July 16, 8:30 AM (give or take), all of Peru 23 sits in the Cabana area as both the Youth Development and Community Economic Development Program Directors greet us. We all anxiously sit through the brief speeches and reminders that they tried to take into consideration our various requests, skills, interests and needs while placing us in our permanent sites. We whisper to each other, “Where do you want to go again?” and “Are you sierra or coast?” and try to remain calm.
Then, the site announcements begin.
First, Amazonas. Two Youth Development soon-to-be-official-volunteers are called and receive folders with their names.
Ancash. Four names from Youth Development.
Cajamarca. People from Youth Development and Community Economic Development are announced.
Ica. Again more names are called, only YD people are headed here.
La Libertad. The future home to a combination of Youth Development and Community Economic Development volunteers.
By this point, my name had not been called. There was only one department for Youth volunteers left. I knew what department I’d be in.
Lambayeque.
I am ecstatic to announce that my home for the next two years will be the town of Olmos, Peru. Olmos, the town, not to be confused with the district (don’t get me started on how confused I am about the town, district, province, department structure… I have two years to figure it out), has 12,000 people. 7 of which I will be permanently living with.
My host family was recommended by a volunteer who is wrapping up her two years in the department of Ica. Her host family is related to my host family and she’s told me they’re very excited to have a Peace Corps Volunteer. I’ll be meeting them in just a week and a half during my site visit.
There’s something reassuring and calming knowing that my host family already knows a little about Peace Corps and is VERY excited to meet me. Although I only know who they are on paper, I already feel at home.
I will be the third Youth Development Volunteer in Olmos, which also means I am the last. Peace Corps tends to place certain programs in sites for cycles of 6 years, which usually equates to three volunteers. After a few years, Peace Corps and the community can reassess the community’s needs and start the 6 year cycle again.
Since we are working towards sustainable development, I will be focusing a majority of my time on ensuring that past projects have owners within the community and that any new projects the community would like have Peruvian owners. I’ll also be making sure that these owners (or my socios as we call them) have the skills necessary to continue these projects once I’m gone. Having just been in a leadership role at my previous job, I actually feel very prepared for this. Our leadership team used the DOC method—demonstrate, observe and confirm—to train skills. The way I see my role the next two years, I’ll heavily be focusing on the O&C.
One of the larger projects that I’m looking forward to aiding with is the annual vocational fair. With the help of the previous two volunteers, this annual event has drawn many participants (universities, technical schools, military, etc.) and attendees (several hundred students).
While I’ve enjoyed many aspects of training, I’m extremely eager to be settled in my site. We just wrapped up week 7 of 11, so I’m Olmos there.
Brittany McGee 
I thought I was the only one calling it “almost”. I couldn’t remember the name w/o an association. Just remember it’s a dry heat, wear sunscreen, drink lots of water, and use an umbrella for shade. You may be a few thousand miles away, but I’m still your Mommy.
Brit! What a joy to know where you will be living. It sounds like your civilian job has really set you up for success in your role in the PC. Also, I never asked if you learned to make sushi in your years at HDYR…if so, you should bring the art of sushi making to Olmos. Anyway, your post made me smile and I hope that you are doing really well. All my love, Emily.