Swearing-In

I woke up and realized that today was the day: I officially become a Peace Corps Volunteer when I raise my right hand and solemnly swear to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to uphold my duties as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Kind of a strange oath given the job description, but it's the same one Joe Biden swore in on, so why not us?
I packed up the last of my things, pulled the sheets off my bed and stuffed them in my backpack, and walked out of my room for the last time. I crossed the small lawn to the kitchen where the hot water for the coffee wasn't going to be hot in time, so for the first time my host mom and sister-in-law let me just take a few sweet buns without coffee to dunk them in. A pretty big deal, that.
The time had come for hurried goodbyes - I stood and walked around the table to put my arm on my host mom's shoulder, as is customary here (hugs are not). I said once again how thankful I was to her for how well I was cared for and welcomed into the family routine, and was sorry to have to leave and find a new family to live with now in Totonicapán. She said it was never a bother and, as she started to cry, thanked me for always eating whatever they prepared for me, and for coming with to pray for her sick father, and for always being polite and greeting everyone. I started to cry too.
After more last-minute parting gifts of bread and fruit for my journey, I walked down the hill through town to my best friend and fellow volunteer Brittany's house, where she and her host parents were waiting for me. Together the four of us in our nicest clothes boarded the chicken bus to Antigua, where the Peace Corps was waiting for all the new volunteers and their host families to take us to the US Ambassador's house in Guatemala City. On that bus, on both American and Guatemalan minds were thoughts of the big changes today was bringing. While my host family couldn't accept the honor of attending the Swearing-In Ceremony at the Ambassador's house due to tending to the sick grandfather, most other host parents were present, riding the bus with their respective Volunteers for probably the last time. We've lived with these families for three months, and some bonds have been formed. But unlike the other host families on the bus that morning, Brittany's host parents, Don Enrique and Doña Maria, have never hosted any Americans before, much less been to any ambassador's house. I think they were a bit more excited but also more nervous than the rest.
The Ambassador's house was beautiful, as is I suppose to be expected. The back lawn has space for maybe three large games of croquet, plus gardens everywhere, a fountain, tennis courts, and a pool. Don Enrique asked me if my house in los Estados Unidos was like this one. I laughed out loud at the thought, then apologized for laughing and explained reality in America.
There was much speech-making in Spanish, and I realized how far we've all come in three months that none of us have any trouble at all anymore understanding what's being said. We took our oath as prompted by the Ambassador, and then one by one were called up to receive our diplomas. (Diplomas? Really? I completed the Peace Corps training... that doesn't feel like it really merits a diploma, but whatever floats their boat...) Figures that the one day I will probably ever wear a dress in Guatemala, the wind picks up when I go forward to get my diploma and have my picture taken with the Ambassador, and I end up pulling something like a Marilyn Monroe moment. :)
There was much picture taking and snack eating afterwards, and soon the idyllic day had to come to and end when the bus returned to take us back. Goodbyes were long and often tearful; promises were made of phone calls, pictures in the mail, and future visits. Man, if moving away from our host families is this hard after three months, how will I possibly handle leaving my new community after two years? We're officially Volunteers now, and we head out to those new communities tomorrow morning, to begin what will be our lives for the next two years. These changes, all the goodbyes recently said and all the hello’s in the near future, prompt a lot of pondering about friendships and the ties that bind us to the hearts of the other people in our lives. How will I do at maintaining those ties into my hazy future? Lots of changes mean lots of questions.