Yesterday I arrived in Arlington, VA and checked into the hotel. After registration all 37 of us volunteers were allowed to do as we pleased and spend the $130 given to us by the Federal Reserve. As everyone was leaving the conference room, I gave a blanket invitation to anyone who wanted to go watch Game Four of the Blues-Bruins series. Three guys accepted and we went to Four Courts, an Irish Pub on Wilson Blvd; Kim, in her disabled state, joined us as well. I was disappointed by the crowd at the bar when I noticed few people were there to watch Game Four. We had a good time anyway. Ed was a high school teacher in Oregon, Kyle and his wife taught English in Korea for three years, and Rob of Connecticut taught in Thailand. We, mostly I as the sole hockey fan, watched St. Louis tie the series and left after a few rounds becuase we had an 8 AM start the next day, today actually.
All of us Peace Corps trainees met in the lobby and went off on foot for the Rosslyn Metro station, a short walk from our hotel. I let everyone exit before me and took up the position of sweeper as is my wont when travelling in a group that must stick together. Though he never assigned me the position, Benjamin Rance, our Country Desk Officer, looked toward the back and saw me giving him the all-clear thumbs up; he would later thank me for making sure nobody was left behind. Once at the station, those who didn't have Metro cards bought them, and we flocked underground for the Orange Line to Foggy Bottom.
After a walk east on K Street below the ever vigilant and heroic General Washington atop his mount, our group reached the Mexican Consulate where our visas were processed and we heard from Mr. Rafael Lavaega, Chief of the DC consulate. He ensured us that Mexico is a beautiful country with citizens who can't wait to welcome us with open hearts and minds. At the consulate we received a state-specific handout with an economic summary of trade between US and Mexico. Fun Fact: PA exports more to Mexico than the US does to Luxembourg and the Czech Republic combined. Mr. Lavaega praised NAFTA for such apparently flourishing trade between the two states.
We met back at the hotel for noon and were in sessions till 5 PM. During this time we got to know each other and ourselves better. One activity that I enjoyed was creating and sharing my identity map. It's basically a bubble diagram in which you illustrate the essentials of identity--race, sex, religion, ethnicity, and so on--as well as other hobbies and aspects that make up who you are. We were also debriefed on the goals of the PC and its Core Expectations. Before arriving for staging, I described it to those curious as time not worthy of the attention or even the presence of trainees, but, having completed it, I feel much more confident about my service in Mexico and much closer to my fellow trainees. I've been a part of many teams over the short span of my life and can tell when they are bad, okay, and exceptional. I can already tell that this group of Mexico '21 trainees is going to be an excellent one. Everyone I've met so far is intelligent, articulate, driven, and excited to begin life's next great adventure. One thing that stuck out to me from today was a quote from PC Marketing Specialist Teresa Claxton. She said, accurately and two times, that it was the first time we didn't have to justify or vaildate why we chose to serve in the PC, and realizing this truth felt good. Reaponses were about 50/50 postive/negative when I told people I was going to Mexico as a PC volunteer. But today the response was resoundingly 100% positive for all of us. I'm ready to go!
As I write it is just before 9 PM on Tuesday, June 4. We're slated to meet inthe lobby at 2:30 AM on Wednesday June 5. The time to depart has finally arrived, nearing a year after I applied. My next post will be coming to you from Querétaro, Mexico. I'll be with my host family (whom I can't wait to meet) and will be beginning the three months of pre-service training (PST) that will prepare us for the challenges we will face over the next two years.
Please join me on this journey of discovery and language acquisition. I'm rebranding the blog to deal exclusively with my Peace Corps experience. Fiction writing and essay writing are still a huge part of my craft--and there's plenty going on behind the scenes that I hope you will read some day--but for now Kandid Kandor will be all about my experiences teaching English and learning Spanish in Mexico as a Peace Corps volunteer (PCV). Thanks for reading, and I hope you stick with me on this amazing new journey of mine.
Salud,
Kory
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