200 books

During a training session yesterday, our training officer told us about a volunteer whom he had recently met at a COS (Close of Service) conference. Apparently the volunteer claimed that his biggest accomplishment during his service was reading 200 books, front to back. Apparently this guy spent his days in a hammock in his house, reading. The training director used this as an example of why volunteers must display a certain amount of initiative in order to have a worthwhile term of service. I guess it just struck me that in a few weeks, I'll be placed somewhere out there in rural Guatemala with no schedule, nobody looking over my shoulder, nothing. If I wanted to lay in a hammock all day and read John Grisham novels, I guess I could. Training is so structured and organized...we're told when to be where, what to study, who to live with, what to eat, etc. But service is going to be so different. Part of me is very excited about the freedom I'll have, but another part of me is terrified that I won't be able to put forth enough initiative to really make use of my time in country. Working in such an unstructured environment is going to be a big learning opportunity for me. Like everything else here, I'll just have to take it day by day.