pre-service training

so today was day 3 and i am here in st. lucia staying in a beautiful convent. it is cool and rainy, unusual for this time of year. everyone i've met has been so nice, both PCVs (peace corps volunteers), staff, and the sisters here at the convent. we've been going over basic PC policies, safety, health, etc. and will continue to do that for the rest of the week. tomorrow we're going to do a scavenger hunt in town, so that should be interesting.

AND we got our assignments today. i'm going to be living in a small town in the rainforest near gorgeous waterfalls. i will work in the capital city roseau in a project for young people who are abused or disadvantaged. they provide behavioral health treatment (both group and invdividual) in a day program as well as short-term residental. i will be promoting healthy living, organizing recreational activities, and teaching remedial reading, math, and IT skills. i am so happy to be working in this environment and it's a HUGE relief. there are 2 volunteers who are just 5-10 miles away (it's hard to tell, i don't have a great map) and the others aren't too far either. we will be moving in with our host families in dominica on monday and visiting our job sites next week already. i will also begin to learn creole next week. one of the staff here did teach me how to say, "what's going on?" which is "sa ka fet?" the spelling is very phonetic. i also learned how to say "don't touch me!" apparently another useful phrase.

i also found out i can definitely have internet connection courtesy of cable and wireless in my house. i am certainly glad to hear this, especially since i can't really leave the house alone much after dark. please let me know how you are all doing!