And Away He Goes

Well I applied last October to the Peace Corps. I got accepted in January. I cleared medical in May. I found out in August I was coming to Peru. I arrived in September, and yesterday I found out where I will serve my two years. I will be living in a community of 240 people in the department of Lambayeque. I am about five km outside of a city between 12-20 thousand people. The difference is really that large. I am going to be living with an 86 year old woman and a 65 year old man. It should be interesting and humble. I do not have electricity or toilet, but I have a latrine and I can create an electricity connection using a car battery. I have cell phone coverage and Peace Corps will be giving me a cell phone once I complete training.
I do not know what projects I will be doing. I will not know for about four months at best. I am a replacement volunteer. So I will have some idea. The community has suggested some options. I am really excited. I am going to live on the edge of a nature preserve that contains five different endangered species, including the Spectacle Bear, a fox, a tree turkey, and a couple others that I do not know. The people want to organize eco-tourism. That could be really cool. The people want to organize eco-tourism. That could be really cool. Also there is also a honey production option. This could take a lot of work from a lot of different perspectives, but it is a system and would really be awesome to put together the pieces. Another option is to work with a group of artisans creating a web page and a catalog.
I am going to visit my site next week and so I should have a better idea of what it all entails next time I write. I get to talk to my previous site volunteer today.
Until next time,
Matt