"Pre-Service Training is like taking a drink from a fire hose."

My Pre-Service Training (PST) technically started a few weeks after I accepted my placement and the submission of numerous pre-departure materials. However, when most people refer to PST they are talking about the 8 weeks after you step off the plane in the country. So after a long day of staging in D.C. and an even longer weekend of travel to Tokyo followed by an overnight in Bangkok, we finally arrived in Cambodia on Sunday. After stepping off the plane in Phnom Penh (PP), we carried our luggage through a tunnel of some 40 or so cheering current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). I have never felt so immediately welcomed and/or reassured as I did walking out of that airport. And right then and there we took a picture: 

K6 fresh off the plane! See if you can find me...

Yesterday and today included a lot of introductions, policy overview, house-keeping, and exploring the city's markets. We travel to and from our guest house by tuk-tuk (motorcyles attacked to rickshaw-type things...) which dodge and weave in and out of traffic carrying as many as 7 crammed inside. To give you some idea of the organized chaos of the traffic in PP: no one follows the traffic laws/rules, so crossing the street is like playing a ginormous game of Frogger. However, when it rains - it is monsoon or rainy season so afternoon downpours that don't cool anything off are almost inevitably - the streets clear out a bit. Yesterday, the roof of the tuk-tuk I was in had a major leak so I was drenched within minutes. A shower in a tuk-tuk? It sure does save time. Although I am sweating so much due to the intense humidity that really I am soaked for most of the day...

It is hard to believe that tomorrow morning we leave for our training village and start the Khmer (pronounced Kha-my) language training. I can't wait to be able to start conversing more with shop keeper, tuk-tuk drivers, and the Khmer PC staff. During the past few days our group has had to rely heavily on the PCVs that have been assigned to help us transition. They are absolutely wonderful, patient people who I am sure are ready to get rid of us (I know I would!). 

I probably won't have much internet for the next 8 weeks, since as you can see from the blog post title, PST will probably be a bit overwhelming or a lot to digest... we shall see...