It's Getting Real! Preparing for Peace Corps Training

I left my job less than two months before my scheduled departure date for Mozambique. I took the first few days to gather my wits and get a handle on what I would need to do to prepare for the big Peace Corps move before leaving for four weeks of traveling. I spent the first three in Rio, with the wonderful people who are becoming my extended family, before flying to San Diego for a wedding and some quality time with the West Coast friends I miss so much. Both trips were very grounding and helped remind me that distance doesn't damage the relationships that really matter. A very useful reminder as I prepare to pack my life into two suitcases and move to a country that's as far away as any I have ever visited.

But looking forward: What is coming? I thought it would be helpful to provide a rundown of the Peace Corps orientation/training/placement process.

On September 25, I will fly to Philadelphia for a "staging event" stateside. The event is only about seven hours long and will consist of introductions, setting expectations, and shots. *shudder* I was already given my Yellow Fever immunization, but will need rabies, various Hepatitis-es and others, along with the beginnings of an anti-malarial regimen. After a few hours of sleep, we will all get up at 2:00 am for a bus ride to NYC. Our 14 hour flight leaves from JFK and flies straight to Johannesburg. I believe there are 55 new volunteers that are part of "Moz 19," the nineteenth group to serve in Mozambique. We will be split between two flights from South Africa to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

Our first ten weeks will be spent in Pre-Service Training (PST) in Namaacha, a village about an hour and a half west of Maputo. Before we go to Namaacha, however, we will spend three days inside a hotel in Maputo, where will learn more about PST and our new home country. We have been instructed not to leave the hotel premises for the three days, which sounds a little like torture. So much anticipation for this move and then three days in one building! Patience, patience...

All of the volunteers in this group are going to be teaching, some math or science, others English. Mozambique is Portuguese-speaking, so we will have ten weeks of PST to become fluent enough to manage a class of 60 - 100 students. To help us learn the language and culture more quickly, we will be placed with host families in Namaacha. A team of Peace Corps staff will determine if I am fit for service at the end of training. This includes language proficiency as well as cultural and technical competence. All trainees who qualify will be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers on December 7.

I don't know where I will go after December 7. The final placement is made by the in-country staff, with my input as to certain preferences. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm allowed to ask for a beach town, but I can specify things like whether I would like to be in a community with another volunteer (probably), in a remote or more developed area (developed), whether or not electricity is important (yes).

Once I get to my site, I will have about a month to settle in before classes start. Peace Corps will provide my housing, which will most likely be a small house that I will live in by myself, but I could end up with a roommate. A currently serving volunteer wrote a great blog post about PC housing in Mozambique.

She also wrote a great post on food in Mozambique, which was one of the first things I wondered about when I learned I would be placed there. There is also a great episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations that covers Mozambique's history, culture, and food, including the giant crayfish. The basic staples of the Mozambican diet include corn, manioc, potatoes, tomatoes, rice, eggs, peppers (both hot and sweet) and garlic. From what I have heard, volunteers are frequently able to grow herbs and vegetables at their site and some have fruit trees. Along the coast, fish and seafood are available and affordable, but not much is transported inland.

I will post again soon with some information about communication in Mozambique.