It is official.

August 18th,
Today is the big day! Weeks upon weeks of language training, health lessons and power points and we are finally ready! I had grown out my beard for the occasion and last night trimmed it up to look spiffy for the occasion. The last Omnibus (group) that came through, most of the guys had crazy civil war style beards. So I was simply keeping up the tradition.
The swearing in ceremony was at the lovely house of the US Ambassador. There were heartfelt speeches given by the US Ambassador Heather Hodges, PC Ecuador Country Director, staff and some people from my group. After which we all took the following oath.
“I, Tristan Schreck, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Now we are officially Peace Corps. Volunteers! And we were in for a very special treat, apart from meeting the US Ambassador.
Bagels and cream cheese!
After which we all went back to our hostels, changed and headed out to the bbq at the PC headquarters. This was organized on by the VAC which is essentially volunteer government. They act as a liaison between the volunteers and the PC staff.
We also played some football and frisbee.

After all that we went back to the hostal and then to the supermarket to get sandwhich materials for dinner. Then we went to the the health group's hostal for a yet another party.

August 19th,

Woke up shivering and a fever of 102, probably the same number as bathroom visits I had throughout the day too. What a great day one of my official Peace Corps. volunteer career. Shit happens. Luckily I had two important things going for me that day. One, was my purchase of the entire first season of the TV show NCIS for $9. Second were my friends I have made in the Peace Corps. Everyone was quick to ask if I needed anything.
After a whole day of trying to feel better I finally got my fever down and was as ready as I could be to haul all my luggage for a 10 hour bus ride to Cuenca. I sipped Pepto Bismol like a cocktail the whole ride there.

August 20th, 2010
Arrived in Cuenca. Sprinted to first restaurant in search of decent porcelain. Hopped in a cab to Baños. Argued with cab driver about the gringo price. Called host brothers. Moved stuff upstairs. Passed out for 2 hours. Woke up. Unpacked my life. Caught up on e-mails. Ate bread and hot chocolate. More e-mails and skype. Tired. Bed.


Budget breakdown
Living allowance (food, clothing, transportation etc): $347/month
Rent money: $60/month
Roughly $11.50 per day to live off of. So I could buy a Starbuck’s coffee and a Big Mac meal per day on this budget if I lived in Philly. And I doubt that even in the worst of neighborhoods could I find rent this inexpensive. The dollar, for the most part goes a lot further here than back in its country of origin.

Average costs in my town:
Bus rides to Cuenca .25, bus ride to Quito $10, guinea pig dinner $7, bottle of water .30, cocacola .50 for a glass bottle, haircut $1-2, more prices to come.

Things I need to purchase:
Nice clothes for when I work with the Padre and the local government. AC/DC T-shirts and Phillies t-shirts aren’t work appropriate. Pants cost around $15 and nice shirts are the same. So my budget gets that much smaller for this month, and I am sure there are unforeseen costs in future months.
I also need a mirror for my bathroom because shaving by using my computer’s camera is less than ideal.


Me getting my diploma

Health and HIV group

Youth and Families

A view