Since Then...

[our training group and technical trainer]

11.25.09

After completing our community project, we took our Language Proficiency Interview and both passed – we are officially “intermediate” speakers of the Waray-Waray language after three months! We then packed up our things, said farewell to our first host family with a goodbye party, and headed to Manila for a conference and our swearing-in ceremony.

[Arki, the comical baby who shared our home. We're looking forward to returning to Leyte in January to attend his first birthday party]


[saying goodbye to our neighborhood gang - these kids followed us to and from class each day and loved getting rides from Brandon. hanging out with them was a highlight of our training]

[at our host family thank you party with Nanay - we already miss her a lot!]

Each volunteer has a Filipino counterpart who will work alongside us for the next two years, so they attended the conference to do some basic planning and “getting to know you” activities with us. We were scheduled to have our swearing-in ceremony on Friday afternoon at a Manila hotel, but on Thursday evening, PC staff announced that we would be having a special morning ceremony at the US Embassy, and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be the one addressing us and giving the oath!

We boarded a bus early Friday morning for an embassy security check point and then proceeded to the embassy to rehearse the ceremony. We practiced for maybe three hours for what was only a 15 minute ceremony with Secretary Clinton, but it was well worth it! She gave a brief speech about Peace Corps’s role in frontline diplomacy and the Obama Administration’s commitment to expanding the Peace Corps worldwide. We then raised our right hands and took the patriotic oath of service. It was an honor to be sworn in at the embassy by Secretary Clinton, who has been someone we’ve admired. This was a really unique opportunity for Peace Corps volunteers and will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of our time here.

[Cameras were not allowed in the embassy, but Peace Corps will be sending professional photos and video along soon; we will post when available.]

[the 20 Leyte trainees, our trainers, and PC staff]

Later that afternoon we had our originally scheduled ceremony and reception. The mayor of our site came all the way to Manila to attend this, which was very kind and demonstrates our community’s commitment to the Peace Corps partnership. (Only a handful out of 60+ mayors made the trip). In the end, 63 trainees swore in as volunteers (69 began the journey in San Francisco in August).




Swearing in was the exciting beginning of our service, but it also marked the end of our time spent with our fellow trainees. We spent a brief weekend in Manila together, stocking up on dive equipment, eating LOTS of good/unhealthy food, and saying our temporary goodbyes. We have become close with the 18 volunteers assigned in our region, and it was bittersweet to head off on our own.


We boarded the plane for Eastern Samar on November 16th and have been settling in nicely ever since with the help of our work counterparts and new host family.