Today is a very significant day. Not only is it our two month mark in the DR, but we also got our site assignments and cell phones today - two very long awaited additions to Peace Corps training! Tomorrow we’ll meet our project partners and then travel to our sites for a 5 day visit getting to know our new homes as best we can. Then we’ll return here to the capital for the Swearing-In ceremony, All Volunteers Conference, and then the Education Sector will have literacy training. Which essentially means I’ll get to live here with my Pantoja host family for an extra week + a few days, which is great because I’m not ready to give them up yet. :-)
So my site...I will be serving at a special needs school in Mao which is in the north of the country, to the southwest of Puerta Plata. (If you’re looking at my map above, Mao is located behind the letter “t”). It is a bigger pueblo/city and the school has about 30 students ranging in ages from 5-20. I don’t know too much more about the town itself other than what it said (in Spanish) in the Peace Corps site description. And since I haven’t had internet to Google “Mao” just yet, I’ll wait and post more about it after this weekend.
In other news, I showed my Peace Corps cell phone to my host family, gave them my new number, and my youngest host brother offered to put music on it for me. So now I have a good mix of 52 reggae, salsa, merengue and bachata (Aventura included, of course) songs.
More to come soon. Be well and thank you for reading!
My host family at a church fair last Sunday
At Entrena with my Spanish class
xo,
Emma
Wow! That's Great Emma! I think this is the placement you wanted right? Mao is on the other side of the country...how far from Santo Domingo and how will you get there? Two years will be spent here? Keep wearing that gorgeous smile...luv Papa xoxo
ReplyDeleteHi Emma, catching up on all your news. Congratulations on your placement AND getting your cell phone. Now dont give that number to your mom or she'll be calling ya every night. You look so healthy and happy. Hope you'll be able to keep jogging in Mao. Your writing is wonderful. You should make this into a little book when you are done, it would inspire others to join the Peace Corps. Did you ever read Three Cups of Tea, your writing is as good as that. Love from Dennis and Kathy
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