Actually Working in the Field

This upcoming week is called Field Based Training week. Each of the different programs of Peace Corps Peru are breaking into smaller groups and will be traveling to various parts of the country to spend a week completing projects and presentations similar to that which we will be doing over the course of the next two years in each of our respective communities. Most people are going in smaller groups of four or five aspirants. However, since Water &Sanitation is a new program, we are all going to the same area.

WatSan people are going to Paracas, which is in the department of Ica. We will all stay in the same hostels in the evenings, but during the day we will break into smaller groups to work in a few different communities. Some of the projects we will get to work on will include building latrines, cleaning a water system, presenting charlas to schools and community members and completing a survey about water and sanitation with community members.

We are all excited about next week. Training has been incredible so far, but a change in pace is definitely welcome. I really enjoy the people in my program group. We are a fun-loving and joking group with a great sense of humor. Fortunately our instructors also enjoy joking around. We also have a new addition to our group. We received one of the WatSan volunteers from Bolivia, since the Peace Corps volunteers from Bolivia had to leave the country after the president of Bolivia invited to the United States ambassador to leave the country. We now have 15 aspiring WatSan volunteers with a lot of energy and ready to actually work in a the field this next week!