The 9-5 Grind

I feel like I haven't had a chance to really explain fully what I do as a Peace Corps Trainee so I'd like to use this post to explain what I've been up to and what's ahead.

My typical routine since I arrived at site is as follows:
7-8: Wake up and eat
8-11:45: Spanish Class
12-1: Lunch at home
1-5: Technical Class
5-6: End of technical class/Spanish
6-10/11: From here my typical routine diverges into several activities. Football is probably my most favorite activity here and I play about twice a week. There's a kid that's about 11 years old and he's probably one of the best players in the community. He puts all of us gringos to shame. In second place is writing. I probably commit two nights a week to some form of writing. I've also spent time watching TV shows, playing Uno, and having long conversations with my host brother who is 19 years old and has the knowledge about life things that a typical college grad would have.

Weekends have been pretty random. I've had a scavenger hunt in Panama City, a beach day in Santa Clara, a dance party at the community meeting place, a birthday party at a fellow trainee's house, machete training, and some technical classes as well.

Some days break from the norm. I have already had my volunteer site visit where I got to see how a volunteer lives a typical few days.  I've also had my first interview to determine what site would interest me. Potential sites for my group don't have electricity, are almost entirely indigenous, and are a decent hike away from the nearest road. I've decided that the only thing I want is cell service and everything else, I'll face the challenge.

Coming up for the next week, we will begin "tech week." This will be a week long series of classes at one volunteer's site to learn about lots of various topics. These topics include surveying practice, a jungle hike, and thermoforming.

After tech week, I will return to regular classes and that Friday, August 2nd, I will receive my site placement. The next Wednesday, I will leave for several days to visit my site and begin moving in. After that it's about another week of class and document signing and then I get to swear in as a Peace Corps Volunteer!

I hope I was as informative as I could be. If not, please feel free to shoot me some questions in the comments. If you can't post a comment, shoot me an email to complain and I'll get to fixing it... eventually.