Well it looks like I have some more time on my hands, so I will put up another post.
Today I'm back in Lilongwe, the capital. I just got back from my "site visit." This entailed an awkward three day visit to the village I will be living in for the next two years. I still have a few more weeks left of training, and then I will move in permenetly on either December 10 or 11. I don't actually start teaching until Jan 4 so I will have plenty of time to settle in and get over to the lake for a Cristmas vacation. Anyways, I will be living in a little village called Chadabwa. It's about ten kilometers east of a large trading center called Mitundu (). I am really happy about the location since it is about an hour south of Lilongwe and in the central part of the country. Hopefully, this will allow me to travel easily throughout the country and get into the big city whenever I have to take care of business. Also, there is a branch of the University of Malawi about 20K away from my site, so I should be able to update this thing frequently.
My house is nicer than I expected. It's brand new with a cement floor and a tin roof. I will get some pics of it up in the future. There is no running water or electricity at my house or anywhere nearby, but that is what I expected going into all of this so I should survive. The house has three small bedrooms and a larger sitting room. With three bedrooms, I have the opportunity of boarding two students from my school. It is not uncommon for PCV teachers to board students at their houses since we often have extra rooms, and many of the students have to walk many miles back and forth to school every day. With this, the student gets to stay near the school in a comfortable environment while the teacher (myself) has someone to do chores around the house. I definately won't have a student live with me right away, but I will reevaluate things after the first term.
Well, I have to get going. I will try and get some pics of my site up next time around.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
An Insufficient Description of Training
Hello everyone, I’m still alive! Sorry I haven’t been able to update this thing lately, but I’ve been cut off from the modern world. Anyways, let me try and give you a glimpse into the last few months of my life here in Malawi. Obviously a lot has happened, and I’m overwhelmed right now while a contemplate how to explain it all, but here goes.
First, I must say that right now I am entirely satisfied with what I have decided to do with the next few years of my life. I will admit that I was very uncertain going into this whole thing. I wasn’t sure if I was capable of doing this job or if I would actually enjoy it. However, I can now honestly say that there is nothing else I would rather be doing with my life. I have already learned a ton about life, while having a blast at the same time.
So far, here in Malawi, I have been going through something called Pre Service Training, PST (as with any other government organization, Peace Corps uses tons of acronyms; I will try and explain them all the first time around). I am part of a group of 22 volunteers that will be teaching in Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) here in Malawi. During training we have been spending most of our time in the Dedza district. At the start of training, all of us spent a week at the Dedza College of Forestry. This is a few of us on the top of a mountain that we climbed early one morning:
We didn’t actually learn about forestry at the college, rather it’s just a somewhat reliable location that Peace Corp Malawi uses for a majority of its training events. After that first week, we were split into three groups and sent off to three rural villages in the area where we lived for five weeks. I was sent to a village called Mpalale. In Mpalale, I lived with a family of six; taught at the local CDSS; and went through lot’s of language training, amongst other things. It’s hard being anyone’s guest for five weeks, especially when you don’t speak the same language. Nevertheless, this was an invaluable experience for me, although it was certainly a challenge.
During our first week in Mpalale, we all went to a village wedding:
We were a part of the honored group of guests that got to sit in the cozy plastic chairs.
Here's a view of the Malawian countryside in the Dedza district:
I took this while climbing up one of the mountains in the area near my homestay village.
Here's an overhead view of my homestay village:
The closed door on the right leads into the room I stayed in during homestay:
It was small but comfortable, and the roof didn't leak too bad.
This was my wonderful homestay family:
They took very good care of me, and they taught me lots of Chichewa.
On November 14, we all moved out of the villages and returned to the college for some additional training. This was bittersweet since living at the college is a much less overwhelming cultural experience, but at the same time, I will definitely miss my siblings; the hot bucket baths; and the home cooked meals, amongst other things.
It’s impossible for me to put all of this into words, but this brief summary will have to do for now. I should have more frequent access to the internet from now on. This will allow me to give a more detailed description of my crazy life, rather than inadequate posts that rush through everything.
First, I must say that right now I am entirely satisfied with what I have decided to do with the next few years of my life. I will admit that I was very uncertain going into this whole thing. I wasn’t sure if I was capable of doing this job or if I would actually enjoy it. However, I can now honestly say that there is nothing else I would rather be doing with my life. I have already learned a ton about life, while having a blast at the same time.
So far, here in Malawi, I have been going through something called Pre Service Training, PST (as with any other government organization, Peace Corps uses tons of acronyms; I will try and explain them all the first time around). I am part of a group of 22 volunteers that will be teaching in Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) here in Malawi. During training we have been spending most of our time in the Dedza district. At the start of training, all of us spent a week at the Dedza College of Forestry. This is a few of us on the top of a mountain that we climbed early one morning:
We didn’t actually learn about forestry at the college, rather it’s just a somewhat reliable location that Peace Corp Malawi uses for a majority of its training events. After that first week, we were split into three groups and sent off to three rural villages in the area where we lived for five weeks. I was sent to a village called Mpalale. In Mpalale, I lived with a family of six; taught at the local CDSS; and went through lot’s of language training, amongst other things. It’s hard being anyone’s guest for five weeks, especially when you don’t speak the same language. Nevertheless, this was an invaluable experience for me, although it was certainly a challenge.
During our first week in Mpalale, we all went to a village wedding:
We were a part of the honored group of guests that got to sit in the cozy plastic chairs.
Here's a view of the Malawian countryside in the Dedza district:
I took this while climbing up one of the mountains in the area near my homestay village.
Here's an overhead view of my homestay village:
The closed door on the right leads into the room I stayed in during homestay:
It was small but comfortable, and the roof didn't leak too bad.
This was my wonderful homestay family:
They took very good care of me, and they taught me lots of Chichewa.
On November 14, we all moved out of the villages and returned to the college for some additional training. This was bittersweet since living at the college is a much less overwhelming cultural experience, but at the same time, I will definitely miss my siblings; the hot bucket baths; and the home cooked meals, amongst other things.
It’s impossible for me to put all of this into words, but this brief summary will have to do for now. I should have more frequent access to the internet from now on. This will allow me to give a more detailed description of my crazy life, rather than inadequate posts that rush through everything.
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