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Day 68 - 9 September 2005 the end of training this is it folks. we never thought it would come to this. and finally it has...9 weeks of hell has come to a conclusion. lots of happy memories, a few not so much...the 26 of us have been thru a lot together, and a lot with the chosen few we’ve gotten closest to. now we have big things to do, and lots of stuff to learn that could never be taught in a classroom. the final days of language were an attempt to get us northerners used to hearing our new dialect, which apparently even varies between the islands. our final health, safety, administrative and evaluation sessions seemed to never end, but did so quickly. evaluations- every time, all the time. evaluate this, evaluate that...by the end, I can’t evaluate crap. too many too much too many too much. the last two days we’ve had a counterpart conference where some (not all, including mine) of our fellow teachers, youth center coordinators, etc. have come to visit and talk with us on a simple brief plan of our first months at site. with a couple workshops on the differences between CVean & ‘mercan workplace culture followed by 1-on-1 talks with our counterparts (I sat it on a buddy’s) to make our first 3 months plan, I really got a feel of what might be when I get to my CEJ (Centro de Juventude a.k.a. youth center). it’s amazing how different the cultures are and how prominent the fact that CV is in such an early & critical stage of development is, and how this comes out thru things like youth centers and how their existence is so dependent upon a lack of resources. it’s this challenge that makes my position possible I presume. following this conference, we had yet another round of interviews, this time with all of our directors- sector, training and country directors. then a crazy li’l talent show began full of magic tricks, comedic impersonations of trainees singing songs, an improv group, tae kwon do demonstrations and a local musical talent. a good show followed by a quick lantxi and a crazy debaucherous party hosted by our friendly volunteers in town. I head home for my final dinner with the fam and brought a friend since they seemed to have adopted her sending me food for her for the past week “because she’s so skinny.” my mom sounds like all my flip relatives (prolly how I’ll sound when I’m older). the party was off the hook, mainly cuz everybody finally let go since it was our last night together. one guy was getting on a bunch of our nerves (and no folks, it wasn’t my belligerent butt) bcuz he had a tendency to punch a few of us guys in the face for no apparent reason. there was a point where it took one good Samaritan a half hour to explain to him that he can’t just do that, especially to a bunch of guys bigger than him under a certain influence. other than that weird part of the party, it was a rager, and people were just funny: fight club. rooftop singin. closed kitchen sessions. shirt switchin. 3 generations of volunteers, all under (or on top of) one roof. good times for all. SWEARING IN is quick- a few speakers, TXEU kumida y bebidas (tons of food & drinks), family, friends, staff, leavin & current volunteers. no tears, no fears, and a bunch of sharply dressed new volunteers (that’s us). lots of folks to meet and lots of friends to say "see ya later" to while passin out the RIDICULOUS congrats cards mom from home sent me- THANKS A BUNCH MOMMA! they were an absolute hit. so a bunch of us left right after the ceremony bcuz our flights were early the next mornin (bad plannin?) and we had to get to the city before dark. (oops) bcuz my fam made me eat one final dinner of katxupa and as our hiace pulled up, I loaded my stuff with the help of my siblings. I gave my the gifts to my host mom in a hurried fashion tryin to explain what things were and who they were for (thanks mom from the states for sendin all that in such short notice). she was rushin me cuz I think she wanted me to leave before she started cryin. how cute! she had friends over and they were teasin her to not cry, so she was very distant and not talkin to me much. the boys loved the soccer ball and I’m sure they finished the 2 bags of chocolate the next day. hopefully the princess found the god’s eye I left for her (bunitu as she called it) and dad found the shirt and hat I left for him. I gotta give momma suntin when I return next. somethin more for her than for the whole fam. I really gotta get a picture of us printed and framed so she can display it next to the other previous volunteers. I feel like I didn’t even hug them or show how much I appreciated all they did for me. when I tried to tell my mom thanks for everythin she said I didn’t need to say anythin. but I tried to keep talkin. she kept cuttin me off. hopefully she’s doin ok...i’ll see her in a few months I’m sure. I wonder when I’ll start missin my host fam. now maybe? <--- 13 fever!                the trek --->