First post | still working out the design

This is the first post of my blog as I begin working as an Environmental Health volunteer with the Peace Corps in Panama.  It took me a year and a half to get here and I am excited to begin working.  The Environmental Health project is based on three aspects:  increasing access to potable water, designing, constructing, and maintaining sanitation facilities, and health hygiene education.  More on this later.

This is my third day here and let me bring you up to speed as to what has happened so far.  Peace Corps brings all the volunteers leaving for their post to a Staging city for a day before departure.  We were Staged in Arlington, Virginia.  The day was filled with introductions to the Peace Corps as an organization and what we can expect for the next couple of days.  A gentleman who is opening the Peace Corps in Haiti joined us for the staging event.  It's interesting to know that President Obama is making good to his word by expanding the Peace Corps to 11,000 by 2011, the 50th anniversary.    We'll see what happens.

We left for Panama the next day and arrived to Clayton Army base at around 11:00PM.  Google map Clayton, Panama to get an idea of where we are.  The base is absolutely beautiful.  Not to mention we are staying in villas with electricity, A/C, and Wi-Fi.  All of today was filled with more introductions to the Peace Corps Panama by the Country Director, a Spanish language skills assessment, and meeting with our project managers.  The Panamanian and American Peace Corps employees all seem to be enthusiastic and passionate about the work they are doing.

Finally this post is officially a shout out to my brother Mustafa who happened to be in Arlington the same day I was for his new job.

The universe is good to us.