It was yet another week of big transition. We finished up phase 1 of training. That meant saying goodbye to most of my cohort and moving in with my host family. I’ve made some life-long friends in my cohort and having to say goodbye was hard. It was just a month ago that I was saying all my goodbyes at home! The amount of big transitions so early in this journey was something that I underestimated—I knew there would be a lot of changes in these first three months, but didn’t realize they would all feel this BIG.
I am now living with a lovely family. The picture was snapped when I had just met my host mom. She welcomed me with a big hug. I am with an experienced host mom—she’s hosted about 20 volunteers over the years!
She and the rest of the family have made me feel most welcome. I am learning how to cook Caribbean food—yesterday I learned how to make tamarind juice. I also learned how to eat a mango the right way—when you visit me, I’ll teach you how! It’s a busy house, with four adults (other than me) and two kids. It’s a tight-knit community, where a lot of folks are related and where everyone knows everyone (literally) and everyone watches out for each other.Having left the hotel that has been my home for the last month, I’ve also left the comfort of the air-conditioned world. It is HOT and HUMID all the time. What The Forecast captured it succinctly on Thursday night. Note the time stamp—this was 9:30pm; the humidity was about 85% and the dew point was 75F.
I’m starting to accept that my clothing will always be soaked with sweat. Between the sweating and the mosquito bites that are all over my legs, I think I look a right mess 99% of the time. 🤷🏻♀️🤣🤣🤣
But I am having a great time and starting to feel connected to the larger community here. This week we were out and about on a Peace Corps field trip and we ran into some students and teachers from the school where we did our lesson a couple weeks ago. They were so excited to see us—some from my classroom even called out ‘Miss Amy’. We also met a woman who told us about how much the Peace Corps meant to her and how happy she was to have us here.
Phase 2 of training officially starts tomorrow. We’re back in the classroom on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, which I am very much looking forward to. 😊
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