Training assignment

For the last two days we've just been sitting in the Peace Corps office in Quito having sessions on safety and security, the goal of our general assignment (community health), the overall Peace Corps philosophy, and some other stuff.  I felt pretty overwhelmed before I got here, but I feel like although these first days have been kind of boring at times just watching Power Point presentations, I already feel a lot more prepared.  Now I know the 3 main goals of the community health program (child/maternal health, reproductive health/rights, and environmental health), and know a lot more about the principles behind the Peace Corps.  I thought it was interesting that as soon as we start a project in our communities we are supposed to be thinking of an "exit strategy," meaning that the project is sustainable and the development in the community can continue without the help of a volunteer.  We are supposed to be focusing on developing people, not things, so that they realize the capacity they have to develop their own things.

Today we finally found out where we will be living for training (which is actually only 9 weeks, I thought it was 3 months).  I will be in Paquiestancia, a "suburb" of Cayambe with 4 other volunteers.  We will each be with our own host family which we will meet tomorrow and spend the whole weekend with.  I'm excited to meet them, so I don't really have anything else to write until after that!