Well, I have just completed a day and a half of staging, and tomorrow morning we (the other 35 volunteers in my training class and myself) get on a plane for Guatemala where we will spend the next three months as Trainees. Hopefully all 36 of us will still be around in 12 weeks for the swearing in. Everyone is pretty cool, and it will be great to hang out with most of these people in Guatemala for the next few months as we all go through the training process.
As far as updates, my assignment has already changed! Apparently my research will be more easily facilitated if I am part of the Environmental Education group... so ecotourism is out. I still am not sure exactly how this will affect me, but I guess that is part of the "Peace Corps experience."
We are headed for a smaller town outside of Antigua called Santa Lucia Milpas Altas. We are supposed to be there for the next three days in a "retreat" where they will test our Spanish skills and assign us to our training sites. This concept, as far as I understand it, is relatively new. We are all placed with homestay families and we will be moving in with them on Saturday, but rather than do language training all together in a group, we have all of our training in communities around the training center in Santa Lucia Milpas Altas. Class sizes are limited to either individuals or maybe only 4 or 5 (still have no clue as to which) and are held "locally, like in a church or in your host family's courtyard," and only meet with the whole training class on Fridays (if even then... we are all pretty confused about this and the staging staff has not explained it fully). Apparently this type of "In-Site Training" has proved to be much more successful in the last year or two in boosting language learning rates (probably because you can't speak English to people every day and you are much more isolated from other trainees). In any case, it seems like this training will be different than the ones I have heard about. I'll be sure to explain this more clearly as soon as I understand it myself.
This will probably be the only entry for at least a week or so because of all the settling in bugs that I have to work out. In the meantime, for anyone that is worried, know that I'm being well taken care of and learning a lot. Peace.
Something to be Thankful For
14 years ago
8 comments:
Kyle Brill! It's Ross. That's awesome you are headed into the Peace Corps! Your position has a lot of words in it, so I'm sure it's something cool. I'll check out your blog from time to time... Don't forget your malaria medicine.
Hard to believe one of the 07/08ers is already abroad. That training program sounds pretty awesome. What are they going to do with you? Aren't you pretty much fluent already?
I'll get my blog back up and then we can link to each other and it will be oh so cute.
Haha... I read your entry and in my head just thought "Welcome to the Peace Corps, Mr. Brill."
Good luck! I'll be thinking of you and your other PCTs.
Kyle, just remember nothing is worse than Sexually Transmitted Diseases, don't be a fool wrap your tool, and I hope to meet the future Mrs. Kyle Brill when you come back to the states. Because nothing says "US Citizen" more than a lonely American boy helping a foreign chick get her Green Card.
Good Luck,
Hable
Kyle, are you really going to be in the US in July of 2008? When, where, why, and how buddy...this is need to know information, haha. I hope you are enjoying yourself. Your blog page rocks. ;) take care!
Hey Kyle, hope you are having a good time don't do anything that i wouldn't twice haha. we all miss you good luck and be safe.
Don't eat anything I wouldn't eat, Kyle! That pretty much limits you to packaged rolls of Ritz crackers, rice and peanut butter. Oh and any peel-able fruits! Love you!
Dawn
i miss you already-- you better be safe... or your wife is going to be pissed at you :)
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