Tuesday morning, I flew to Miami, where we had Staging,
which is a brief orientation to Peace Corps service where Peace Corps Invitees
officially become Peace Corps Trainees and where volunteers get to know each
other before they venture to a foreign country together. Wednesday, we
travelled to Barranquilla and moved into the Hotel Caribe, our temporary home
where we had introductory trainings, vaccinations, and paperwork-related activities
before we met our host families on Saturday.
- Tuesday – I woke up this morning at 3:30 to prepare for
travel to Miami. After running around trying to get my life together for
who-knows-how-long in Colombia, Mom, Dad, and I went to the Pittsburgh airport
for my 8:40 AM flight. We had breakfast together before I hugged them and waved
what must have been a million times as I passed through security. I headed off
toward my terminal knowing the hardest part was done – I had said, “see you
later,” to everyone and God would handle the rest. I arrived safely in Miami,
checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel alongside my roommate for Staging. That
afternoon, we had Staging, which is an orientation to Peace Corps service – we
learned (or, rather, re-learned) about the 3 Goals and Core Expectations that
would guide our service and participated in team-building activities that
showed the strength of our newly-formed volunteer family.
- Wednesday – Today was our big travel day from Miami to
Barranquilla – I say “big” because there are 33 people in our group and we had
to try to get all of them and their luggage to the Hotel Caribe 79. With lots
of waiting, a few really nice people at the airport, surprisingly little drama,
and friends to talk to on the plane, we made it. Awaiting our arrival was not
only the Country Director, but also a big group of volunteers who have been
here the past 1 or 2 years. They cheered as each of us came out of the airport
and gave us signs with our names on them welcoming the volunteers of CII-6 (our
group, since this is the second time the Peace Corps has to Colombia and we are
the sixth group since we came back). We took a huge bus to our hotel and, after
quickly moving into our rooms, went down for dinner, where the volunteers from
CII-4 and CII-5 sang us a song about being Peace Corps trainees (to the tune of
Smashmouth’s “All Star” – I really liked the song) and demonstrated a few
popular local dances. Of course, we all went to bed completely exhausted from
our day, but excited to finally be in Colombia.
- Thursday and Friday – Training, training, so much
training: blood tests and vaccines; interviews for language proficiency, host
family preferences, and medical paperwork; Colombian cell phones, bank
accounts, and immigration papers, oh my! And that’s not including the
presentation in the afternoon. Wow, no wonder I’m still exhausted!
- Saturday – Finally, after a few more presentations in the
morning, we got to meet our host families! I met my host mom in the
hotel lobby and we talked a bit and filled out Peace Corps paperwork before
heading home. There, I met my host dad and moved into my room. Later,
I also met my host sister and her son, who is two years
old. We also have an adorable Yorkie named Sony. I don’t think my host nephew/brother (I haven't figured out what to call him, yet) has
said anything to me, yet, but everyone seems happy to have me here, especially
Sony, who greets me by wagging his whole body and licking my feet.
- Children and pets make life happier, at least, in my
opinion.
- “Cerca” is very
relative. If someone says it’s 5 blocks, it may be 5 or 20. When in doubt,
consult a map…or a taxista.
- Juice is served with almost every meal here, since there’s
an abundance of fresh fruit. As delicious as the juice is, be sure to eat
enough fruit, as well, to get the fiber you need.
- Speaking of fiber, if you ever really need fiber, eat
papaya, which is particularly delicious with lemon juice.
- Other things that are served with almost every meal: rice
and/or arepas, which are kind of like
really dense not-sweet corn pancakes. Both are extremely filling, so don’t be
afraid to tell your host family, “Thank you, but I can only eat one/a little.”
- Deodorant is expensive here and you will be sweating all
the time (probably for the entire time you are here), so bring lots.
- I haven’t had to buy them, yet, but apparently, razors are
also expensive, so again, bring lots.
- “Papaya” has a
lot of meanings here that have nothing to do with fruit. One is, “opportunity,”
like, for thieves to take your stuff. Though I haven’t figured out exactly how
they say it, yet, people often tell others not to “give papaya.” Essentially,
don’t leave your stuff around and always be aware of where your belongings are.
Some of the best thieves in Latin America live here, so if you look away from
your stuff for a moment, you can be almost positive whatever it is will be
gone. Try not to be too upset with the culture, though – you live in a big city
after all, so it’s not that much different from the United States. Just always
keep an eye on your stuff, especially on buses and in crowded areas.
- If you have a card that has your blood type on it (like a
blood donor card), bring that because you will need it almost immediately after
you arrive. Immigration wants to know your blood type, so you either need to
have that card or have a blood test.
- Unbelievably, you can drink the water here, in
Barranquilla. That said, I highly recommend seeking out filtered water for the
first few weeks you are here…unless the filter hasn’t been cleaned in the last
six months…then, tap water is better.
- “¿Cómo
amaneciste?” is a greeting you will hear almost every morning and is an
important part of the day. (It also translates literally to something like,
“How did you sunrise?” which is adorable.) Remember how your parents told you
to always say, “Good morning,” first and then start talking? Well, if you don’t
exchange the customary, “Buenos días,
¿cómo amaneció?” with others, they may think you are mad at them, so just
like your parents told you, don’t forget to say, “Good morning,” and ask how
they (sun)rose. J
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