Life is Calling...: I am officially a PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER

Peace Corps Panama

Hello, welcome to my blog. I created this blog as I am preparing to leave to Panama for the next 27 months. I will be serving as a Sustainable Agriculture Systems Extension Agent. I will try to keep my blog as updated as possible. Come Visit and Stay tuned so that I can share this experience with you.

Hola, Bienvenidos a mi Blog. Me estoy preparando para ir a Panamá los próximos 27 meses. Voy a estar sirviendo como agente de Sistemas sostenibles de Agricultura. Tratare de mantener este blog lo más actualizado posible. Vénganme a visitar. Manténgase informados con mi blog para que pueda compartir estas experiencias con ustedes.

Friday, June 26, 2009

I am officially a PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER

As the Vice-president of Panama, Samuel Lewis Navarro, thanked us on behalf of his country for being here and wished us much success in our communities, tears started rolling down my face. I wasn't sure why I was so emotional. It could be that we had just been sworn in by Barbara Stephenson, US Ambassador to Panama and sitting there I was thinking about how fast the last 10 weeks had gone by. It was all a burr. I couldn't recall an exact moment, all I could recall were feelings and emotions that had overcome me in the last couple weeks. Just 10 weeks and I feel like this time has forced me to change. I've become more appreciative of little things, simple comodities have brought me so much joy, and the value of certain things has gone up while the value of others has decreased.2 years seems like an eternity from now but it's going to fly by...i know. I wonder what else I will learn and adapt to.

After the ceremony was over I got to mingle with the Vice-President, the Ambassador, a life size poster of Obama, and other honored guests, as well as all the Peace Corps Training Staff and my fellow VOLUNTEER friends...lol.

Though the food was incredible, my favorite part of the evening was discovering that THE GATOR NATION truely is EVERYWHERE!! In the middle of my conversation with the Mrs. Stephenson's husband, I realized that both he and his wife were GATORS, as well as a former Peace corps volunteer from Liberia and her husband! Here I was in the middle of a room full of people from all over the US of all ages and what did we share...our GATOR PRIDE!
(we even took pictures doing the Gator CHOMP!)

From the napkins stamped with the US seal, to the different style toothpicks, all the details were perfect. It hasn't been an easy couple weeks having to adapt to bug attacks, crutches, traveling in sufocating diablos rojos but here I am now, OFFICALLY a Peace Corps Panama Volunteer. I am offically one of the 182 peace corps volunteers currently serving in Panama and one of the thousands around the world!

I will post pictures soon...=)