Welcome to the Jungle

So this will be a quick recap on what's gone on. I officially swore in as volunteer this past weekend and it was phenomenal. It was a great big event that made us all feel important and excited for service. Had an awesome weekend in Antigua and then we were off to our sites for the next two years. My site assignment is...Purulhá, in the department of Baja Verapaz...aka the jungle. It is breathtakingly beautiful and green. It is exactly what I had wanted - an environmentally beautiful site. It is pretty hot here though which can be a little much at times but it's still nice. My town is right next to a large nature reserve called the Biotopo of the Quetzal, which means it is a protected area of so much wildlife, including the quetzal which I really would love to see. There is bountiful tropical rainforest around and is just so green - i love it ! On a bit of the downside though, I am having a harder than anticipated settling in process. My housing has not followed through. The house I am supposed to be living in does not have a door on my room yet so I am currently living at my counterpart's house in town which is fine but I want my own space. I want my own place to begin to buy things and feel settled and home. I have a few options lining up for me though as potential move ins so I really hope one of them pulls through and by the end of the week. I think once I am settled and start working I will really love it here. There are so many natural, amazing sites close to my town that are a must see to go visit. I am really excited about that too. Also, a lot of my schools are in aldeas, which are smaller villages on the outskirts of the center of town, and they are deep in tropical beauty and mountains and am so excited to get to visit and know those communities. I feel like I know what is coming but at the same time I feel like I have no idea. It's crazy because so many volunteers from my training group got placed out west where there are so many volunteers and it seems like their lives are so much more social and flowing along so smooth. Meanwhile, it feels like we just got dropped off in the middle of no where, jungle Guatemala and were wished luck until next time. We are pretty isolated out here when it comes to volunteers which can be a bit of a bummer sometimes but I think it will turn out to make our Peace Corps experience really exceptional and unique - kinda what I thought Peace Corps would be like before getting to Guatemala. The people so far I have met in my town have been so friendly and receptive that I think by the end of the two years we will really feel part of the community here. That seems so far away right now though and just getting through this first month feels like  major obstacle. Patience and positivity are all I need though. Patience and positivity. That's it for now because I'm tired and it's late but I felt the urge to update. Also, exciting news. Here is a picture of the mostly finished world map! (Not totally finished because we are missing a few handprints and the Guatemalan flag that was later painted in but I sprained my ankle that week so I never got the final picture.)

I still can't believe we did that ! Also, I promised videos. And they are finally up too. Here are the links. There are two links because they had to be uploaded in two parts. Enjoy :) Part 1 and Part 2