Homestay

After the first introductory week, each Peace Corps Trainee (or Trainee couple) lives with a family in the area of the training center.  This is to provide them with an immersion experience in the language and culture of the country.  Mark and I are staying with a family who has a catering business, so we are eating very well!  Ours is a middle-class family with electricity and running water--when there are no power or water supply interruptions, as there have been a number of times during the week we have been here.  Hot water is provided by means of an immersion heater in a bucket, and we can scoop the desired amount into another bucket, mix it with cold running water, and use it to bathe.  Trust me, this is luxury living, compared to what conditions will be like in the areas we will likely be posted.

Our host family's home is in a walled compound that contains the working part of the catering business--a covered area with 5 wood burning BBQ grills, and an open area and verandah where rice cleaning and vegetable chopping are done.  The property also has 2 cows (fresh milk and yogurt!) as well as papaya, tangerine, lemon, mango, and avocado trees.

We walk about a mile to the training center over dirt roads and paths, greeting and being greeted by neighbors along the way.  We are grateful for the exercise and for the friendliness of the people.  The training center itself has a beautiful backdrop of mountains, as you can see from the picture below.