It's Official

I'm an official Peace Corps Volunteer! There was a big ceremony yesterday at the Ambassador's house in Quito where I took the oath to serve. It's finally happening.. I'm actually going to do this. I'm scared. All the other volunteers left for their sites either after swearing in yesterday or this morning. I had to wait to take the night bus becuase of the Fiesta del Virgen happening around my site and Loja. According to The Rough Guide to Ecuador: "There's a tiny village of El Cisne with it's famous Santuario, home to a sixteenth-century painted cedar carving of the Virgen Mary. This icon, known as the Virgen del Cisne, is the subject of a fervent cult of devotion, attracting pilgrims year-round from southern Ecuador and northern Peru. This devotion reaches its apogee during the Fiesta del Virgen, which begins on August 15. The following day, thousands of pilgrims begin a 70km trek to Loja, carrying the Virgin on their shoulders. The image arrives on August 20, where she is deposited in Loja's cathedral, while the partying continues in the city." Thousands of pilgrims walking on the one road going to my site.. I guess I'll arrive a day late.