Drumroll, please

Just got my site assignment. I don't know why I was so nervous. I tossed and turned all night.

Here's the word: they're sending me to an aldea (which I will not name for security reasons) of San Pedro Carchá in Alta Verapaz. I'll be a second generation volunteer, which means that I'm replacing a volunteer who's finishing her two years now, Kelsey. I'll be going up there next week and meeting her and my counterparts, seeing the schools I'll be working at, and hopefully getting a feel for where I'll be living and working for the next two years. The first three months of my service I'll be living in an apartment with a few other local teachers, and then I'll have the choice of looking for other living arrangements or staying there. I'll be working at three different schools, one larger one with 181 students and 11 teachers, one with 91 students and 3 teachers, and a new school of 27 students and 3 teachers. According to the packet of information that Gonzalo gave me with my assignment, my site is a small rural aldea in the larger municipality of San Pedro Carchá. It's population is totally indigenous, of the ethnic group Kekchi, which is also the predominant spoken language (although they also speak Spanish…good news for me). It's inhabitants mostly work in agriculture, growing corn, coffee, cardamon, and beans.

That's basically all information I have thus far…it will be really exciting to go out there next Tuesday and see what it's like. I've heard through a few other volunteers that it's absolutely beautiful up there; it's super-hot (which I'm happy about) and "tranquilo" (calm). Since I'll be so far north (from what I've heard it's about 6-8 hours from where I'm living now near the training center) I'll be far away from most of my friends in my training class (who are mostly in the West); but visits are always possible, and I'll have a few volunteers close by who are working on other projects, who I have yet to meet.

It's pretty surreal…now I have my site, but I have very little idea of what it all means until I go up there and see for myself. Gonzalo told us this morning before handing out our sites that it is part of our job to develop our sites…in other words, our sites, and our volunteer experience, are what we make of them. I'm anxious to meet Kelsey and get some "insider" information about the aldea.
Vamos a ver...

[Dad, if you read this...you won't find my aldea on the Guatemala map...but San Pedro Carchá is to the East of Cobán...you can see a map here.]