I'm a Volunteer!

The Friday before last was the official end of the Hondu 12 training cycle (hooray!) We all went in to Tegucigalpa in the morning, (dressed up very nicely, I should add) and spent the morning at the Peace Corps office getting more pre-service information and tours. After we were done, they took us to the US Embassy where we sang the Honduran and US National Anthems, introduced ourselves, and finally took an oath and became official Peace Corps Volunteers (to summarize). It was all very exciting, and followed by some excellent Tacos :) We also got to spend a few hours at the ambassador's house, although he wasn't home, we played some volleyball and swam in the pool. It was a really nice day...
After swearing-in, all that was really left to do was celebrate and say goodbye. It was sad to see some friends go, but I know we will all stay in touch. I'm really looking forward to being able to collaborate with my friends and other volunteers on projects in the future. Some of us are already planning a project together, so I know I will see them soon!
After finally arriving at my site, it was time to get oriented. Last week, I spent most of my time being taken up into little communities in the mountains (just to get acquanted), and wandering around Gracias trying to orient myself. I also spent a good amount of time trying to introduce myself to potential community partners, or others who might have work for me to do. I am very happy with my placement here, and can't wait to become more integrated into the community and start to work with the neighboring communities. There is alot of potential work for me here, and I hope to get myself as involved as possible in already exisiting projects, while also spending time developing some of my own.
I will try and be a more frequent blogger while in site...(this is per some requests from parents!) Thanks for continued thoughts and prayers. Love to everyone at home, and Happy Mothers Day to everyone (including pregnant friends/cousins!) Miss you all