Site placement & Swear In

The moment we had all been waiting for--our site placements! We were all told to close our eyes as our trainers and PCV leaders guided us to our site on a huge map of Guatemala. After my trip to Huehue, I decided I wanted to be out there, dropping some very obvious hints to our trainers. When I felt myself being led in the opposite direction I started to worry I was in Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Totonicapan or Quetzaltenango. Instead, I ended up in the one place I had completely forgotten about--the coveted department of Sololá, renown for Lake Atitlan. My site is a smaller municipality about 15 minutes past Panajachel, one of the major tourist destinations in Guatemala. I can’t say that I was disappointed but rather, quite surprised. I immediately recalled when I first met the volunteer stationed there who told us that she was selected because she was responsible and took her work seriously. Because of the site’s close proximity to Panajachel, it would be easy for the wrong people to spend their two years partying at the bars instead of working in the communities. As I was remembering this, Sergio, my boss took me aside to remind me of the added responsibilities and temptations of my site, and that I was very carefully selected to be placed there. I assured him that I was here to integrate in my community though I must admit feeling a bit overwhelmed and honored by the placement.

Two days later, we had our swear-in ceremony at the American ambassador’s house in Guatemala City (I.e. third most dangerous city in the world). We were allowed to invite two members from our host family so Doña Susana and her sister, Maria, came as my guests. All of the volunteers and their host families piled into specially-rented camionetas and we rode them into the city. The embassador’s house was large and opulent, a bit embarrassing for most of the volunteers since our host families live very simply, some of them on the brink of poverty. The back yard was enormous with a huge tent built to accommodate the 400 or so guests, composed of all the volunteers in country, PC staff, trainees, host families, and some PC staff from Washington, including the chief of staff. The ceremony was lengthy but full of great speakers, anecdotes, and our inauguration. To be honest, the ceremony was more geared towards PC celebrating its 50 year anniversary and honoring the PCVs about to close their service, acknowledging each of their endeavors. Every time we heard the accomplishments of one of the volunteers, I think all of us new PCVs thought, “What will they say about me in two years?” It’s exciting to think of it as this blank slate to be filled. [I've attached a link that isn't working (copy & paste!) to a story about our swear-in in the Prensa Libre, Guatemala's equivalent of the NY Times. We made the front page!]

http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/Cuerpo-Paz-celebra-anos_0_451154918.html

After the ceremony, I said goodbye to my host family. Wilson refused to say goodbye so picked him up and gave him a kiss. I love that kid! I had already given my family a photo album full of photos of them and us together, a beautiful woven apron for Doña Susana, a coloring book with stickers for Wilson, and earrings for Brenda. I was so overwhelmed by love and gratitude for them that I felt like I couldn’t say what I wanted to without getting emotional. Thankfully, I was rushing to catch the bus so we parted ways almost nonchalantly since I was usually rushing to catch the bus. This was fine though because I know that I´ll see them again soon. After all, they're family.