Finishing training and moving to the real world

Trip Start Mar 27, 2004
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7
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Trip End Jun 27, 2007


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Flag of Philippines  ,
Monday, June 6, 2005

So training has now come to a close and we all had to say goodbye to our first host families. It was so sad. The whole Vista Hill group had dinners together the last three nights and the final night we had a despideda (party) complete with rented videoke machine. It was fun. I sang many songs and might just might after two years be ready to face kareoke in the states alone (without shanna's help). We ate like kings and queens trying to enjoy each others company as much as possible since we knew we were soon to be separated. The day we were all scheduled to leave I went to bayombong with my host family and got my hair chopped, the shortest cut I had ever had. Don't worry I can still pull it into a ponytail-barely. I was going to try for a shorter cut, but got scared last minute. So my host mom saved the hair to put in a scrap book I assume another memento of me. We all meet at the sari-sari store and left with tears in our eyes and again at NVSU we cried because the host mothers insisted on traveling there with us. It was said and we promised to return for Christmas as a group.
Before I left I failed to mention that I assisted in the birth of 7 piglets. Erlinda, the host mother of another volunteer-Rachel, owns the mother pig and needed help with it so I volunteered. I got to her house at 9:30 at night during a rain storm and brown out. From then till midnight we cut umbilical cords and sniped incisors. Piglets are born with 1/2 cm incisors and so we cut them with wire cutters to protect the mother. It was fun and I learned a bit about pigs. I was surprised to see how fast the actual birth was yet the whole process of 7 piglets coming into this world took approximately 12 hours. It was a great experience.
So here I am at the internet cafe in the largest town near my permanent site. All the supervisors are at the hotel learning about what peace corps is and what they can do to help us here. Tomorrow we will be creating a action plan for our projects and discussing our goals and objectives. So I should find out a lot more about what exactly I will be doing at my site and in what time frame. I will be leaving with her to go to Ifugao province on Wednesday where I will be living with the rats again, for a short time until I find a host family with people.
I miss you all, hope everything is well in the US and feel free to drop me a line.
Amber
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