I drank the water...

... and I'm still alive. That must be a good sign. The water was filtered but from the tap nonetheless, and of course the family washes their dishes and fruits and veggies in the regular water. At some point you just have to throw your hands up and say what the heck! I'm not going to die from the water just may have been a little sick and I really haven't even been sick. But I do feel like that will become a common saying or thought in my life here, to just say the hell with it and go for it; whatever "it" is.

Aside from the water (which I know you all feared for me), everything is good. Since the hacienda, we arrived in Queretaro city on Saturday to meet our host families. We also found out our job assignments on Saturday, so the past few days have been exciting and exhausting.

We'll start with the job assignment. I'll be working in el Parque Nacional el Chico helping to administer a "mountaineering hut" program. Everything is still a little vague (as I beginning to become accustomed to in this Peace Corps life) but it sounds like I'll be living and working in the mountains helping to maintain and create trails and huts for backpackers with the hope that this will create a sustainable livelihood for the people in the surrounding area. I couldn't be more excited. It's like this job was made for me. As one volunteer said, it's hospitality at the most basic level - helping to provide shelter. I start this job mid-November.

My host family is awesome: mom, her BF, 16 year old daughter, and 9 year old twin girls. I went to a boy's first communion on Saturday which was just like all the birthday parties I attended from friends at Il Fornaio, bounce house and all. On Sunday, I went to a Baptist church with the family and the service was almost 3 hours long! We ate some delicious chicken for lunch (which does not happen until like 3pm) and then mom and daughters took me on a tour of el centro. Queretaro is the safest and cleanest city in Mexico and the people are very proud of this. The city has a colonial influence and most of the architecture from the 1800s still stands.

Today was our first official day of training which consisted of 3 hours of Spanish, a big lunch, training in our sector (mine being the environment sector, the other technology), and a lesson on culture shock that I probably could have taught. Tomorrow we have 5 hours of Spanish and some other stuff. It seems like this might be a long 12 weeks of training, but I do appreciate how well the Peace Corps is taking care of us and at the end of the training we will be way better prepared to serve Mexico for the next 2 years.

Pictures will come slowly but surely. Love you all.