Staging

The last two days have been a whirlwind of activity. I flew to Miami early on Wednesday, and within a couple hours of checking in at the hotel, I had already met most of my training class. There are twenty six of us flying to Suriname this afternoon, and even though we come from all over the States, we have many things in common. Our trainer said that we bonded surprisingly quickly (practically instantaneously).

Training took half a day on Wednesday and all day yesterday. It was very general, but I am glad that once we get to Suriname we can get started on country-specific training right away. We covered the mission and goals of the Peace Corps, which I have mentioned several times already. We also studied the Peace Corps approach to development, which focuses on providing for needs in a way that will last and working along-side the people rather than in a top-down manner. We also learned about many Peace Corps policies regarding safety, both physically and concerning reputation of the Peace Corps, the host country, and ourselves. Staging indeed was important, but it did seem long, and I am excited to actually arrive in-country.

Today we have nothing scheduled until the late morning, when we leave for the airport. We will arrive in Suriname tomorrow morning after a stop in Trinidad. When we arrive in Suriname we will be bussed from the capital to a training area where we will stay for two weeks with Peace Corps staff. The next time I write I will have left the States.