Dear Katherine, Congratulations!...

"Dear Katherine,

"Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Guatemala for Peace Corps service."

Et cetera

I have roughly 5 more weeks until January 4th when I will fly to Washington D.C. for one or two days, then head off to Guatemala where I will begin 3 months of language, cultural, and job training. After those 3 months I will be placed in a village or town where I will live with a host family for at least 3 months; these people who speak some Spanish and more likely will speak one or some of 22+ Amerindian indigenous languages. The program is "Sustainable Community Tourism" under which falls Environmental Education, Ecotourism, Conservation and Management, and a bunch of other job titles related to sustaining a healthy and natural environment both for the people and the ecosystem as a whole.

I can take 80lbs worth of stuff, and will have to be able to carry it all on my person at some times. I have to pack prepared for both cold cold, and humid, and warm, and rainy, and neutral. I won't know exactly where in the country I will be going to until I actually get there, pass their language proficiency exam, and wait for them to determine where my skills would be best used.

4 comments:

Stephen Kwo said...

Buena Suerte y Vaya con Dios! The Kwo fam will definitely look fwd to ur postings & live the Guatemalan Peace Corps experiences vicariously thru u & ur blogs. Make sure u pack a vball too (deflate it & bring a small pump & spare needles ;)

John Kim said...

Stephen... Kate can take 80 lbs with her... so if you drop about 50 lbs....

From: Lisa Martin said...

Don't come back until you are fluent in Spanish or else!

Feliz navidad y pasatelo muy bien en Guatemala. Estas en una epoca divertidisima asi que, aproveche ahora eres joven!

Un abrazo fuerte, chica.

prabourne said...

I still plan to vacation there in the late spring so let me know where they end up sending you. I can bring you whatever you forgot to pack in your 80lbs :-)

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