I tossed and turned the whole night, thinking about the description of the town my counterpart had given me: “A desert, fairly flat, without any mountains”. All the doubts that had been festering under the surface all came out at once. What if I didn't like it? What if I didn't make friends? What if my schools were bad or didn't want me there? I asked myself if, after all the talk, all the waiting, all the hype, all I had gone through to be here, was I really ready to commit the next 2 years of my life in this place. Thinking of all the other things I could be doing with the time, I couldn't honestly answer.

The bus ride the next morning helped ease my mind a bit. I had a great conversation with Lucia, one of the teachers that I'll be working with who had come out to accompany me to my new home. As the bus made its way around the windy, bumpy roads up into the Guatemalan highlands, we talked about things we had in common—books, music, etc, and told each other a bit about our lives. She's very inspiring. After teaching every morning, she rides 40 minutes to Quiche every afternoon to take university classes towards her degree in bilingual education. She's on a scholarship and is only 21 years old. It was really cool to see her dedication and inspiration to improve her own future as well as the future of her community. As busy as she is, she also offered to give me K'iche classes in the evenings. I can already see that we'll become friends.

Upon arrival in my community, I had a sigh of relief to discover that, in contrast to the flat desert I had imagined, my site had plenty of trees and rolling hills fading into 2 pretty impressive mountain ranges in the distance on either side. Like Colorado, the sky is wide open, and from the rooftop patio of the house I was staying in temporarily, I could see for probably over 50 miles. The town itself is fairly small and tranquil, but not tiny. It's in a pretty isolated corner of Guatemala, but only about half an hour from Quiche, a fairly major city. Wednesday is market day, when the quiet streets come to life and teem with people buying and selling everything from fresh produce to toothbrushes. It's not the most dramatically beautiful site in the world, but has a very simple, unassuming beauty. In short, it's really the kind of site I would have pictured when I first thought about joining the Peace Corps.

My first full day in town was spent meeting local officials. I met the police, the justice of the peace, the doctor and other people at the health center, and a few other local people I will want to have a relationship with over the next 2 years. They were all very welcoming, which made me feel comfortable. The mayor wasn't available to meet yet, but I'm planning to meet him next week when I go back to my site.

The second day I finally got to visit one of the 3 rural schools I will be working in. It was a wonderful visit! After all the countless visits I've made to different schools during training, it felt so good to finally be able to say this was MY school, MY students, the faces I'll be working with for the next 2 years. The small, 2 story school is located a few kilometers from town among corn fields and pine trees, with a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. I arrived with the school director right as the morning assembly was beginning. After singing the Guatemalan national anthem, I was introduced to the school's 150 or so kids. They sang me a welcome song and a few classes did some dances they had prepared. I introduced myself over the microphone and loudspeakers they'd set up for the occasion, and taught everyone the “Healthy Schools” song, which they took to immediately. Then I went around to each classroom and talked to them individually. Going from classroom to classroom, I had a great time and felt really effective. It made me realize how much I've learned in the last few years, and gave me the feeling that all the training, all the skills and experiences I've acquired while waiting to enter the Peace Corps, as well as my own personality, had all crystallized in that one place. It was really a breakthrough to realize how far I'd come, how much I'd really accomplished.

I had another breakthrough the next day when I visited the second of the three schools I'll be working in. In contrast to the first school, this one was a lot smaller, quieter, and more rural, with less than 60 students. I could immediately see that it would require more work than the first, but was soon encouraged by the experience. After meeting the school's 2 teachers and some of the parents of the school committee, I had the chance to meet the kids. I was a bit worried because the first language of people here is K'iche, and I'd been told the kids here may not speak Spanish particularly well. Nonetheless, when entering the first classroom I was greeted by a strong “BUENOS DIAS! PASE ADELANTE!” “GOOD MORNING! COME IN!” I introduced myself to the kids and told them who I was and what I would be doing there with them, then had everyone stand up and introduce themselves. I wanted to get a sense of what the kids were like—if they were comfortable talking up or if they were really timid, as well as gaging how well they spoke Spanish. Despite a few quiet kids, I was happy with the results. Next I taught them a few of the Healthy Schools songs, which talk about basic hygiene issues such as hand washing and brushing your teeth. The kids really got into them, and understanding Spanish didn't seem to be a problem. After the songs I made a few balloon animals for the class.

As I was singing a song about brushing your teeth, which involved me jumping and dancing around the classroom, much to the kids' amusement and laughter, I turned around and noticed a group of about 15 women standing at the door, staring at me rather oddly. Then I remembered being told that the mother's of the kids were coming to meet me. After finishing up in the class and saying goodbye to the kids, I went out to the earthen school yard to introduce myself to them. I wasn't sure how much of my Spanish they understood, but the president of the school committee translated my words in K'iche, mixing in enough words in Spanish here and there that I could roughly follow what he was talking about. As I was standing in front of the women explaining my role as a Peace Corps volunteer, I saw from the way they looked and paid attention to me (even if they didn't understand everything) that these women really wanted the best future for their kids, and they were really counting on me. It was obvious that they respected me and thought I knew what I was talking about. This confidence was a bit unnerving, but then I had the realization, “Wait a minute, I really DO know what I'm talking about! I may not be a complete expert yet, but the things I'm talking about are the things I've been learning about the last 3 months.” Peace Corps keeps emphasizing that as volunteers, we are “development professionals”. Standing in front of those mothers, I really felt like a development professional for the first time in my life. It was a great feeling, and one that I hope to have a lot more in the next 2 years.

I stayed at the school the whole day, playing soccer and some other activities with the kids during recess. There was one little firecracker, probably all of 7 years old, that kept on getting the ball past me, over and over again—it was frustrating but I couldn't help but laugh. When I left I already felt a rapport with them, and they asked me when I'd be back. When I left town the next morning to head back for my last week of training at the Peace Corps center, I felt good, thinking that I could really see myself being happy here in my new home for the next 2 years.

This week I've been busy finishing things at the Peace Corps center and tying up all the loose ends. Tomorrow we have our swearing in ceremony with the U.S. Ambassador at his residence in Guatemala City. We'll spend the weekend celebrating in Antigua before all heading off to our separate corners of the country on Sunday.

I know the positive experiences I'm having stand in stark contrast to the overall pattern of the world these days. I continue hearing about senseless acts of violence continuing to happen every day throughout the country. Listening to the international news, it seems that the rest of the world is falling apart while I'm here. Nonetheless, in the little forgotten corner of Guatemala I now call home, I have found reason for great hope and optimism.