow my mind at how wonderful you are. And thank you to all of the exceptional people back home who are increasingly on my mind the farther I get into this necessary journey in my life. ¡Ustedes siempre están en mí corazon!