GROUP 19A AND TRAINERS

Back Row - Standing L to R:
Jasmine and Troy (married), Nancy, Bill (w/eyes closed), Amy, Aaron (w/sunglasses), Aileen, Thad, Jess, Eddie

Middle Row Starting in Front of Jasmine:
Noelle, Matt, Ryan, Matthew (Trainer), Teresa, Charlie (married to Nancy), Leonel, Solo (Trainer), Kevin

Front Row Starting Far Left:
Judy (Trainer), Christina (Head of Training), Katie (purple skirt), Ale, ME.

These are the 20 people that managed to get through the training program and were all sworn-in yesterday, Monday, June 26th. They are all excellent people - I'm very fortunate to have had such a great crew to train with. Everyone got along great and each person was friendly and helpful.

The trainers, the only Ni-Vans in the photo, were all super nice and helpful, easy-going and friendly. Language training was the hardest, and Solo, thanks to his take-no-prisoners-you're-going-to-speak-bislama approach proved to be the most effective and sought-after. We only got to work with each trainer for one week in groups of 5-6 and then we would rotate to the next trainer. Matthew, the young, single, sexpot of the group, was brand new to the Peace Corps (he's the guy nearly centered in the photo). Super smiley and charming, he was also a push-over as a teacher and therefore not the best language instructor. By the end of training he was getting a clue, though - I'm sure he'll make a great PC trainer for the next group. Judy, far left in the photo, and 8 months pregnant, is sweet and soft-voiced. Next to her is Christina - the training director and the sorry soul who got the brunt of all our frustrations. Despite all the flaws of training, and considering how rough it is to do any kind of sensible logistics in a country known for it's lacksidasical approach to schedules, she did a great job and kept a very positive attitude through-out.