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.