Hellooooo Internet!

Hi there! Just wanted to write a quick post that I made it to Botswana and things are going well. Training is intensive and the language isn't coming quite as easily as I had hoped, but things are moving along. My host family is great. The food is tasty. And the people in my training group are awesome. My time on the Internet is limited, so I'm just going to post something short for now. Miss you all, and I repeat, I am ready and willing to take on multiple pen pals. haha Just something to think about! ;) Talk to ya'll later!

Frequently Asked Questions

I've been getting a lot of questions on what exactly I'll be doing, where I'll be, when and for how long, so instead of expecting you to remember all that(even I struggle to keep it all straight), I thought I would post some of the answers to those questions.

Let's start with the basics...

Where will I be?
I will be serving in Botswana, which is located in Southern Africa. South Africa borders Botswana on the South, Namibia to the North and West, Zimbabwe to the Northeast, and Zambia for a short distance in the North. I've posted a picture below to help out all you directionally-challenged peeps. ;)

How long will I be gone?
The Peace Corps is a 2-year and 3-month commitment.

Do I know anyone I'm serving with?

Nope. Volunteers in Bots7 (my volunteer group) come from all over the U.S., even way out there in Hawaii!

Will I be living by myself?

The living situation for volunteers can vary considerably, but most volunteers receive their own house and are the only Peace Corps volunteer in that village or town.

What if I hate it? Can I leave at any time?

Yes, it's called Early Termination. I just wouldn't receive any of the benefits that I would if I completed my service.

Will I be in Botswana the whole time?

Yessir. I do spend two days in Philadephia where all my fellow trainees meet up and we go through a brief orientation before bussing it up to New York, where we take a direct flight to Johannesburg. Actually, we do stop in Senegal to refuel, but we don't get off the plane. 17 hours. woo! Although, I can't say I mind the whole eat, sleep, watch movie, repeat thing for 17 hours straight! Sounds like a good time to me! Plus, a volunteer currently serving in Botswana told us they had an open bar on their flight, so that should make things interesting.

Do I get to come back to the U.S. at all during my service?

We get 48 days of vacation total, 2 days per month, and can do what we want with them. Some volunteers choose to return to the states for a 2-week visit at some point. I believe if I travel on national holidays or on weekends, that unfortunately still counts as vacation days, as does having visitors, BUT don't let that deter you! I'd love to have visitors! (Sure the flight is spendy, but staying with me will be cheap! You know you wanna!)

THE BIG ONE: What will I be doing?

Well, that's a good question. Peace Corps seems to like to keep things very vague. In my invitation packet, my job title is Home Based Care and Orphan Care(HBC/OC)/Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission(PMTCT). That job title falls under the program Community Capacity Building for HIV/AIDS Project(CCB). **You will soon learn that Peace Corps is all about the acronyms** The truth behind all this is they don't know what we'll each specifically be doing yet. My first 3 months in Botswana are spent in intensive training with all of the other trainees in Bots7, and this is where we will be taught, evaluated, and assigned. After those 3 months, we swear in as volunteers and are given our assignments and locations. From there we all go our separate ways and begin our 2-year service. I will update this with more details on my job when I find out what I'll be doing in June/July.

My address and such...

Hi everyone! I just thought that since I will be disconnecting my phone next Friday(the 18th) I should offer alternative ways to reach me in case you wish to do so.

My address from April 19-June 22, 2008 will be:

My name
U.S. Peace Corps
Private Bag 00243
Gaborone
Botswana

From what I hear, receiving mail will make my day if not week, so don't hesitate to old school it on paper and and mail 'er on over. I also hear that there's a lot of spare time in the beginning of service, so I welcome all pen pals! :) I even bought some cool paper to spice things up a bit!

Also, apparently all volunteers have cellphones, so as soon as I pick one up I will be sure to post my number. Calling can be pretty expensive, but I've heard some websites are cheaper than others for buying phone cards, so I'll post those when I know more.

And then of course there's email. I'm not sure it's a good idea to post my address on a public blog like this, so let's just say if you want my address, either check my facebook profile if you have it, or leave me a comment asking for it and I'll hook you up.

And such...
Some people have asked what sorts of things I would enjoy receiving in a package... Well, at this point I have a few ideas but again, this is something I will have to update later since I'm sure there will be things I miss more than others, and I just don't know it yet. Yay! But here's what I'm thinking so far:

-books
-word puzzle books like sudoku, word finds, riddles, etc.
-stuff for kids to do. markers, crayons, coloring books, small books and puzzles, card games
-tea. all kinds! except chamomile... I've tried, we're just not meant to be.
-pictures! Cuz I'm going to miss you all! and I need something to decorate my walls.
-music
-yourself ;)

Also, a tip I read somewhere. A good way to fill in the gaps in a package and keep things in place is with flavored-water packets (e.g. crystal light), candy, or anything useful instead of paper or whatever, so there's less trash for me and more yumness for everyone!

Ok, that's all I can think of right now. And another tip for anyone who just wants to send one or two things and doesn't want to pay for the pricey shipping, you can mail it to my parents instead and they can fit it into their next package. Cheaper for you, more packages for me, ya get what I'm saying. ;)