I finally made it!! Staging was fast, we talked a lot about our expectations and fears. Staging ended at 7pm and then left for the airport at 2:00 am, got to the airport at 2:20 for a 6 am flight (airport doesn't open until 4). When we arrived at 1pm in El Salvador we travelled to San Vicente, where we begun training. I have learned so far that Peace Corps El Salvador has one of the lowest early termination rates and the director and staff are awesome! The main guy for Rural Health is a surgeon and today he helped during training from 7am to 6pm and then went to the hospital to work from 7pm to 7am and will be back with us for a full day of training. He has a crazy life! The food has been awesome so far, I had my first fried plantain and my first pupusa both were great! We also started our malaria pills (i have to take once a week for the rest of my service) and immunizations.
Tomorrow will be my first day with my host family, I am very nervous! My Spanish is not so good, which I was reminded of today when we had our spanish interviews to determine our level and which groups we will be in. I will be in the lowest group for sure! My training group is awesome, there is 28 of us, half are rural heath and the other half are community organization and environmental development.
It is so hot and humid, it is going to take a while for me to get used to this climate! Luckily the training center is air conditioned so we aren't constantly sweating. The country is beautiful and it is so funny to see children riding in the back of a large truck on top of a huge stack of bricks! So unsafe! Also funny things are military men just walking around with HUGE guns, toilet paper is thrown in the trash NOT flushed because it will clog the systems, and the amount of new cars around town!
I have talked and dreamed of joining the Peace Corps for so long, I can hardly believe that I am really here and will be for the next 2+ years. It seems much more daunting than it did from the comforts of my own home. It is really scary right now thinking that I am going to join a Salvadorian family tomorrow and hardly be able to talk to them, but I will learn and I am excited for the day when I can hold a conversation!
I would like to apologize a head of time to everyone reading this that I am a terrible writer and to expect scattered thoughts and mistakes!
