Despite my determined will to not form expectations of my site, since learning tidbits about it, I have been unable to stop myself from imagining what it is like. Tomorrow, I will learn a lot of good facts about my site, which may or may not dispel some of these expectations. Wednesday I travel with the Junin group to our Regional Field-based Training, and the following week I will spend in my actual site with my future family. Suffice to say that by the end of these next two weeks, I should know a fair amount about my future life of the next two years. This is very exciting news. But I want to take this moment in time to chronicle my expectations so I can see how dead-wrong I was, or conversely, how spot-on.
Things I think I know about my site:
I believe my site is in Vicco, Pasco. I know that this place is very high in altitude, a bit more than 4000 meters which is approximately 13,000 feet. It has a big rig race that is apparently pretty popular, this is practically the only information that can be found about Vicco online. My site will be very very cold. I think my site is relatively large, with more amenities than I thought I'd have. I think I very likely have electricity, and perhaps even a toilet or at least an outhouse with seat. I think I will be pretty close to my regional capital, so I might have access to more fruits and vegetables for myself than others. However, the food I get from my family will likely be pretty traditional Andean Peruvian cuisine with lots of potatoes and rice. My site has a very large mining influence. Silver was a very large industry, but now it is more lead and zinc. I'm replacing another volunteer, and I can't decide if I like this fact or not. I will be compared a lot to the former volunteer, but I also won't have to constantly explain what I'm doing there and what Peace Corps is.
Things I wonder or am anxious to learn about my site:
Is the volunteer I'm replacing a female? If so, that will make the comparisons that much worse. Who are my family? How many of them are there? Will I get a pet with them? Do they have animals already? How big is my site really? Do I have internet access? Will it be worth while to buy the USB internet? Can I leave some things with my family next week when I visit? Will my room be ready for me? What types of things will I need to buy for my room with my settling-in allowance?What issues will I have to deal with at my site?
Tomorrow, I will attempt to write down my thoughts about my site with the new information I gather.
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