PST - Pre Service Training

Pre-Service Training. This is what I've been doing so far. It includes so cultural exchanges but mostly policy, safety and security, health sessions, language instructions etc. 7:30am-5pm. Busy days. But only until Thursday. At that point we'll head to our first host family. Woohoo...



So I'm in Belmopan. What I've learned about this place so far...



Large Chinese Population. Mostly Chinese food. Always fried chicken available. "Me wahn dah fihv dolla fried chickn" in Kriol. Also, hamburgers, when orders as such - come with ham. Beef burgers will be what most would want to order. Veggie burgers.. buns with lettuce, tomato and maybe some cucumber. The Coke has sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. Hooray! Still not good for a person though.



It gets dark very early in a town with little lighting. By about 6:30-7 its getting dark and apparently not safe to walk around any longer. This has been a challenge but with a team of 41 it hasn't been a hard task to find a group to be with. Quite the opposite, down time or "me" time is sparse.. probably for the best. UNLESS, you are struck with one of the inevitable symptoms of international travel: diarrhea.



Yes, that word is disgusting. But I think I'm gonna get over that. Tomorrow, with Nurse Jackie, we have the health session title: Diarrhea. It will great fun, I'm sure. And funny, no doubt. Nurse Jackie is hilarious.

It is strange to have it dark so early here, and with no street lights, or not many at least - PC urges us not to walk at night. Even in large groups. I can't say we've completely adhered to the 'rules' but so far we're all still here and safe. I will say that it is frustrating to have to heed so much caution to walking around at any time alone as a gringa here. So much attention is given to us white gyals, and definitely when one is alone. However, on Saturday - which is more descriptively conveyed below, I left my room in the afternoon to walk to the store and the PC office. Walking across the path that cuts through a field, my head was hung due to the intensity of the sun and the headache I was enduring. A middle age man called out to me from a little ways off, approaching. "Hey Lady!" I looked up, mustered a smile and said hello back. As he got closer he said, "Why you look so sad?" I smiled again and said something like, oh no, I'm fine. He handed me a little rose, very fragrant, and said, "Here ya go gyal. Take this it will make you be happy. This will make your day better." And off he went. I really did smile then because his kindness seemed genuine, without the motive of flirting in any way. And the rose was fabulous. Made me think of Portland Rose Gardens.
Anyway, Saturday was supposed to be cultural day for all, which included a day trip to some Mayan ruins among other things. Friday night, after dinner, I took my first weekly dose of Chlorquine, our mandated Malaria prophalactic. On Saturday, at 5am I woke up with some rumbling in my tummy that spelled doom. Thankfully we are still in Belmopan and in hotel rooms. And thankfully my roommate sleeps like a log, because logs is NOT what I was passing. Anyway, no more details necessary. I stayed in bed most of Saturday and once I was empty I chose not to eat until for a while. It was a day with much rest. Also meaning I missed our first opportunity to hit up the night life in Belmopan. Oh well. I'm gonna be here a while so I'm sure I'll make it to the disco. :)Sunday I woke up, went for a walk with some new friends. It was a very hot day. After less than a mile, we found a tienda to stop at for a while. I consumed some lime juice, which was delicious! Or very niiice.. When we returned a took a much needed nap. At 2:30 I woke up realizing I missed the first shuttle to the river. So I hurried in putting on some modest swim clothes, my river shoes, and rushed out to wait. After about 45 minutes the PC car showed up and off I was to the river. SOO Much fun! So glad I felt well enough to do this. There were local kids all over the place and we all had so much fun. Their vibrant energy was so refreshing and the joy I felt was much needed. There were great pictures taken, but who knows when you will all see them. Apparently it takes many minutes per picture and I just don't have that kind of time to sit on computers right now.
After river was kickball. Lots of fun as well. And I just felt great to be feeling good enough for fun and interaction again. Being sick sucks. I hope I'm over the worst of it. Although I have yet to begin drinking the local water. Some PCVs are drinking tap but I haven't mustered the courage yet. So on with the bottled agua.
Monday was more training. Crash Kriol course. Very fun. Very funny. I really want to learn both Kriol and Spanish. So I will.