A Week of "Alohas"

The Hawaiian word aloha means many things and is often used as a greeting to say hello and to say goodbye. This past week we said goodbye to the remaining two second-year volunteers from the city and then hello to the group of 43 new trainees.

Our alohas began with a night on Caye Caulker when we celebrated with our friends and had our last night in Belize with Dorothy and Kim, two people who made our transition to life in the city so much easier and so much fun. We miss them tons already, but know they have some great things ahead of them back in the states.


Anthony, Alli, and Dorothy (Alli is staying as PCVL, yay!); Anthony, Kim, and Ginnie

This past Wednesday the alohas continued when a group of PCVs dropped by the airport to welcome the new trainees to Belize. There are 43 future volunteers in the '08 group. They are psyched to finally be in Belize and are looking forward to training and getting into their projects in a few months. It was a strange feeling to be welcoming a new group to Belize after just saying farewell to the previous group. Also because it means we are the second-years now and will be the ones looked to for advice and tips on success. Time really flies, and it just reminds us that in the big picture two years is really not that long.


PCTs arriving in Belize; Current PCVs ready to greet the trainees as they exit the baggage claim and customs


The Trainees: What a group!

We joined the trainees for lunch at Bird's Isle Restaurant in Belize City (a great place, I think we'll be returning there from time to time!) and had a great time getting to know some of them and talking about life in Belize. They are now right in the midst of training and we wish them well and look forward to more opportunities to connect and get to know each other.