Africa in the Morning!

After a night of no sleep and lots of packing, I arrived in Philadelphia Friday afternoon for staging, a two day conference with Peace Corps staff and fellow trainees designed in order to prepare us for our new lives as Peace Corps volunteers! Overall I think it was a really valuable experience. I've become more familiar with Peace Corps policies, have had a chance to really get to know the volunteers I'll be traveling with and have reaffirmed that I am definitely ready and excited for Malawi!

Did I mention that I was up all night packing? I know that a posted packing list was promised and I still do intend to deliver, but honestly, I'm not to sure as to what's even in my luggage! All I know is that I've made it under the 80 lbs and 107 inches rules and at this point that's good enough for me!

As I said before I've gotten to meet and learn about all of the other volunteers who will be traveling with me and am excited to get to know them even better! In general we've all been assigned to teach, specializing in some area of sciene, math, or english. It's been nice to be able to speak with people who share the same excitement, fears, and anticipations that I have held the past few weeks. At staging we were also given opportunities to ask questions, talk about issues of health and safety and to share and discuss our strategies for integrating into this very new experience.

I cannot believe that I will soon be in Africa, ready to start my adventure and training!

Ou training will continue to be intensive and thorough, which is good because I definitely would like to be as prepared as possible for life in Malawi. Over the next three months I'll be learning a new language, living with and learning from a host family, and learning how to be an effective teacher in Malawi! The days will be long and likely challenging, but I think I'll give it a good shot. Unfortunately, PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees... like me, til December) do not have internet access during training. So please don't be worried about not hearing from me for a few months, I'll be back soon with lots to tell. Until then please send me letters and lots of good thoughts!