PC Caveat: In no way was the event that I attended a political rally of any sort.

Ok with that out of the way lets talk about the random stuff that happens up here in the highlands of Africa. Rumors had been circulating all week about His Excellency President Zuma visiting my village. Why here might you say? Well due to the joint business venture “water project” between the governments of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa I guess you could say he has some interest. With phase II of the project about to be underway what a perfect time for His Excellency to check where a good portion of his countries money is being spent. Friday was crazy. Six helicopters came in an out all day dropping of government ministers. Finally after a long while waiting in the hot sun His Excellency landed right in front of me in two South Africa choppers. It was pretty cool. President Zuma then left to go on a tour. As fate would have it we would run in together later that day at the feast. The accommodation was excellent and all the free gourmet food you could eat! I ate lunch literally less then 3 feet away from President Zuma. It was a surreal feeling because I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to get within 10 city blocks of President Obama. After lunch I went out on the balcony to enjoy the view of the water and out walked the President. I did not want to bother him because he was giving a speech for Lesotho TV. All in all it was a very cool experience that just sort of happened. Oh and the all you can eat lunch buffet didn’t hurt! On a side not the new volunteer arrived in a village close by. He has a lot of energy and I look forward to working with him on community projects in the near future. Mozambique blog and pictures to come soon!

The Fourth

So my winter holiday started with a bang. After some World Cup action in Bloemfontein I went back to my site to tie up some loose ends. Before I knew it my favorite expat holiday was almost upon me. The original plan was to have a big 4th party at my friends house down in the lowlands, but that fell apart. So we decided to have the bash up at my house. To celebrate the red, white and blue I decided it would be great to get a fariki (pig). Disclaimer: There is no way I can possibly describe the blood, sweat, and tears that went into obtaining this pig, trust me. Unfortunately getting a pig last minute in my village is tough so I went off on an adventure to the camp town to procure one. My friend’s host mother raises pigs so I figured I could get one from her. Upon arrival she informs me that the recent snow killed all four of her piglets so she didn’t want to sell her remaining ones… err. She told me of another house that had some pigs for sale. She woke me up at 7am to go to look at them only to find that they were to small and overpriced, back to the drawing board. I interrogated her some more and she informed me of a man who was selling a pig on the other side of town. This guy had a medium sized pig for a decent price… now we are getting somewhere. I told him that I would purchase the pig if I couldn’t find a bigger one. He complied and said he would take the pig out of the sty and start giving it some feed to start plumping it up. This is where things get crazy. A man jumps into the stye with a lasso and starts tying the thing up. The pig is squeeling like a banshee, rather ear piercing. Now imagine that the pigsties are made out of rock with no doors. He proceeds to grapple with the beast and throw it over the wall, ouch! The pig comes untied and the ntate (father) is having a hard time getting it under control. The ‘me (mother) gets fed up runs up to the pig, grabs it by the ears, puts it in its place, and ties it up like a rodeo pro, I was impressed. So the journey continued to try to find a bigger pig. I met another ‘me who worked at the school and raised pigs their. She had a real prize winner to sell me, this thing was a beauty, but to pricey. I gave it serious contemplation, but just couldn’t do it. I went back to my friends house again just to look at her ‘me’s pigs again, wishing I could just take one of those. They were perfect, but as I said due to the piglet infanticide and pregnancy of the other pig those were not options. Then I spied a perfect sized pig that belonged to the house next door. It was the right size, that was the one I wanted! Ooops another road block…. Let me explain. In Lesotho the Cows and sheep belong to the ntates (men) and the pigs belong to the bo’me (women). I talked to the father who owned the pig and told him my sad story about wanting to celebrate the 4th. He told me he could not sell the pig without his wife’s consent, but that he would if he could. After about an hour of bartering I told him that I could replace his pig with a smaller pig and throw him some rands to make up for the difference. After a long conversation with his daughter and phone call to his wife who was in Maseru he caved in and we made the deal! Now to get the pig from the other side of the village and deliver it to this ntate. Now I have transported several nku (sheep) since I have been in Lesotho and they are easy. I had to pay this other ntate a buck to help me move this thing across the town, way to get the villagers attention as its squeeling the entire way. Everyone was laughing as they watched the lahkua sp? (White man) tap this pig on the but with a stick. Anyway mission accomplished. Anyway the bus was coming so I had to hurry up. We went through the same fiasco getting this bigger pig out of its sty. Went through the same fiasco getting it to the bus stop as everyone stared in awe at me trying to wrestle this pig down. Finally the bus came… this is the part I was waiting for. So the bus has a few small compartments underneath. Perhaps we can put in there? For a few dollars the driver didn’t seem to mind. Imagine myself trying to lift up this pig with a few strangers I recruited and jamming it into this little compartment. Sorry PITA, not really the best situation I know, but TIA. The funny part was that it was more expensive for the pig to travel back to my site then it was for me. After a couple of hours we made it back to my village. Time for the last leg of the journey I thought. Well you imagined it correctly, as soon as we opened the hatch this thing jumps out and starts running around all over the place. Luckily some of my police officer friends saw me in distress and ran over to help me. Its only a 5 minute walk to my house, but this time it took well over 40 minutes… pigs are stubborn. We finally made it back to my house, tied it up to a post, and relaxed. At this point I didn’t need to convince myself that I deserved a cold beer.

The next day my friends and I woke up to finish our business with the pig. Dad, lets just say good ole’ Billy Gruehl would have been impressed with the haste we made of skinning, cleaning and dressing this thing! After that we had to head down to the dam to catch the boat we charted. People don’t believe me when I tell them I have one of the most beautiful sites in PC. We sailed from my village on the reservoir of the second largest dam in Africa. The water was dead flat and the views of the mountains were stunning. We hung a huge American flag from the canopy and cruised for a few hourse to another village, ate lunch and then returned. When we got back the sun was setting and it was time to start the brie. That day while we were on the boat my welder friend made me a roasting stand for the pig, so freaking cool. (See Picture below) We had a true USA pig roast in the mountains of Lesotho, it was awesome. The next morning we woke up and made eggs, home fries, and pulled pork for breakfast it was great. I even had a few Budweisers I brought back from SA that I shared with my friends. If we were just watching some NFL I would have felt right at home. It truly was a great way to spend a great American holiday abroad! Thanks to all of my friends who came and for mom and dad who helped out with the pig. Members of PC Lesotho ED 10’ thank you! Hope you enjoy the pictures, in a few days I will post another blog about my trip to MOZAMBIQUE RAWR!!!!!

So the first half of the school year has ended and I find myself getting into all sorts of things. I’m back at my site and finishing up my basketball hoop project. The welding is finally complete and all I have to do now is paint the hoops and backboards! Take a look at the photos and let me know what you think. A lot of planning, designing and hard work has gone into them so I hope you enjoy them as much as the students will. When I got back to my site all I wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed. Unfortunately after waiting two hours for the water to heat up nothing came out when I turned it on. Today I grabbed my friend Ntate Makhotsa and we tore off a side panel of the house and were able to repair a pipe that came apart, gotta love the cold snowy weather in Thaba-Tseka to wreck havoc on your plumbing. So today I should be all good, we will see. Besides having to grade stacks of papers what else has been going on?

Before I went to South Africa LHDA held a big party and BBQ with the Lodge for the opening ceremonies of the World Cup. It was really a lot of fun and the food was great. It was a nice way to celebrate with all of my friends around the village since everyone had been anticipating that moment for a long time. Last week I went to Bloemfontein with a few of my friends for some FIFA World Cup action. My supervisor was able to hook us up last minute with a place to stay that was a two minute walk from the stadium! We stayed with a nun who was great as well as very accommodating. We were all able to get tickets to see Slovakia play Paraguay. The game was fun, Paraguay winning 2-0. It was fantastic to see patriots for both sides all decked out in their countries colors, wigs, and all sorts of things. Unfortunately both sides represent red, white, and blue just like the good ole US of A so I was kind of confused as to where I was for a bit. That combined with the fufuzelas (loud horn things) made for a very intense day. Did I mention that Budweiser is the sponsored beer of the 2010 world cup, which also made for a real blast. On a side note there is a McDonalds in Bloemfontein! Quarter Pounders with cheese and egg mcmuffins did well for my psychological health, but not so well for my gastrointestinal… I will leave it at that. We got back to Lesotho and were able to watch the USA beat Algeria in stoppage time to advance them to the next round of the World Cup, so cheers boys!

I am still planning the trip to Mozambique for ten days in the middle of July so if anyone has any travel suggestions I would love to hear them. As of now I am just relaxing and waiting for the next half of the school year to start in August. I am also eagerly anticipating my father and his friend Scotts visit to Lesotho in November, cant wait dad! I hope everyone back home is well and are enjoying the warm and sunny Florida sunshine. I will be snow dodging and trying to get off the mountain as much as PC will allow me so I wont get snowed in =) Sorry for the sporadic post, but my brain has been truly over stimulated after visiting SA. I will edit this as more detail come to mind. Enjoy the photos!

And just as the second quarter of the school year ends so does any sign of warm weather. Its funny how the seasons can often reflect ones own personal emotions. When I arrived in Lesotho it was stifling, with frequent torrential downpours. In my head I was eager to begin my journey in Africa, yet somewhat cautious and fearful of the unknown. As autumn approached the heat subsided and I could feel myself getting comfortable with my surroundings. Faces became familiar and teaching became routine. Now I find myself 25% done with my teaching assignment. Physically and emotionally exhausted I find the snowfall on the last day of school comical. Is the weather telling me that its time to relax and cool down? I think the next two months will be filled with much self-reflection and eventually excitement towards the third quarter of school where things will surely be heating up as will the weather.

So much for trying to be poetic! So what am I in store for the next two months? Fortunately I have just beaten a three day bout with some sort of stomach bug, glad that’s over! They say the closest friend you make in Peace Corps is the amoeba you bring home. Well if that’s the case I should start thinking of a name for him/her, perhaps Hendrix. On a more exciting note World Cup starts tomorrow! Everyone you see is in complete jubilation, hoping the best for their team. Most Basotho are cheering for Bafana Bafana (South Africa.) As you can bet I will be rooting for good ole team USA, yeehaw! Italy, naturally will be my second team. If all goes well I will be in Bloemfontein on the 20th for a game, which will be exciting. The end of the holiday will find me in the tropical paradise of Mozambique for ten days. Yeah I know Peace Corps life can be pretty sweet sometimes. Like I always say work hard, play hard. In recent news the new CHED 10’ volunteers arrived in the mountain Kingdom on June 4th. I look forward to meeting them and wish them good luck in their CBT training.

Tomorrow there is a huge BBQ here at the lodge to celebrate the opening ceremonies and game between Bafana Bafana and Mexico. Expect many pictures of world cup action as I attempt to infiltrate the soccer hooligan lifestyle, joke. As this month comes to an end I am also eagerly anticipating the 4th of July. You can bet there will be a hog roast, American flag bandanas, Garth Brooks and a movie like Independence Day playing. Someone drink a Budweiser for me and we will be all set, thanks in advance =)

So here I sit writing this blog post. It is frigid outside and it just stopped snowing. Tonight I am having a few village friends over my house for dinner. My Italian friend is coming over later to help me prepare an Italian feast, which I am eagerly anticipating since I can now stomach and hold down food! The menu consists of homemade Italian red sauce, baked rainbow trout and potatoes and homemade garlic bread. Yes, I will take a picture of it. To all of my friends and family back home I hope you are enjoying the summer time. Please think of me every time you go to the beach, take the boat out, eat a slice of pizza, go to Carrabas, or do anything American. For now I will turn on the gas heater and start to prepare this sauce, you know it has to cook all day if you want authentic flavors! Love you guys lots!

PS: I shaved the beard, these pictures are from last week!

What a great few weeks it has been. The weather is starting to get cold, but that has not curbed all of the action that has been going on in village. Lets try to summarize the past three weeks of my life…

BBQed, ate sheep, ate cow, at cow testicle… mushy but not bad.

Birthday party, many friends, good times.

Dart practice with police, up coming tournament soon, excited!

Another birthday party, more friends, more good times.

Threw an American football, got excited again.

Played wiffle ball, extremely excited.

Met an Italian who worked on dam, cooked homemade sauce together.

Frequently hang out with Italian, made breadcrumb fried trout.

Got paid by Peace Corps, finally, thanks.

15k walk for African Heroes day, inside tour of the dam, BBQ, party!

Continued work on bball hoops, still keeping fingers crossed, still excited!

Trip planned for Maseru for District Aids meeting, too much travel.

Built shelf for spices above stove, Bob Villa is jealous.

Toenail is growing back.

Ate KFC ice cream, delicious.

Starting exam testing, looking forward to break.

Namibia or Mozambique?

Went fishing for the first time, caught worms, no luck…

World Cup soon, want a ticket, Bloemfontein game hopefully.

Newbies arrive in a week.

Im getting old.

As you can see things have been busy. Sorry I didn’t go in to detail but I have a busy day of traveling tomorrow and just wrote down random stuff that came from my head. Hope you enjoyed the post and the pictures!

Well hello again! I will preface this blog post like all others and apologize for my lack of updates. With that being said what has been going on in my life. After the trip to Durban it was time to get back to work, which honestly was not easy. It was amazing to me that after less then six months I had forgotten about all of my modern day conveniences that I had left behind in the states. Unfortunately Durban quickly reminded of everything that I once had =) No worries though after a week or two back in my new home country I was quickly reminded of how I can live without them and with that as a mental comfort I was back to work. So what have I been working on? I have been put in charge of coaching our basketball team, which has been a lot of fun. Playing with the kids is great and the exercise is an added bonus I suppose. We make the most out of our practice facility, which is essentially a netball court. Think basketball without the dribbling and no backboards on the hoops. So my new pilgrimage has been to construct some new hoops for my Ballers, woot! I’ve made friends with the local welder who does work for the school and he has been great. Yes, he is the one who helped my dream of a BBQ come to fruition. Anyway he reminds of my dad. I showed him a rough sketch of a design I had and he went to work adding things and making sure all of my angles and measurements were correct. I was able to get an old pole from the school that’s 20ft long. My friend cut it in half and I had him weld on some plates we came up with to the tops of each. (See Photos) From the pictures you can see I also framed out the size of the backboard out of black scrap metal that was left over from student beds that were made from the boarding. My friend is going to mend all of that together and we will have two frames we can attach to the backboards when I get them. You can also see that I managed to snake two brand new Dunlop Basketball rims! The idea is that the metal frames will be about 3ft away from the pole. The frames will be holding the rim and backboard and will be connected to the main pole and attached at the metal plates we welded on. If my vision comes true they will look like NBA hoops but sized down for high school basketball. Anyway as you can tell we have been putting a lot of work into this and I am really excited about the outcome. My big project that will take place in the near future involves a few of my friends who are in the CHED community health and economic development sector of Peace Corps. I have been picking their brains about building raised gardens and we have come up with something that is going to benefit the school and the children in countless ways. I want to build gardens throughout the school compound. My school has 5 forms A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D, and E. These equate to 8th through 12th grade. I want each of these classes to have their own raised garden that will be monitored throughout the year by their class teacher. Why build these gardens? The first reason is to give all of the children in the school an additional source of nutrition. My school does a great job in feeding the kids, but additional sources of nutrition are always a bonus especially when you are dealing with OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children). It will also help the kids learn about gardening, which is something the agriculture teachers can use as an outside teaching tool. The class teachers can also have competitions to see which class can grow the most vegetables and give prizes to the ones who do the best. I have learned that competition among kids is great and makes them really try hard, its awesome to see how hard these kids work for a sticker, I can only imagine what they would do for some fresh vegetables. I was also thinking that if there are extra vegetables they can be sold throughout the year to fund other school projects. This project would also serve as a barometer for how my greenhouse project later down the road will go. The best part about the project is that its entirely free. They are pretty much built out of stones, some wood, aloe, old tin cans and cardboard. Materials of which can all be found right here in village! I have even talked to my friend who works with the UN WFP (World Food Programme) and she is trying to secure me a few hundred seeds of assorted vegetable species. Keep your fingers crossed this is a big undertaking, but I have the school staff and other support from other PCVs. Lastly I am still trying to sort out problems I am having with the PC WWS (World Wise Schools Program). The program matches volunteers with classrooms abroad to classrooms in the US so they can be pen pals. The correspondent I was matched with has not replied to me so I have been sending emails to PC Washington and with not much nudging they are going to give me a new correspondence. My kids were really happy to hear this and I will let you know how their writing is. I will even try to post some of the questions and responses I get in a couple of months. I’m sure they are going to be great. Day to day life here is going. Everyday I feel more confident in the work I am achieving and the direction that my life is going in. Last weekend we had a Thaba-Tseka sports weekend here and 5 other schools showed up. The competition was from Thursday to Sunday and the students competed in soccer, netball, volleyball, and basketball. Our school did pretty well and we are sending a couple of the teams to another qualifying match in two weeks. If they win that they get to go to Maseru to play for the national games, pretty cool. I need to get those hoops built so my team can really practice =) On Friday I organized another BBQ and collected money from a lot of the teachers around the district and bought another sheep. It was cool getting to meet the other teachers from around the district and see what projects and teaching methods they have been working on. Socializing here in Africa has not only been fun, but has also proven to be a great way to network with people, seriously. I also want to throw a shout out to my fellow Thaba-Tseka friend Oz who is going home next week after serving his two years. We are gonna miss you bud. On a lighter note a baby threw up on me while I was on public last week, oh Lesotho. I made calzones. I made the best brownies in the world, thanks Mom for the Funfetti icing! I am getting really good at pool. That’s about all for now I will post some more random musings later when they come to me. Yes, it is getting super cold here and my masotho friend who doesn’t speak English hand gestured to me that he thinks that it will snow next week. He probably is better then the meteorologist in Florida lol. Love and miss you guys a lot. Khotso! PS: My Students like to dance! Durban Pt 2 is coming.

Here are a few more Durban pictures! Ill continue the vacation story soon. The pictures are of me hanging with some Zulus I met on North Beach at the Indian Ocean in Durban, my friends and I at uShaka water park, Sharks Rugby game and the last one is of the uShaka aquarium. Enjoi!

As always I will preface this post by apologizing to my friends and family for the absurd amount of time it is taking me in between these posts. In my defense however, which really is only worth about, well nothing really, I have been extremely busy over the last month. As fast as I came to my site for the first time like a wild gypsy it was already the end of March and time to leave. The first quarter of school wrapped up quite nicely and it was time to go back to Maseru for 10 days for phase III training. It was nice to see all of my colleagues again and hear of their numerous trials and tribulations. The training was actually rather good so kudos to PC Lesotho for that. Even the capital city of a third world country is sensory overload after you have lived in the middle of the mountains for three months. Some of the highlights of the gathering include a trip to the new movie theater to see Avatar. The movie was aweful, but it was nice to smell popcorn and sit in air conditioning for a while for only about 2 bucks. We also held the first annual PC Lesotho Mustache games which was a blast thanks to Mr Vino for making that happen, details on this will be told in person =) I also went to my first Maseru night club with a gang of friends which was ridiculous. The local MCs who were rapping were pretty good. I can only imagine what runs through the locals minds when almost 40 foreigners raid a bar, hilarious I say. So lets skip to the vacation! After 3 months at site and 10 days doing “extensive” PC training we were all ready for some R and R. I went to Durban with 10 of my new closest PC buds. The trip from Ficksburg to Durban was 190R (about 30US) and usually takes about 5 hours. Well due to getting pulled over by the SA police three times due to a cracked windshield in the Kombi it took us over 7, TIA. The trip was eventful and we saw zebras, monkeys, and a baboon chilling on the side of the road, a definite perk of living in Africa. So my first experience into living in a hostel was fantastic. We stayed at the Hippo Hide Hostel in Durban and it was great. They even claim to have the largest rock pool in the southern hemisphere and a honesty system self serve bar, at this point I’m still not sure which is more impressive, but I digress. The first day finds us unwinding in the pool for a bit and heading to the Suncoast beach for dinner. There we messed around in the casino for a bit and ate fresh sushi on the water. Ya you can probably imagine how amazing it was. Just to smell the salt water knocked my socks off. The beach was closed, but using my boyish charm I was able to convince a SA police officer to escort us down for 5 minutes so we could put our feet in the Indian Ocean for a few minutes. See picture below. Wow it was great to be back at sea level! Day two Parker and I made breakfast for everyone… what?! Fresh cheese? And scrambled eggs? WOOT! We decided to spend part of the afternoon at the mall just to get a real culture shock. Was it big? Three stories and bigger then any mall I have ever been in. I think some dude said it had 27 entrances, yikes! Lets not forget KFC and subway. It was here I had my first draught beer in 5 months at a nice little pub on the top floor. Yep… just like I remembered. I will say that it took a while to let everything soak in and remember that things that I was seeing still do exist. That night we all decided to go eat some Indian food. Durban has the highest Indian population outside of India so needless to say the food was pretty authentic and amazingly good. On a recommendation from the waiter we ended up at this pretty lame dance club, you win some you lose some, either way I still had fun. The next day was the pinnacle of the vacation. A few of us decided to go to the water park uShaka which is right on the Indian ocean. Lets not forget an ample serving of McDonalds breakfast, yeah I know egg mcmuffin incredible! The park was great, my favorite part was the lazy river that went through parts of the aquarium, totally awesome. (See Picture below). Later that day we went to a SA Sharks rugby game. This could be the most fun thing I did on the vacation. My friend Sonny says soccer is a gentleman’s game played by hooligans and rugby is a hooligans game played by gentleman. That made me laugh pretty hard. The game was intense and the Sharks actually won which was pretty cool. To top it of was a pitcher of beer and some comical banter I had with a few of the local fans, those guys were great. We ended the day by going to one of the most amazing sea food restaurants I have ever been to called Wilson’s Warf. It was located right on the pier and was incredible. Im pretty sure the waitress ripped me off at the end, but either the way the meal was still super cheap and after a day like that I just wanted to go to bed. We spent the next morning eating eggs benedict at an Italian eatery down the street wow how I have missed you old friend. Part 2 to be continued….

Here are some notes I jotted down over the last two weeks. Today I had a very sentimental moment that brought several tears to my eye. The tears were filled with joy, but painful in a way. Let me explain. I came home after a long day and put on the Beatles album “Let it Be.” The first thought that came into my head was long weeks spent at my grandparent’s house in Hollywood. Just like it was yesterday I can remember hearing these songs playing on the oldies station of my grandfathers huge white car, I think it was a cutlass. How simple times were back then. Playing botchy ball and bowling at the pool house, all great times, the perfect image I have of my grandparents. This got me to thinking about music that reminds me of my friends and family. For my one and only father, lets see… It would have to be Starcastle or Texas Flood. I’ll never forget that Stevie Ray album that inspired me to pick up the guitar and never put it down. For that gift I cannot thank you enough. For my dearest mum… There are a few that come to mind namely Toad the Wet Sprocket, Steely Dan “Katy Lied,” and Ryan Adams “Heartbreaker.” The album; however, that will always remind me of you is “August and Everything After” by the Counting Crows. Another album I can listen to all the way through everyday. For my love Maya there can be many. We have shared so much music it is hard to say. For you it would have to be the Jets to Brazil album we listened to that first night we hung out and shared music on your bed, oh Kanapaha, how long ago it seems since you lived there. For Hless Jon it is easy Chutes to Narrow by the Shins. Also anothing by Hot Chip reminds me of the autumn days spent in your apartment in Lakeland sitting on the patio smoking hookah and drinking a nice Congelton homebrew. Andy would have to be any Thrice album, oh I can just picture you know singing the lyrics in the kitchen making your protein shake and MCS dinners lol. For Brett it is “Through Being Cool” by Saves the Day. Every time I hear that album I think of you buddy and the countless nights we spent screaming our lungs out and playing “I’m Sorry I’m leaving” on the guitar are some of my favorite memories. Uncle Jesse you know what I’m going to say for you. That’s right “Full Collapse” by Thursday. Kent… my brother from another mother, there are too many to count. All of those rigged mixed tapes we played through that old stereo in my garage while we played basketball. It would probably be the big tymers album with “snake” on it. My point is that even though I may not be with you guys I still am with you all of the times in the silly memories I play out in my head every time one of those songs comes up on shuffle. The memories we have shared have been countless, ridiculous, sometimes hazardous, and just flat out absurd, and I have loved every one of them. Thank you guys, thank you. What a weekend, what a weekend. For me the weekend actually started on Wednesday when I held the swim meet for my kids. It was great all of the school and staff were in attendance and it was gratifying to see that all of my hard work cleaning the pool and coordinating the even was paying off. I had 30 students compete in the event which was awesome. We had 6 individual heats to start everything off. Then I ran three heats of the top placed swimmers and finally and 3 man team race. The kids had a great time and so did I. I need to look into getting cheap speedos made for the swimming club because a lot of them do not have the proper attire and have to share swim trunks throughout the competition. Thursday after athletic practice the school bought a sheep so we could have a BBQ for the staff party on Friday. This time my colleagues gave me the honors of doing the dirty work. They did not think I could do it and I was not even sure if I could pull through, but when it was all said and done I had another sheep under my belt. We skinned the sheep and had the innards for dinner that night community style. Yes liver, kidneys, heart, intestines and stomach included. That stuff really isn’t my cup of tea but its honestly not that bad once you get over the shock and awe of it. Friday was a bittersweet day for me as it was my Mayas birthday. Alice and wonderland came out that day and we had been anticipating it for quite some time. I wish I could have been there, but she knows I was thinking about her. That day school was let out early so we could have time to run the inter-house athletic competitions. All of the students are divided up into five houses. I am the housemaster for house 1. I named my house the “Red House” in honor of Jimi Hendrix. It came to me as I was reading a biography about JImi that my dad gave me before I moved to Lesotho. So I always wear a red bandana and made a red flag for my kids out of my broomstick handle and a red piece of cloth. The kids love it and wave it around while they constantly dance, its great. All year we will compete in athletics and sports and the house who has the most points at the end will win an nku (sheep.) Today the events were boys and girls 100M, 200M, 400M, 3600M, 4800M, and 4x4. I was really proud of my kids they ran hard and earned third place. As a Peace Corps Volunteer you wear many hats and today I had the coach hat on. Despite their best efforts my girls were not placing in any of the events, so I gave them a pep talk and some words of encouragement it was great. I could see they were trying their hardest and as a coach that is all you can ask for. I put the burden on my boys and told them I really needed them to step up. Now mind you some of these kids run in multiple races. By the end of the day they were exhausted and we still had the relay to do. I challenged them and they came in first in the relay. The house when mad and where joisting them on there shoulders parading them around on their shoulders singing Basotho cheers and waving around the flag I had crafted. Indeed it was a great day to be alive. Friday night we had a staff party at my house to celebrate the JC exam results (10th grade). We BBQed the sheep and danced all night. There may have also been a few libations here and there =) It was great to spend some time with my principal and teachers outside of the work place. Saturday I straightened up the house and we had a relaxing night by a fire I made and cooked the rest of the sheep and ate plenty of the staple food Papa. I even had a nice Peace Corps moment when I taught a few teachers about constellations. Ntate Matete really enjoyed the allure of Orion and was excited when he finally was able to view it in the night sky. Sunday, the day of relaxation. The male teachers woke me up banging on my door and had oh such a wonderful surprise for me. They had a big stainless steel pot and inside was a cooked sheep head. Why not right? Nothing like a little jaw meat at 11 in the morning I say. I deferred on the eyeballs and ears as it was already an overwhelming experience. Things have been going well here, looking forward to seeing my friends in Maseru later this month.

Although I miss my family and friends dearly I can say without reservation that the last few weeks at site have been nothing but amazing. I am meeting new members of the community on a daily basis and the kids are really starting to warm up to me, which is great. So what have I been doing lately… this is in no particular order and some parts are rather comical. Here is a random assortment of my musings as of late. I dropped a quart on my toe, its black and blue and the nail will probably come off, oh well another Africa scar =) I am becoming a master at baking bread, last night I made a cayenne pepper loaf, how delectable! I have driven around in WFP (World Food Programme) SUVs and provided assistance, that was great. I have done condom demonstrations in my life skills class with my students. That was hilarious, none of them knew you could blow one up the size of a beach ball, they were kind of scared however when it popped! Dogs ran away with my sheep pelt, which I am kind of bummed about. I lost a pair of aviator sunglasses, also another bummer. I spent my birthday alone, also another bummer. It did turn out great because my counter part and another colleague of mine cooked me dinner, absolutely amazing Basotho food. They know I like spicy so they load up on the cayenne, delicious! My friends also brought a smile to my face with all of the birthday facebook greetings, thanks guys! I introduced The Boondock Saints to a few teachers on a movie night, they loved it. I spent 5 hours on a bus ride that should have only taken 2, also another bummer. I am in the process of finishing the ALP (African Library Project) library at my school. The previous volunteer did a great job securing books and shelving. I am in the process of getting a couch and table and some more shelving, then time to catalog! My latest project however, is becoming a pool boy. The LHDA (Lesotho Highlands Development Authority) and Katse Lodge co-own a swimming pool in Katse Village. For the past three weeks I have been pestering them to give me free electricity to run the pool and free chemicals (chlorine and acid) to keep it clean. Things are slowly coming together and the pool is almost clean. I have scrubbed so much algae lately its insane. Today was finally the day I was able to take my students swimming. VICTORY! I took the entire senior form E class (12th grade), almost 30 in total. It was a little chaotic, but the kids loved it and can’t wait to go back, if the weather permits we will go tomorrow. Growing up on the water swimming is something I cannot remember not doing. I now realize that it is difficult watching some thirty students try to do it who have lived in the mountains their entire life. The scenery is beautiful; it is an outdoor pool so there are gigantic mountains in every direction you look. Unfortunately winter is coming furiously. It is only mid February and there is already a slight chill in the air. The kids surprised me at how quickly they were able to pick up the basics. I even have one student who floats around without effort showing off to all of his friends. Either he is a natural or I am an amazing teacher… but I digress. I am making plans to bring piggery to the school. I want to teach the kids about small scale sustainable income generating projects. It will also give them opportunities to have pig on a semi regular basis for extra nutrition, I am really excited about this project, hopefully it will get off the ground. Did you know you can buy a pig for less then 45 US dollars? WOW! I am growing a pretty ridiculous beard. Maya I wish you could see it. It is six weeks old now and is starting to scare even me. I am not shaving until phase III training starts in Maseru on March 21… yeah gonna be grizzly Adams by then but it will be good times for sure. On a random note, Mom, buy the Glen Phillips cd “Live at Largo” I’m not going to tell you who it is, but I know you and dad will thoroughly enjoy it. On another random note this post goes out to Maya’s mom K. I miss you guys a lot and thanks for reading! Enjoy the pictures. Sorry mom I will post pictures of the inside of my house this weekend after I get a chance to clean it!

What an eventful two weeks. It started off with a trip from Katse to Maseru for a Swine Flu H1N1 vaccine. It felt good to be back in the lowlands. I was really happy because I was able to stock up on food that I cannot get in Katse and bring it back. There is not much in Maseru but compared to the highlands it is like NYC. Cheese is the main thing that comes to mind, wow I had been craving that for a while. It was also nice to see a few familiar faces after so long out at site. I even got a package from Maya that was incredible. Books, pepperoni, gold fish, peanut butter, salami, slim jims, crystal light are only just a few things that were inside, it was amazing! The following weekend was really incredible. A friend of mine took me fishing and showed me how to catch fish the Basotho way. Equipped with nothing but a long piece of line and a fly hook we were able to catch half a dozen yellow fish. Not a bad catch for the first try. Later that day I through a party for my Basotho friends and teachers. I recently finished my BBQ stand so I was eager to have a cook out and try it out. The teachers decided to buy an nku (sheep) and slaughter it so we could have a cookout all day. They showed me how to kill it and how to skin it, which was not nearly as bad as I expected. For the rest of the day we cooked fish and sheep, drank, and danced. It was really cool. The next day I walked to the dam because the weather was so nice. The Katse dam is the largest curved dam in Africa and is really something to look at.

I just finished trimming some of the trees in my backyard. This serves three purposes. One is that they are huge and take up most of the space, so now I am reclaiming my yard back. Second is that now once the branches dry out I will have fire wood, score. Last but not least now I have a fantastic view of the water. I stumbled across some more pictures that I thought you guys might enjoy so here they are. The christmas eve swimming pool picture as promised! The other picture is of me and some bo abuti after a quick football match in Quiting. They definitely let me know how out of shape I was, well I'll just blame it on the high altitude. Tomorrow school begins. I'm sure with it will come many interesting blog posts so stay tuned.This picture was taken on the last day of CBT, we are all sitting in front of our host mothers. The village chief of Barea mission is the man in the front on the right. Woot woot Barea Ballers!Kids in Quiting that enjoy beating the Lehuoa in football. Below is the best African Christmas Eve. For Christmas Santa got me a really nice sunburn!

All of the Baithoupi babacha "New Volunteers" at Thaba-Bosiu "Mountain of the Night." We took a trip there during training. It is where King Moshoeshoe I founded the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho.

Sorry to all of my avid readers for the lack of posting. Unfortunately the compound where I live was without power for a few days, so the laptop was in hibernation. So where to start… I have been at my site for almost a week now and everything has been wonderful. I can honestly say I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I live in the district of Thaba-Tseka which is in the highlands. I stay in the village of Katse which is in the northern part near the border to Leribe district. I am surrounded by large mountains that are stunning and are snow capped for many months of the year. I am also a 10 minute walk from the Katse dam, the largest dam in Africa. There is water everywhere and I can even see the dam reservoir from my backyard. The compound I live in is very nice. I am very fortunate to have many luxuries that most of my Peace Corps colleagues do not have, like running water and electricity! The house also has a guest bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and master bedroom… pretty sweet. Since school does not start until Monday I have been slowly settling in. My supervisor is great and got me some paint that I asked for so I could give a few of the walls a few coats of paint. The kitchen even has a refrigerator and an electric stove! There is also a lodge resort about a 10 minute walk from me. The food there is great and it will be a nice get a way when I need to take a mental health stress free day. It is located right on the dam reservoir. I have even made friends with one of the staff there. He is a real nice guy that I will be tutoring English to and in return he will teach me how to cook Basotho food, pretty sweet deal I think. So for the past week I have just been walking around meeting people and getting to know the area. We have to small grocery shops, think the size of a bedroom, a couple of small restaurants, think the size of a bedroom, and a bar, think the size of a bedroom… you get the idea. Some of the bo ntate have been teaching me how to play Snooker, which is essentially pool but with a few different rules. Maya I think about you every time I play, not quite the same as Gator City but it will have to do for the time being. The first thing I did when I got to site was build a fire pit. Im no boy scout, but I think it turned out pretty good. The next order of business was a BBQ. So for the past week I have been collecting these large boulders to build this BBQ stand. I would say it is about half way complete. The police chief even gave me a piece of an old car to serve as the part to cradle the charcoal. All I need is a few more stones and a make shift grill and I will be all set. Im going to have the police over for a Brie “BBQ” when it is finished, they seemed excited. On a side note I saw the milky way for the first time in Africa, wow how something so simple can make you so excited. I haven’t seen that since the British Virgin Islands, love you baby! I would like to thank everyone that has sent me letters or called me. A special thanks goes out to Karsten and Beth for the Christmas card. The picture was priceless and Im glad to see you are still rocking that sweet mustache brosef. My mailing address and phone number are on my facebook if you want to call or send me something. The cheapest way is through skype, it costs like 30 cents a minute. A birthday shout out next month would be great =) Monday starts the beginning of the new school year and with it brings a new chapter in my Peace Corps journey. I am still unsure of what classes I will be teaching, but I think my Supervisor is thinking of putting me in form D and E chemistry. That equates to like 11th and 12th grade. The school facilities are really superb. It actually looks like a small high school you would find in the United States, well sort of. They are even as we speak building another building that houses 3 more classes rooms and 2 bathrooms. The school is very new and was built in 2006 I believe. Sorry guys Im having a hard time uploading photos, the internet is very slow here. One photo is taking over 30 minutes.... and most of the time they dont show up. PS: I cooked pasta for the maintenance man last night and he freaked out, he definitely loves italian food!

Here is a picture of the front of my house, the window on the left is my bedroom, the window on the right is the living room!

This post has been a long time coming, but I promise they will start to be more frequent. I have just bought a wireless modem so now its blogging time. Tomorrow is swearing in! After 8 weeks of training it is time to become a PCV, score! Anyway today we are having a banquet with our supervisors that we will be working with for the next two years. Sorry for this short post but I have to get ready and the battery on the laptop is almost done, but here are a few pictures that I have been promising. There will be a lot more in the next few days!

Me shaking hands with the US Ambassador to Lesotho. Ambassador Nolan.

These are a few of my students at Berea Secondary School. A really great group of kids that I learned a lot from and enjoyed teaching tremendously during CBT, hopefully I will be visiting them sometime during the middle of this year to see how they are progressing on their studies. And a final note to my friends, set up a skype and call me its super cheap. You can get the number from my parents, would love to hear from you all.

I finally made it to a computer! I cannot begin to describe the joy that I have had since I have been in Africa and Lesotho. Things are great here, today marks our 1 month in country. Things have been excellent. The first 2 weeks were training in Maseru, the capitol city. We have since moved to different host villages for more training and practice teaching. The village I live in in called Barea, which is subsiquently in the district of Barea. We taught for 2 weeks in Barea. The final days we spent testing the students and last friday we gave an assembly for the top 3 students in each class. One of my students got first place for his entire grade so i was extremely happy and proud, his name is Abuti Jon and he is really a great kid. I teach forms that would roughly equate to 12th grade science and 10th grade maths. Today I am back in Maseru to do some grocery shopping to get supplies to bring back to barea. I am sorry i cannot post pictures at this time. The internet cafe will not allow photos to be downloaded onto their computers which is really lame. I have some really good pictures and videos I will post once I am able to use the PC computer or get a wirelesss modem, whichever comes first.

Barea has been great. My host family has been taking extremely good care of me. I have a mom, 2 sisters, and 3 brothers. My mom is called 'M'e Manthihli. So far she has taught me how to wash clothes by hand, make bohobe (bread), and moroho (Basotho vegetables). We live about 30 minutes outside of Maseru in a village that is nestled into the side of a mountain. At the bottom there is a valley where another mountain starts to rise. My host mother gave me my Sesotho name which is Reitumetse (Ray-Two-Metsey). This means "the one we believe in". My host mother has said that I am a gift from god who has come to teach their children. These are pretty big shoes to fill, no? lol.

Today was an extremely exciting day for a number of reasons. 1 we get to go to Maseru which is always a welcome to break up village life. 2 we had Chinese food in Maseru which was AMAZING! 3 we found out our permanent site visits. This is where we will be for the next 2 years of our lives. I will be moving to the district of Thaba-Tseka in the mountains! By the grace of god I was placed in the nicest house of any volunteer currently serving in Lesotho. I am 5 minuters away from the Khotse Dam and many lakes and rivers... so excited about this. Are you ready mom...? I also have running water and electricity! The other volunteers cant believe it. They placed me in the village of Khotse. The school is brand new and was built in 2006. One of the faculty told me they wanted to place me in a school that had new teaching materials and an adequate facitility that would be conducive to my teaching styles. This was great news to hear as I have really enjoyed teaching the learners. The past two weeks in Barea have been great. I have learned so much and have had some really good constructive criticism to help my teaching methods. I did not realise how hard teaching is but thankfully it comes pretty natural to me. I would like to that all of the teachers I have had the pleasure of working with during my tenures in High School and the University of Florida. These teachers have shaped who I am and I cannot begin to express my deepest gratitudes towards them.

I want to thank all of my friends and family for their continued support. This has been a life changing experience and I have only been here for a month and I would not be able to do it without all of your thoughts and prayers. I want to especially thank my parents who have been the biggest blessing in my life and my girlfriend Maya! Goodluck baby climbing Kiliminjaro this week, Im so proud of you! If you guys have any questions please send them to my email: tmaresco@gmail.com and I will respond to them as soon as I can. If you would like to send me a package or a letter you can send them to:

Tom Maresco/PCV

Peace Corps/ Lesotho

PO Box 554

Maseru 100

Lesotho

Southern Africa

I would love to recieve a letter from you and I will definitly write you back. When I get the address for my permanent site in Khotse I will be sure to post it on here. I love all of you!

I wish you all the best and God Bless,

Reitumetse Tsenolti

PS: There is lots more to say but that is for another email... I am running out of internet time and I have to be back at the training center soon... eek!

So the final countdown has finally started. My last day of work is September 30th, so that leaves 12 nights of work left and 58 days until departure for staging (Nov 11th). After almost a year on Tokyo time I will be thrilled to be on a day schedule again. Sleeping in a bedroom with covered windows until 5pm is hardly healthy, even for a vampire. Everything seems to be slowly falling into place. Bills are getting paid and equipment for the trip is being acquired. Every week I have been trying to find deals on the web and purchase more gear for the trip. So far I got a pretty sweet NF duffel, Jacket, hiking shoes (thanks work), pants (thanks mom), Ipod Classic (thanks Maya!)and a camera (thanks dad). Next on the wishlist is a Backpack, lightweight pullover, Flip MinoHD cam, ASUS netbook, head lamp, sleeping bag, solar charger and some more clothes. I have also been meeting other volunteers from my group through the Lesotho November 2009 facebook group. Everyone seems really qualified and excited. I have also been trying to map out the remainder of my time here in the states which is kind of a surreal feeling. This includes seeing Blink 182, The Decemberists, Pinback, and Thursday. I am also going to a tattoo expo in Miami with Pops which I am really excited about. A trip to NYC is also in the works for a international non-profit banquet which I really hope works out. Would also be cool to see good ole H-less Jon in Rhode Island one last time while i'm up there. I must also tell you guys about a band Phoenix if you haven't heard of them. I just picked up their newest album "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" and it seriously is one the best and most refreshing albums I have listened to all year, so check them out. I also think they are on tour atm so you might be able to catch them if your interested. What else?... The Peace Corps Globe Talks at UF have started again which is cool because I get to see Amy my recruiter who I haven't hung out with in a while.... and no Amy I will not get in trouble before departure ( no FL/GA) and yes we should have an imported beer tasting, or any kind of social gathering for that matter. I'm sure Miss Meffert and her fancy shoes would love to be in attendance as well. Sorry for the scattered post, it has been a while since I have been on here and my blogging organizational skills are substandard.

The verdict: Lesotho! I recieved my formal invitation in the mail on August 5th to serve as a secondary ed science teacher. Staging date set for November 11th. I checked the mail on the way to band practice and there it was, I couldnt contain myself I yelled in my car for a few seconds. After a year in the application process the reward finally came. A thick blue packet contained in a FedEx envelope. I do find it very amusing that a government agency such as the Peace Corps uses FedEx instead of USPS, that must tell you something about the state of US mail. I spent some time reading over the large number of packets and called the next day to accept my invitation. The PO started asking me questions about what my job will entail and secondary projects I will be doing which kind of caught me off guard, but she seemed to be happy when I mentioned something about creating "income generating projects" score. Today I sent off the material for the Peace Corps passport which I will recieve at staging. Tomorrow I will write my aspiration statement and forward it along with "another" updated resume to the Lesotho PC office. This is quickly becoming a reality and day by day I realize more things I need to take care of. Someone created a Peace Corps Lesotho November 09 group so I have slowly been able to meet people I will be serving with which is pretty cool.

So I have been trying to decide when I'm going to leave my job. I'm pretty much set on leaving the last week of september. That will give me almost six weeks to get the last of everything in place and more importantly visit friends and family, without having to worry about working. Sorry if this post has been scatterbrained, way to much to process!

So Peace Corps Headquarters must have read my blog I published last night. No sooner than five hours after I posted it I recieved an email saying that my Peace Corps status has been updated. When I checked it said I had been invited to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer!!!!!!!!! I honestly have not felt so happy/excited/accomplished since I got my acceptance letter from the University of Florida five years ago. Now the waiting game and mail man stalking begins, waiting for the coveted FedEx envelope which will tell me the exact country and leave date. I have a strong feeling it will be either Kenya (Nov 2nd) or Lesotho (Nov 10th). Either way it leaves about 3 months left in the States. So much work to do... money to save, one last bill to pay off, friends and family to see, job to quit, and supplies to buy.

Thanks everyone for your support and if you have any questions about the process let me know. I'll post a blog in a few days when I get the information in the mail. From what I hear there is still a bunch of paperwork to fill out and visas/passport to acquire!

It seems completely surreal to me that its already August. It's hard to believe that I have been nominated for almost nine months, when I look back that seems so long ago. I have been fortunate enough to keep my most idle mind busy for the most part, which makes the weeks go by pretty fast, especially when you dont hear anything from PC HQ for months at a time. I hope to hear from Placement soon so I can start making arrangements or so I can atleast start making other career options for the future and get back in school. As I have heard from the beginning the entire process is truely a test of patience. If I get invited for one of the two November dates (Kenya or Lesotho) it will mean my entire application will have taken just over a year. In two weeks is the tattoo convention and i'm going to see the Counting Crows with the parents so atleast I have somethings coming up to keep me busy. 3 more nights at work and then 4 day weekend, let the festivities begin!

I'm starting to get stir crazy, it would be great if a PO called me or emailed me or invited me, k thanks. Sorry for the rant, but im coming up one my one year anniversary from when I started my PC application and the waiting is starting to take its toll. To make things even better I've had bronchitis for the past week. Anyway I made the last payment on my guitar center card last week which felt really good, one less bill. Hope all you guys are making progress on your applications. -Tom

Just got off work, four day weekend check! This couldn't have come any sooner. For the past three days I have slept the entire day away in between work to shake this nasty head/chest cold I have had. I think my body is still warn out from the week long trip to the BVIs.

Anyway back to the daily grind! When I came back from the trip I had an email from placement telling me they were reviewing my file finally! They needed an updated resume and skill addendum so hopefully that goes well. I am embarrassed to say however that the congressman from my district the "Honorable" Cliff Stearns is going to be speaking on the capitol today to propose to amendments, both of which have to deal with cutting Peace Corps funding. This is no surprise as Cliff Stearns has never been a champion of public service but also very upsetting as he represents a district that has one of the highest rates of Peace Corps volunteers. To me this does not send a good image of representing your people. So later today I will watch CSPAN and throw food at the TV while he speaks to an usually empty house.I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Since I had to work last weekend I will surely make up for it lounging by the pool and blowing up some left over fireworks.

Today has been a great day, and it all started off with stuffed french toast at Ihop, served by a local, miniature monotone version of Anne Hathaway. After I woke up I went over to my buddy Ryans to work on our set list for when we start playing gigs next month. Things are going well, now I just need to learn how to sing like DMB, yeah good luck with that Tom. Anyway when I got home from work there was an email from my PO! FINALLY!!!!!! It was pretty much an email that told me they will be beginning reviewing the applicants for the Sept-November november in the next 6-12 weeks, sweet more waiting. So I have to wait longer, but its definintely a relief to be contacted by the placement officer after being medically cleared for almost five months. I also have to send her an updated resume in a week, which should be good because hopefully I will have a new volunteer position to add on there as well as my FL teaching certificate. I was also relieved to recieve this email while I was sit in country. 3 more days until the British Virgin Islands. Good company, gin and tonics, and my favorite Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson novels. 3 more days!

Less than five days until Tortola!

Departuring

Depart Tampa (TPA) 7:10AM Sat 20-June-09

Arrive San Juan (SJU) 10:04AM Sat 20-June-09

Depart San Juan (SJU) 1:40PM Sat 20-June-09

Arrive Tortola (EIS) 2:25PM Sat-20-June-09

A week on a catamaran, really excited about this.

Returning

Depart Tortola (EIS) 5:26PM Sat-27-June-09

Arrive San Juan (SJU) 6:08PM Sat-27-June-09

Depart San Juan (SJU) 7:40PM Sat-27-June-09

Arrive Tampa (TPA) 10:35PM Sat-27-June-09 This week has been pretty uneventful, still pretty bummed I had to work for Joan this weekend since she quit, but atleat I got some overtime before the trip. I have been productive however in working on my Florida teachers certificate and have also been working on getting some education volunteer work a couple of times a week at the Brentwood school here in town. I have really been slacking on my volunteering lately so it's time to start back up with that. If anyone knows of any other opportunities in the Gainesville are please let me know, education or not!

Well this time next week I will be floating around on a catamaran somewhere in the British Virgin Islands. I have never been out of the US before so this is really exciting for me, Tortola here I come! Today there's a UF Peace Corps meet up at the local watering hole at 5 (Tim and Terrys). Should be a good time since I havent seen this cohort in a while. I'm really looking forward to seeing my recruiter and grilling her for any more information about invites for november nominations eventhough I know she doesnt know. In recent news my dog Coco just learned how to swim, I think its pretty funny lol.

Also want to give a shout out to my friend Matt who is in Mali all month to do community volunteer work. Be safe brother.

In seven hours I will be leaving Gainesville and heading to Key Largo for 5 days for a much needed vacation! I'm really excited because i'm going to swing by Port St Lucie for an hour and visit my parents, whom I haven't seen in a while and also get my car back from my dad. Time to lounge and relax for a week with some friends I havent seen in a long time. With that being said work is dragging... and there are so many mosquitos inside the lab that I feel like I am training for Africa already. I'm still waiting to hear from placement, but I did find someone on future peace corps volunteer group who has an invite in the mail, which is exciting because he was also nominated for secondary science teaching in subsaharan anglophone Africa for November. Hopefully this invitation will give me an indication of where I might be going, but then again who knows. All I can do for now is continue to pay of these last two bills and wait. The countdown for the British Virgin Islands is 17days! Don't worry I will not forget about your Kinos =)

the morepeacecorps campaign has made an impact!Showing incredible political courage, Representative Howard Berman in today's hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee tossed out the administration's $373 million figure for the Peace Corps in FY 2010 and replaced it with $450 million. This is a gigantic step for the Peace Corps, but our legions of returned volunteers must now see to it that the money is appropriated and voted upon and that a new generation of leadership arrives at the Peace Corps ready and able to create a visionary organization that is an integral part of the American presence in the world. Everyone should pick up the phone between 9 AM to 5 PM and call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell the operator that we support a bold, new Peace Corps for the new century. Here is the article that tells it all: The Birth of the Bold New Peace Corps by Laurence Leamer. Published in the Huffington Post. The bold new Peace Corps was born today in room 2172 in the Rayburn House Office Building. It took place as members of the House of Representatives were marking up the Foreign Affairs Authorization Bill authored by Committee Chairman Rep. Howard Berman. For almost every item, the California Democrat kept to the figures in President Obama's budget, but when it came to the budget for the Peace Corps he tossed out the administration's fiscal year 2010 figure of $373 million and made it $450 million. In terms of the overall budget this was chump change, but if the bill passes Congress, the Peace Corps will be able to begin the extensive reform that it needs and to move toward a doubling of the 7,000 volunteers. Rep. Berman is a loyal Democrat and a team player of the first order. It took courage for him to support this enlarged figure, seemingly opposing the administration's number. In fact, Berman stood up for President Obama's highest ideals and values. Berman supported the movement that elected Obama. Berman saved Obama's own vision. Obama is the one who in his campaign promised to double the size of the Peace Corps by its fiftieth anniversary in 2011. Obama is the one with a profound understanding of service as an essential feature of the American spirit. Obama is the one who has gone ahead to include in his budget tripling the size of the domestic volunteers to a massive 275,000. What is increasingly apparent is that at its top levels, the Obama administration does not realize that it has reneged on the President's fervent campaign pledge. I know how unlikely that sounds, but it is the truth, and Berman has done the President an immense service. If the Peace Corps is able to reinvent itself for the 21st century, Berman will deserve a place not simply in the history of the organization but in a new American presence in the world. He does not stand alone. The politician was accepting figures in a bill written by Rep. Sam Farr, cosigned by 120 of his colleagues. Obama has a plate piled to overfilling with an endless heaping of intransigent problems, and it is understandable why he has not paid attention to the Peace Corps. But the time has come in the next few weeks when he can ensure this bold new Peace Corps will be a reality. Obama has a blueprint of what must be done sitting on his desk: the twenty-page transition document written by his own team. The impressive piece of work manages to be both positive about the Peace Corps and its role in the world, and yet honing in on the problems of the organization and suggesting how they can be fixed so that the volunteer base can be broadly expanded. This bold new Peace Corps needs a bold new leader with the initiative, energy and decisiveness to turn the organization from a child of the Sixties until a vibrant creature of the 21st century. That's the immediate task the Obama administration has before it, choosing a new director and an equally impressive deputy director. With the added budget, they and their associates will have one of the greatest opportunities in government. Rep. Berman has written a new beginning for the creation of a bold new Peace Corps. It's up to the rest of us now who care about the Peace Corps to work to see that it becomes a reality. The first thing we should all do is to call the White House at 202 456-1111 and tell the operator that we support a bold, new Peace Corps for the new century.

So no new updates from placement, but this is expected for a late november nomination. What I am looking foward to is the month of June that is filled with things to take my mind off of this waiting nonsense. I will be in the keys for 5 days the first week of June for my good friends Jason and Jen's wedding, congratulations guys! Then a few days days of work here and there before the real vacation starts... 7 days in the British Virgin Islands sailing around on a catamaran the last week of June. It will be a relief as the weather here in Gainesville has been that of Seattle's for the past week. Where did this rain and cold front come from? Anyway 2 and half hours until my weekend starts, hopefully the weather will clear so the pool and BBQ can be of some use!

This will be my ever growing list of things I will take to Africa. I have picked up a lot of valuable information from RPCVs and if I dont start to write this stuff down I will definitely forget something.

Leathermans tool

Deoderant

2in1 Shampoo

Multivitamins

Tweezers

Nail Clippers

Razor/Razor Blades

Lip Balm

Nalgene Water Bottle

Lap Top?

Bungee Cord?

Ipod filled to brim with music -> Jon you will make this happen

Guitar

Harmonica

Swiss Army Knife

Lightweight Tent

Sleeping bag

Extra Sets of Strings/Picks

Large Hiking Pack

Day Pack

Tooth brushes/ Tooth Paste

Hiking Boots

Tevas

Pair Dress Shoes

Digital Camera Extra w/ extra memory Sticks

Duct Tape

Surf Wax --> I feel like this will come in handy for something

Zip Ties

HeadLamp flashlight

Various Spices

TacoBell Hot Sauce/ Krystal/Tobasco Etc... --> This is vital

Bandannas

Sunscreen

Swimsuit

Button Down Shirt/Tie

Solar Power rechargeable batteries with charger

Stamps

Flash Drive or Portable Harddrive?

Cheap Timex watch, cool velcro band for sure.

Pictures from back home.

Sunglasses

Ziplock bags

SoccerBall

Solar Calculator

Bath Towel

Bed Sheets

Pillow

Gatorade mix

SolarShower

More TBA... Suggestions welcome!

Its remarkable how quickly this year is going by, we are already a week into May! Waiting on placement seems like forever when you count the days, but when I look back at the calender it actually has been flying by. Does anyone else out there have a november leave date? and maybe nominated for an anglophone speaking African country? If so I would love to hear from you, and see how you are keeping your mind of the waiting process! I try and stay busy by working at the lab, playing the guitar, and listening to alot of Ryan Adams. Still looking for another volunteer opportunity here in Gainesville until the end of the year, preferably teaching but Ill take anything. Also any advice on getting a teachers certificate?

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone. Unfortunately I have to work tonight but I was introduced to an amazing Mexican restuarant El Indio today that made today somewhat festive for me. A few updates. The morepeacecorps campaign has reached 109 cosponsors and is at its halfway point. This is a huge breakthrough, I continue to urge you guys to go to the website and find out if your representative cosigned yet, and if not bug bug bug bug them. Im still working on Cliff Stearns... Also we finalized the UF PC logo. All it needs now is a little photoshop work and some font that will be decided later, let me know what you think. If your a PC applicant, PCV, or RPCV the shirts will be available in the fall. I just finished my bag of Cape Cod BBQ chips so that means this blog entry is done.

Here are some more UF PC logo concepts I came up with. Everyones feedback has been great and I think eventually I will hit just what everyone wants lol. Let me know what you think. The sketches are pretty rough, but it will still give you the basic idea. Im thinking the big logo would work on the back of the shirt and maybe the smaller one on the front pocket area? Also if anyone know about any educational/teaching opportunities in Gainesville let me know. I need some volunteer work to do during the summer.

New UF Peace Corps logo idea, rough sketch and processed with MS paint, let me know what you think!

I never thought a response from a House Representative could make me so happy. After numerous attempts to contact Rep. Cliff Stearns about the HR1066 Peace Corps Expansion act I finally got a response!

Dear Mr. Maresco:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for the Peace Corps Expansion Act (H.R. 1066). I always appreciate hearing from constituents, and greatly benefit from knowing your views. I work every day to best represent the people of Florida's sixth congressional district and it is helpful to know the concerns that are most important to you. As you may be aware, H.R. 1066 was introduced on February 13, 2009 by Representative Sam Farr (D-CA). This legislation proposes to amend the Peace Corps Act to authorize new appropriations for the Peace Corps and to increase readjustment allowances for Peace Corps volunteers. H.R. 1066 has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs where it awaits further action. While I do not serve on this committee, you can be assured that I will bear your thoughts in mind should this legislation be presented to the full House for a vote. Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of any further assistance on this or another federal matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. For your convenience, you may receive further information from me on issues important to the 6th District at www.house.gov/stearns. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

With kind regards, I am Sincerely, Cliff Stearns United States Representative

This may not seem like much but it really is. I have contacted a dozen representatives and usually just get the automated response that they are really busy and cant respond. Coming from Cliff Stearns, who has a subpar voting record when it comes to funding service initiatives, this really is big. I urge all of you to email your representatives and Cliff Stearns down in FL, to get them to sign on the bill. Anyway that is my rant for now, time to get back to this UF PC logo design.

I will admit the weather right now in Gainesville is beautiful. The time for sweltering heat and stagnant air is approaching, but for now it is perfect. I was able to catch about five hours of sleep after work yesterday before I had to wake up and get ready for the Bon Voyage Peace Corps BBQ at Lake Wauberg. Amy wanted everyone to bring a dish from their host country, but since I don't have one nor the time to cook I opted for a Publix sandwich platter. This idea was great because I was able to walk to chilis and have a couple libations while the sub was getting prepared. It was so nice to just be outside in the afternoon on a Saturday. Working nights has turned my complexion into shades that rivals other parts of my body (eek) so It was defininetly good to get a little sun. I arrived at Lake Wauberg around 2:15 and was greeted by about 25 RPCS and Peace Corps applicants. There was food everywhere. Thanks Sam for the leftover Mongolian horshor, was great for dinner at work. Horshor looks like an empenada filled with pork, onions, and sometime sheep innards, yum. I grabbed some food, sat down and had a conversation with a plesant woman named Anne who served in Thailand during the 60s! She had some great stories about her service and was actually a volunteer when JFK was assassinated which I thought was pretty crazy. A session followed where RPCVs answered questions from the applicants and parents. It was a fun day that was enjoyed with great friends, food and weather. I made it back home just in time to play the guitar for 15 minutes and then head to work. Right now I am sitting at my desk computer about to pass out. Only 3.5 more hours to go...

Today has been a good day. Tomorrow is the "Tea Party" at Tim and Terrys in Gainesville so if your a RPCV, PCV, applicant, or just someone interested in Peace Corps come hang out! I also want to share a bit of encouraging new from the morepeacecorps campaign that I recieved in an email:

Dear Peace Corps Friends and Colleagues,

The White House is beginning to hear our voices!

Today, we received the attached letter from the White House Director of Presidential Correspondence who hand picks the letters which reach the president's eyes. Heartened by this epistle, I am urging 100 personalized, hand-written letters by Friday, April 24 to President Obama urging robust funding to Peace Corps in 2010.

You may have seen this article in today's NY Times about Mr. Kelleher who selects 10 letters from tens of thousands to bring to the President's attention. As luck would have it, Mr. Kelleher is an RPCV that served in Sierra Leone in the 1980's.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F04%2F20%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2F20letters.html%3F_r%3D2%26scp%3D1%26sq%3DMike%2520Kelleher%26st%3Dcse

Said Mr. Kelleher, Obama's "mailman," in the NY Times article today, “We pick messages that are compelling, things people say that, when you read it, you get a chill,” said Mr. Kelleher, 47. “I send him letters that are uncomfortable messages.”

This time I'm urging you to take action in a different way - no form letter. Please hand-write your letter and tell your story (and if you can, please scan and send me a copy at rajeev@morepeacecorps.org or simply let me know that you took action). Tell the story of who you are and what the Peace Corps did for your life. Who did you meet in your village or town and how did that person influence your life? Be personal. The only thing we ask is that you include the request for $450 million to Peace Corps in the President's FY 2010 budget. If you can mention the 15,000 and growing supporters of the MorePeaceCorps campaign, that would also help.

Mr. Kelleher is yet another example of the profound legacy of Peace Corps volunteers. Lets get the attention of this natural ally. If you can send me a copy, it would help. My address is: rajeev goyal, morepeacecorps c/o M+R Strategic Services, 80 Broad Street, Suite 1700, New York NY 10004

I want to thank RPCVs Judy Figi, Collier Perry, Elisabeth Therrien, Mary-Anne Tirone Smith, Anna Whitcomb, Paul Thompson, Dan Kane, Jocelyn Sese, Linda Piso, and Joel Neuberg for volunteering in various states and districts! I also wish to thank Jill and Bernard Jacquot who wrote me from Paris and Colin O'Hara who is serving in Macedonia and conducting outreach to Jim Langevin's office. You are inspirational.

Here is the address for our President:

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Best Wishes,

Rajeev

Thanks everyone for your support on this, we really need to work together to champion this cause. Would also like to thank Amy again for the final PC globe talk of the semester on Eastern Europe that she had last week. Anyway its earth day so I think I am going put in a phish cd and plant a tree in a pair of hemp sandals... joking about the phish part =)

So its been another thrilling night at the QC Lab. Had to come in on good Friday and now its 3:15 on sat morning. These cheez-its I've kept stashed in my locker and the Jimmy Eat World "Clarity" cd I put in the radio have been my life line tonight. Well its been almost two months since I was fully cleared and still no word from the elusive PO, Amy says they will call sometime during the summer since I was nominated for a program leaving in november. This really is a true test of patience, but it is allowing me some time to finish paying off this AMEX bill, blah. On a good note Amy held a Diversity in Peace Corps meeting on Thursday which was great. Always good to see the RPCV friends to help keep me motivated. Had a few good couple of days off that included some kareoke, flacos cuban food, and an easter check in the mail from the rents, not to shabby. Have a great holiday everyone.

Just want to say thanks to my recruiter Amy for holding the application workshop on wednesday. They are always very informative and the applicants always seem to enjoy them. On a side note if you guys havent checked out morepeacecorps.org please do so. It is an organization that is aimed at helping to expand and strengthen the Peace Corps. Now is an especially critical time for the group because they are rallying behind Rep. Farr and his new legislation HR1066. If you guys havent havent heard about it check it out now, it is a bill that maps out the expansion of the Peace Corps for the next few years. It is very exciting so look into it and contact your state representatives and urge them to sign on the bill. When the bill was first introduced it had 40 sponsors, now it is 89! But we need more support, pass it on to everyone you can.

Hello friends, its 3:10AM and I am writing you from my desk at work. Analytical labs are a cold lonely place to begin with especially at night. I can't stop thinking about what living in Africa for 27 months might be like compared to being trapped in these white cemental walls filled with chemistry instruments. It' been almost two months since I recieved my medical clearance from Peace Corps and still no word from placement, they were right when they said this stuff takes patience. Since work has been so slow I have had the pleasure of viewing other applicants and PCVs blogs and get paid for it. This is awesome for a plethora of reasons, one being I'm getting paid, two I'm learning about things, and most importantly is its keeping me excited through this loooooong wait. I'm sure it will be worth it though, every blog I read about some I get so jealous about the work they are doing. I cant wait to see what my assignment will be. I find it amusing that none of my friends or family think I am really going to follow through with this whole plan, no matter what I do to convince them. Theyve read the blogs, seen the forms and endless amounts of paperwork, medical bills, and they just think I am playing a joke on them. Sorry Terry, I forgot to mention you are the only person who believes me and I thank you for that haha. Well family, friends, and the rest of my cohort, I will be going, and all I can say too that is make sure you visit! Anyway that is all for now I just wanted to comiserate with the rest of my fellow applicants. I have to get off the computer and look busy before the boss man gets in. Hes very funny, a pot of coffe and two toaster scramblers every morning. I laugh about it now but when Im in a rural African village I am going to be dreaming about those glorious smells!

Last night I attended a Peace Corps in Africa panel hosted by my recruiter Amy and 4 other RPCVs that served in Africa. It was great to go and listen to everyone tell there story and answer questions from the audience for a while. I love going to these panels because they keep me excited through this long process, especially this one in particular because Africa is where I was nominated to! Good luck everyone out there still in the application stage, if you have any questions feel free to ask I would love to hear some of your guys stories. -Tom

Alright guys this is my first blog post about my journey toward becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have always enjoyed reading people PC timelines to help pass my time and keep me motivated, so I figured I would post mine. Ill be updating this blog as I complete the steps towards my formal invitation, I will also hopefully continue this blog throughout my PC service, provided there is a computer not to far away. Thank you all for your support. My tentative leave date is November 2009 as a Science teacher and Health advisor in Southern Africa.

Peace Corps Time Line

17 September 2008 - I attended an informational Peace Corps panel about volunteering in education abroad. The panel was great and continued to spark my interest in joining the Peace Corps. I never thought about teaching, but after listening to everyones stories I can definetly see this as a possibility.

23 September 2008 - I attended a More Peace Corps event tonight at Virtually Cuban were I met many returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Everyone shared their experiences and talked about the MorePeaceCorps campaign to double the size and budget of the Peace Corps. After meeting Rajeev Goyal the head campaigner for MPC I was dead set on applying.

25 September 2008 - Today I started my preliminary Peace Corps application that spans over 20 pages and concludes with an online medical evaluation.

6 October 2008 - Volunteer Application submitted along with medical application, just waiting on bum friends to do references.

13 October 2008 - I recieved an email from Jacob Kelly the recruiter coordinator in GA. The email contains many forms to fill out.

15 October 2008 - I attend a Peace Corps Agriculture panel and inform my local recruiter Amy Panikowski that I have recieved the email from Jacob. She is excited to get the ball rolling.

16 October 2008 - Jon Rhoads Submits a letter of reccomendation on my behalf.

17 October 2008 - Recieved Peace Corp packet in the mail contaning NAC background check form and two finger print charts. This also contains the mytoolkit information I have been waiting for so I am able to watch the progress of my application online. There is still a long way to go.

21 October 2008 - During the day I made an appointment with Amy for November 5th at 9:00 am to have my interview. When I got home I went to UFPD and had my two finger print charts filled out. My official college transcripts also came in the mail today. My Uncle Keith submits a letter of recommendation on my behalf.

5 November 2008 - I have my Interview with Amy. She was great and asked me 18 questions that covered various topics about why I wanted to join the peace corps.

7 November 2008 - I go to a PC social even at Tim and Terrys. It was cool to get to meet RPCVs from all ages talk about their different Peace Corps experiences.

13 November 2008 - I attend a Peace Corps and business meeting. I arrived early to help Amy set up and prepare everything. I dont care to much for business but I always enjoy talking to RPCVs so I attend. Amy makes an announcment infront of the audience that I will be recieving my nomination tomorrow!

14 November 2008 - I checked my email about every 30 minutes waiting to hear something from Amy. I recieved an email later in the day saying she was having trouble getting in touch with the placement officer and that she would get him monday morning and rap up the nomination on monday morning.

17 November 2008 - Today I was NOMINATED for Peace Corps service in Africa as a Science teacher. Wow this is really happening. Amy tells me to start scheduling my doctors, dentists and optomologists appointments for mid December to expedite the process. The position doesnt leave until next November, but Amy put me down for immediate leave, better get that paperwork in.

18 November 2008 - Today I recieved an email from Peace Corps informing me that myToolkit online has been updated. It now contains a ton of information about the remainder of the application process. Peace Corps mails me my medical kit.

21 November 2008 - Today I recieved my medical packet in the mail, this looks daunting. Full evaluations for dental, eye and medical need to be filled out wow.

26 November 2008 - Today I called up the doctors, optomotrists, and dentists office for visits next week.

4 December 2008 - Today I met with Dr. Kemp to fill out my physical evaluation and get an updated tetnus shot since it has been 10 years since I recieved it last, wow that hurts like hell. Dr. Kemp was nice and very thorough as I was his first Peace Corps applicant. After recieving a TB shot and looking at some most private parts of my body to make sure everything was in order I was out of there. 25$ copay, thank you Clariant insurance! I have to come back in a few days to get the TB skin test read. Dr. Kemp also gives me a prescription to take to the lab so I can get my blood drawn. Its right next to the doctors office so he says I can just go get it drawn now, smooth sailing so far. When I got to Ayers lab I had to argue with someone because I guess Dr. Kemp forgot to put a number on their.I won that battle and then had a pleasant woman draw six titers of blood from my arm. She was unphased by my banter. Im having a hard time getting a copy of my immunization records, my old Drs office seems to have missplaced it =/

5 December 2008 - Today I went to the Dentist and Optomotrist. My dentist, Dr Alicia McDonald, was very nice and did a full mouth examination which included many sticks with a poker into my gums, this doesnt feel too good. She also gave me a new updated set of panorex for free, see people do help PC volunteers. Then I rushed over to the Optomotrist and met with Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller was pretty crazy and cracked jokes the entire time. And kept telling me I was going to be working in a bush for 2 years... thanks doc. He filled out my paper that said 20/20 vision, sweet.

8 December 2008 - Today I went to the University of Florida infirmary and recieved a copy of my immunizations, finally.

9 December 2008 - Went back to Dr. Kemps office today and he checked that I didnt have TB. He also informed me that I would have to go to the Health Department to get a Polio Booster shot, gah.

10 December 2008 - Today I went to my Foreign travel appointment and met with a peculiar RN, Kitty Mancuso. She informed me pretty much that if I didnt want to get Malaria to just lock myself in a house for 2 years. She also informed me of a list of ticks, mosquitos, and diseases to watch out for, Ill be sure to do that. After 90 dollars and an 90minute consulation she was able to give me the polio booster.

17 December 2008 - Its been like 2 weeks since I got my blood drawn and still no results. I called the lab and it appears that have missplaced the results, thats awesome.

24 December 2008 - Dr. Kemps office called me to tell me that the lab found the results and faxed them over and that I should come in so he can finish the paper work and discuss the results with me.

25 December 2008 - Today I saw Dr. Kemp and found out that I do not have HIV/Aids, Hep A,B,C, and various other antigens, good news. Unfortunatly the results didnt show Hep B antibodys from when I got vaccined like 5 years ago, I guess PC will let me know if I need to get this one again =(

29 December 2009 - Today I quadruple checked all my forms and send off my packet. Im sure this will be delayed because of the holidays approaching.

18 January 2009 - Peace Corps recieved my medical packet and have cleared me for dental!.... but there is a legal hold on my account @#@#

13 January 2009 - I recieved an email from a woman who asked me to fill out this long questionaire and write an essay about my incident a few years back at Florida/Georgia... oops! This is alright though my recruiter said this was just part of the process.

15 January 2009 - My PC Online toolkit shows that they recieved and cleared my physical clearance.

19 January 2009 - I fill out my legal stuff and mail it to the woman.

20 January 2009 - Legally cleared for PC service, that was quick. Just waiting to get this medical clearance... could be 4-6 weeks.

18 February 2009 - Legally cleared medical this morning, complete with no HOLDS!!! It only took 6 weeks of filling out the forms and 5 weeks of waiting for them to review. SO Excited! Thanks everyone for your support!