Arrival

Very early on Wednesday, I flew from Milwaukee to Miami. Once I got to Miami, I met the new Peace Corps volunteers for Colombia at the hotel. There are 23 of us from across the United States.

Very early on Thursday, we flew from Miami to Panama City. At Panama City, we had to go through customs and immigration to get new boarding passes. From Panama City, we flew to Barranquilla. The Barranquilla airport was on the smaller side. We were met there by our country director. Once we all made it through customs and immigration, and picked up our luggage, we finally stepped out into the Colombian heat.

We took a bus from the airport to the hotel where we stayed for the first few days. It gets dark at about 6, with a very short sunset. We drove for about 45 minutes until we arrived at the hotel, where we had a welcome and introduction.

On Friday, Saturday, and a half-day on Sunday, we had the beginnings of training. It covers language, culture, safety and security, medical, and technical training (how to teach). We have been placed into language groups based on our tests, and we will be having Spanish classes every morning.

This afternoon, we will be moving out of the hotel and in with the families we will be living with for the next three months. I will be living with a couple in their late-30s/early 40s in an apartment. There was a high level of excitement as we all found out our families for our training period.

I have to finish re-packing my items and carry them the three flights of stairs. Thankfully, everyone is pretty much in the same position, so I don't feel out of place for having so much stuff with me. I hope the bags will all fit in the taxi!

Things of interest:
1. No throwing toilet paper in the toilet. The sewage system can't handle it. Instead, there is a garbage can next to the toilet.
2. There are flash floods called arroyos that shut down the city. Since there is not a drainage system, when it rains, certain streets flood. All traffic stops and people take refuge inside.