Arrived in the Philippines!

Hello everyone!  Welcome to the first post of my Peace Corps Philippines blog!

Here's just a little update to let you know what I'm up to and what my life will be like for the next 27 months!  (As much as I know, at least!)  More substantial posts will come later.

After a 20-hour flight (with a quick stop in the Tokyo airport), my group of about 82 education volunteers arrived in Manila at about 9:30 pm on Saturday night.  The rest of the volunteers arrived a little later, and our total Philippines group consists of about 140 people.  Other volunteers are Coastal Resource Management (CRM) and Children, Youth, and Family (CYF).  Education is by far the largest, because the Philippine government has just requested a large increase in volunteers to teach English.  We are now in a resort called "Island Cove" and have been VERY busy with sessions, immunizations, and getting to know other members of our large group.

 We've covered a lot of Peace Corps policy, basic safety, and some training by sector (which for me was a lot about educational policy here in the Philippines).  Tomorrow we have water training!  Which will include boat safety and what to do if a boat were to capsize.  The PC issues everyone life jackets, which we're supposed to have any time we're on a boat.  For anyone who's concerned about my safety here, the Peace Corps takes it very seriously and covers a lot about it during training.

I still don't know where I'll be going at the end of the week!  Thursday they will tell us where we are going for PC training for the next three months, and Friday we will leave.  I'll let everyone know as soon as I find out!  Pictures are also coming soon!

Initial Orientation (this first week in Manila) has been a whirlwind of information and busyness!  In many ways it's been very reassuring, because it really seems that Peace Corps will take good care of us regarding  cultural/language training, and the technical knowledge I need to be a teacher.  (They're also very good about safety and health).  Everyone I've met here has been fantastic, including the other trainees, current volunteers, and the Peace Corps staff.  I know that sounds like a hyperbole, but I swear it is the truth. The Peace Corps is such an important common ground that ties us all together.  I'm definitely feeling very anxious to find out where my training site will be and who I'll be working with.  The resort we're staying in is super nice, but I'm ready to get out of here and see the 'real' Philippines.  That's coming soon though!  More info soon!  Peace out!
-Kelsey