Here I Go

I have finally earned the title Peace Corps VOLUNTEER. My days of training in Vista Alegre have come to an end, and I just arrived in the city of Piura, the regional capital. The past couple weeks have been a blur, with the majority of the time spent making final preparations for our official Peace Corp Service. This past Friday was the induction ceremony which was held at a local high school. All of the host families came as well as representatives from the embassy. We spent that night in Lima enjoying our last night together as a group. It was a bittersweet departure, as I really enjoyed the first 10 weeks. I had really grown close to my host family, so it was sad to leave them.
We are now in a pretty brutal transition. Up to this point we haven’t had to think a whole lot. The training staff has walked us through every step of ever procedure. As of today, however we are completely on our own. Each volunteer will be entering his or her community within the next couple days and will begin the process of integration.
This evening I will be departing for my site with the mayor of the district. The next two weeks will be spent moving in, getting to know my neighbors and learning Spanish. I will not have access to mail, internet or phones for the next bit, so keep that in mind if you are awaiting a reply. When I return I’ll be able to provide a better picture of my site and, I’m sure, some fun stories.


Also, my address has changed. So from now on please use the following:
Ryan Nelson
Casilla postal #131
Serpost Piura
Piura Piura, PERU