To give everyone a logistics update, this is the start of another big week. It is our third week in country, and also the week we get our tentative assignment to our permanent sites. Thursday is the big day, and already my fellow PCVs and I are feeling a little nervous about where we might end up. It works like this: we all had interviews with program managers last week, to let them know a little bit more about each of us. I tried to convey a little about my preferences for site placement (smaller city in hopes of less pollution, an opportunity to teach a variety of classes, sitemates nearby) and they tried to find out about my "skills." Peace Corps China's first priority in placing us is matching us to a site that has needs to dovetail with a Volunteer's skill set. I'm not sure exactly what my skills include, in specific, aside from the obvious: nunchuck skills and bow skills. (That is for all you ND fans...)

I will travel to my tentative site placement to work on a summer teaching practicum with current PCVs, the China 10s. The idea is to get a feel for the province/city/school we are in and to start making professional contacts and building a network in our potential new home. At the same time, we'll get to spread our wings a bit in the classroom, with some real students.

So we'll see where I end up. I'm taking the philosophical approach, that I'll make the best of any situation, and so am trying not to worry too much. I will keep you all posted with new developments.

OK, until next time. Zaijian!