So, many things have changed in the past few days. I am living in a new home. It it wonderful! You can see all the pics below!My own hut.The inside of my hut.

The passage from the courtyard to my hut. Looking the other way through the passage - my hut to the courtyard.My shower area. Mom and Dad... thanks so much for the Solar Shower for Christmas! It is so much better than bucket bathing. Our front door looking into the homestead.Some local girls. The girl in the center with the pink shirt and yellow shorts is my host sister Maddie. My host mom, Rosemary.How all the meals are cooked at home.

So I am officially a resident of Nyangana! I moved on Saturday. I am currently living with a wonderful host family in the village. I have my very own hut! I will post some pictures soon I promise!

I have big news... this weekend I am getting a dog! I am very excited about it!

I don't have too much to report now. Work is starting to pick up which is nice. Just a little note: I don't have very good reception here on my cell phone so email is prob the best way to get in contact with me. We have internet at the hospital so email me at kcwenar@yahoo.com.

Also, my mailing address has changed. I will post the new one on the blog soon!

I miss you all!

To see Group 31 taking the volunteer oath, follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fm4CwQ6s5I

My language group with our trainers. The entire Group 31. Pasta salad on host family appreciation day. Kate and I on host family appreciation day. Me at Swearing In. The Kavango girls at Swearing In. Me with two language teachers. Me with Anne (my Associate Peace Corps Director) and Gilbert (Namibia Country Director) Me with our Training Manager, Sidna.

So last week I was up at site in Nyangana. It is in the middle of NOWHERE! My dad asked me what I could see... the answer was a hospital, dirt road, and bush. Everyone at work is wonderful! I think I am going to be really happy in Nyangana. And the best part... I am on the Kavango river! I can litereally see Angola from my house.

So it's 2am here right now and I am very tired.... so I'm just gonna put a few pics up and call it a post. I couldn't take a lot of pictures, but here's what I got:

This was on the drive up to Nyangana. They called these two mountains the buttocks. Awesome name. The outside of my house.

Looking out from my front door.

The floor plan of my house. The Kavango River.... Angola is on the other side!My host mother Rosemary. One morning I woke up to this outside my house :)

I have a home and it’s in Nyangana! The town is about 100 km east of Rundu up in the northeast region of the country called Kavango. I am going to be working with Catholic Health Services (CHS) at the Nyangana Hospital which is also attached with the Ministry of Health. I have so much to tell you all… so hang in there… this might be a long post!

First thing I should explain I guess is my job description. Apparently this site requested 2 volunteers, but they only got me, so I guess there is a lot of work to do. We received a packet on our site placement and in it were several documents, including the application from the host organization for a volunteer, so this is where I am getting all of my information from.

The main goal/objective of Nyangana Hospital and CHS is to prevent diseases, promote health, provide curative services, and rehabilitation services. My supervisor is the nurse manager and my counterparts name is Joseph Ndafediva. They speak Rumanyo (NOT Ruwkangali) there, so that means I get to learn a whole new language in one month! Oh boy. That should be fun.

There are several things they want me to accomplish over the next two years, so I’m just gonna list them all:

-Train health workers in HIV/TB/Malaria

-Awareness and mobilization of youth

-Raising awareness on reproductive health, teenage pregnancy, family planning, carrier guidance, and alcoholism (specifically in the youth population)

There was a checklist on the application to identify which program areas the PVC will primarily address. My supervisor checked:

-Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC’s)

-Home based care

-Abstinence and being faithful

-Reproductive health

-Immunizations

-Income generating activities

-Malaria/TB

-Organizational capacity building

-Food & nutrition

-Voluntary counseling and testing

-Energy saving technologies

They checked everything except “Other prevention (including condoms).”

So would you like to learn a little about the hospital? Too bad… I’m going to tell you anyways! The Nyangana Hospital has 120 beds, 4 doctors, 10 registered nurses, 22 enrolled nurses, and 67 paramedical and admin staff. Sounds awesome!

One thing I forgot to tell you, I am their first volunteer! I am not replacing another volunteer so this should be pretty interesting!

I bet you’re wondering where I am going to live. Well I have good… no AWESOME news! I am living on the mission compound which is very close to the hospital (if not right next to it!) I have my own brick home on the compound as well! I talked to my APCD (Associate Peace Corps Director) about the compound and she said it was beautiful. This is how she described it: there a church, a girls school and dorms for the girls to stay in, living quarters for the nuns, a garden, a conference space, and a rec room/sewing room. Then there is my house. It is just a 2 room house so you walk in and there is the living room, dining room and kitchen all in one, and then the bedroom is separate and the bathroom is off the bedroom. I have running water and electricity!

All that being said, I won’t actually be living in these quarters until after my first three months of service. During that time, I will be living with another host family which is 2 km away from the hospital. I only have a little bit of information on this family and where they live, so here it goes. They live in traditional housing, which to my understanding means a homestead with huts. Yes… huts. I will have my own little hut, but I will cook and eat with the family. They live in a village just outside of Nyangana. I am actually really excited about this homestay! My family right now is great and all, but this next family will be such a different experience. If I had to guess, I will probably not have water or electricity for these first three months. Thank goodness for my solar shower and my solar charger I brought!

On Saturday, I will be traveling up to Nyangana to meet my host family and spend a week with them and at my work site. Tomorrow I meet my supervisor and I spend the day doing a workshop with them. I am very excited. So excited that I can’t even begin to express it!

Today we also had our first language test. It was so hard! I placed novice-mid, which is what I was expecting. I need to be at intermediate-mid in 4 weeks. Eek! All 6 of us Rukwangali students placed in the novice-mid category though. So I don’t feel so bad! It got really tough toward the end of the test when Raymond (our tester) started really pushing us. He would ask these really long questions and I would only get like 4 of the words, so I decided to take those 4 words that I knew, form a new question in my head and answer that one. So for a good 5 mins I don’t think we were talking about the same thing. Oh well! It was funny at least.

Well, thanks for reading this all if you made it this far! When I get back from my site visit next Saturday I will give you another update with some pictures!

Life in Namibia has been sort of a struggle these past few days. We are all just trying to make it to Thursday which is site placement announcement day!!! It is also our first LPI (a.k.a. language test… not actually sure what it stands for but Peace Corps sure loves their acronyms!) We are all desperate to know where we will be living for the next two years!

Yesterday was rough… just before I went to bed I noticed that my right eye felt funny. Before noticing that my eye felt funny, I was just lying down on the bed studying and talking on the phone under my mosquito net. So I went into the bathroom to look at it and it was swollen! It looked like the tear duct was swollen and it was pushing everything towards the outside. I also had some minor raccoon eye going on. It looked almost like I got punched in the face… which of course did not happen. EMT Katie kicked in! It didn’t hurt to touch it. The swelling felt like it was fluid filled. I didn’t see anything in my eye. It wasn’t red or itchy and it didn’t have any discharge! So weird! So I flushed it out with the eye solution that come in our medical kit and slept with a cool rag on my eye. Every time I woke up in the night I looked at it to see if the swelling went down. When I finally got up for training, the swelling had gone down, but I still looked like a monster. I showed my host sisters at breakfast and they didn’t know what was wrong. So I went to training and as soon as I got there, I had the Training Manager (Sidna) call Kate the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer). By this time the swelling had gone down even more and I was looking semi-normal again. Kate was scheduled to come to training in the afternoon so she said that she would just have a look at it then and if I needed to, she would take me to the doctor in the afternoon.

By the time she got to training the swelling was almost gone, but I had some remnants of raccoon eye left. She noticed the swelling in my tear duct and raccoon right away. She took a good look at my eye, (actually both eyes) and couldn’t see anything wrong. So she gave me a different type of eye drop than I already had and told me that she would look at it again tomorrow.

As of now, the swelling is almost gone and the raccoon eye is pretty much all gone. So I guess her eye drops are working! YAY!!! I don’t like looking like a monster. Looking back on this whole thing, I realized that I should have taken a picture of my ugly eye! I would find so much humor in it now (and so would my fellow PCT’s)! Oh well, I’ll leave it up to your imagination as to how ugly I looked (and trust me… it was bad!).

As soon as I find out on Thursday where I will be living, I’ll post some more information!

I can update you on what I have learned to say in Rukwangali:

Ame mulizambeli goukanguki go PeaceCorps - I am a Peace Corps Health volunteer.

Ame kwa tunda koPennslyvania moAmerica – I am from Pennsylvania in America.

Ame ngani karugana koKavango – I am going to be working in Kavango.

Ame kukwafa nokupakera mbili vantu vana kuparuka nokambumburu – I support and care for people surviving with HIV.

That’s just a little taste

Today was cultural day. Oh my… it was quite an experience. Of course we had to get up super early (on a Saturday) and start cooking! We broke off into our language groups so I spent most of the day with my fellow Rukwangali trainees. First thing we did was start 3 fires for our pots. We ended up making in the end a whole bunch of stuff: corn, beans, porridge, traditional spinach, goat (I think), and some chicken.

Our chicken was super fresh! Wanna know why? Because we killed them. Yep, slaughtered them in the corner of the center. I think we killed a grand total of six chickens. In case you are wondering how we did it, don’t worry! I will included a video of it on my blog soon and some pictures. I ended up helping with the last chicken. I held the chicken down while Karley sliced. Karley was super fast, didn’t hesitate and was for sure the best… I don’t know what to call her… butcher (I guess) of the day!

Tangent about Karley, she is a graduate of Susquehanna University! She graduated in 2006 and was a senior when I was a freshman! AND one of her best friends was in my sorority and happened to be in the butterfly family. Awesome! We had pictures taken of us while we were slaughtering the last chicken (which I have of course posted) and we want to send them in to the alumni office to show SU what interesting work their graduates are participating in! We’re not sure if the pictures will be well received though.

So, back to cultural day. I’m going to try and remember all that I had to eat and do my best to describe it to you. I did try a bite of everything, and some things were surprisingly good! Ok, here it goes:

Lamb and Sheep – not sure how all of it was prepared but one dish was like pulled pork BBQ and was super yummy. There was also a brie and that was really good to. Other meat was just grilled I think.

Goat Head – So here is the really awesome one. They smoke the goat head to singe the hairs and then scrape them off with a knife. They then cook the goat head on a fire (pictures below) and shave the meat off the face and … wait for it… eat the brain! YES I HAD GOAT BRAIN! And guess what! It wasn’t bad! It just tasted like a very mild, tender meat… almost like it had no flavor. The meat just tasted like regular goat meat.

Chicken – We all know what chicken tastes like, but it’s really good here because it is so fresh! We also boil it in broth so it has a really nice flavor.

Traditional Spinach – Basic boiled spinach but it is, for some reason, really grainy. It’s almost like sand was mixed in. The women who made it said that you just have to get used to the texture.

Porridge – I think I have described this before. It’s like grits and cream of wheat combined. Or like a really REALLY thick mashed potato that you can eat with your hands. It’s good and is a staple in the Namibian diet.

Brie Bead – The most delicious bread you will ever taste. It is literally grilled bread and is so yummy!

Fat Cakes – Exactly what the name sounds like. Cake batter fried in oil. Really good, but really… fatty.

Raisin Bread – Baked underground. Very yummy!

Sour Milk – Ok, I know it sounds gross, but it was actually ok. They let the milk spoil for a while and it turns into something like a thin yogurt. It just tasted like plain yogurt. But to stay on the safe side, I just had a very little sip!

Ginger Beer – Yes my friends, they make homemade ginger beer! And if you haven’t ever tried it, go to the store now and get some because it is yummy!

All The Side Dished You Could Ever Want – Beans, Potatoes, Corn, Veggies, etc. Basically Thanksgiving the Namibian way.

Things are going very well here in Namibia. My host family is wonderful! Of course, since the last time I blogged I discovered some miscommunications. I do not have a host brother, just three host sisters and they all live at home. Abigail is 12, Memory is 16, and Nancy is almost 22. Nancy has a 3 year old son named Mackenzie. My mother (Florence) is a school teacher. Her niece, Supisu (I’m not 100% on that spelling) is 21 and lives with us too. So, that’s the fam! Mackenzie is afraid of me… and it’s so cute! He doesn’t speak any English so he never knows what I am saying. He has started to come around me more and he even high-fived me tonight! Wahoo!

Meals seem to be pretty standard Namibian food. We have either rice or pasta with each meal and some sort of meat, either chicken or sausage. The sausage here is GREAT!!! It ain’t no Jimmy Dean processed crap that you get in the frozen section of the supermarket. It’s real sausage! That being said, we all know what sausage is made of, but it is still the most delicious sausage I have ever tasted. Lunch is usually a sandwich and some fruit. I bring my lunch from home. So far I have had peanut butter sandwiches and cheese with lettuce sandwiches.

A quick tangent on peanut butter… Namibians think that Americans are smitten with peanut butter. I mean, peanut butter and jelly is something that we have all eaten as a child, but never did I think that our country had an obsession with peanut butter. When we met our host families for the first time last Wednesday, one of the trainers was talking about a balanced meal and what that meant. Of course, she made a comment on peanut butter and said something to the effect of:

“These Americans, they love their peanut butter. They put peanut butter on everything! They even take apple slices and put peanut butter on them!”

There was an overwhelming gasp from the host families.

For some reason, the thought of putting peanut butter on apple slices was just unheard of! Anyways, I guess my host family took the peanut butter chat to heart because since then, peanut butter has been on the table for more than one meal. Even when there is really nothing to put it on! For example, two nights ago we had sausage sandwiches for dinner, and what was placed next to me but the peanut butter jar. We might have to have a chat soon about what I like to eat peanut butter with :)

On Friday we drive to Windhoek so the rest of my group has to opportunity to purchase a cell phone. My number is posted on the right side of this page, so go buy a phone card and call me! As I have stated before, please remember that I am 7 hours ahead of you and as I much as I miss you all, I really like to sleep. The best times to call are between 6:30 and 7:30am my time (11:30pm-12:30am your time) or after 5pm my time (10am your time). I should have regular internet access after Friday because I will have MTC (the wireless company) set up internet on my phone! YAY!!! And I could possibly be purchasing a 3G modem (I think that’s what it’s called???) for my computer if there is a good deal so even more internet!!! MORE YAY!!!

Since we arrived in country over a week ago, we have received lots of candy! And by the word “candy”, I mean shots. We were all misled when the PCVL’s (3rd year volunteers) told us to expect tons of candy during PST. Yeah, I don’t like this kind of candy. So far, the list includes H1N1, Yellow Fever, Meningitis, Hep B 1, and the first 2 of the 3 rabies shots. 2 Hep A, the last rabies, and Typhiod Fever shots are left. Thank goodness I had some of these shots already! I didn’t need to get H1N1, Yellow Fever, or any of the Hep B shots. This type of candy is easy to pass on.

Well, I guess that’s all for now. Once I can actually say a sentence in Rukwangali, I will say something, but not much has changed in that department. Still on greetings!

Mbaa (Bye)

Take care everyone!

So, the only way that I can write this long blog to you all is to type it up a day early on my computer and then just go to the internet café, copy and paste it into a new post. The poor internet café is going nuts because all 30 of us decide to go there at the same time. There’s always a huge line so I don’t want to take too much time from other PCT’s (Peace Corps Trainees).

I have 2 pieces of big news!!! Yesterday I found out the language that I will be learning and the host family that I will be living with. I will try and explain the language first. It’s called Rukwangali and it’s in the Bantu family of languages. It’s very interesting… but our teacher insures us that we will be able to learn enough in 8 weeks. We have to reach an intermediate-mid level and pass an oral test in order to be sworn in. That makes me very nervous since we only do have really 7.5 weeks now. So far… I can only greet someone (formally) in the morning. I would try and write the 2 sentences I know but I will butcher the spelling. Give me one week and I will try again.

A little about Rukwangali… It is spoken in the Kavango region which is in the very northeast corner of the country. It is VERY hot up there. But we will get probably the most rain in the country. It, unfortunately, has the high Malaria prevalence (obviously due to the rain). I am almost certain that I will be living in the Kavango region (unless the Peace Corps wants to surprise me which is totally possible). My language instructor said that we will probably be placed in a site near Rundu or west of the city. That is the ONLY city in the Kavango region. There are also only 3 roads… one leading North from Windhoek to Rundu, one leading West from Rundu and one leading East from Rundu. Pretty isolated up there. It was described to me as just village after village. Good news is that 1) there are volunteers already placed up there so I will have friends near me and 2) I bet there is a fair chance that I will have power and water. However, it might be a problem getting food from the store because it could be a good distance away. I won’t know and specifics about my site until week 5 when we are finally told where we will be living for 2 years. Just after we are old we spend a week at our site to check it out. Waiting till week 5 will be a challenge. Baby steps!

My host family seems amazing! I had the opportunity to meet my host mother and little sister yesterday afternoon. There will be 6 people (not including me) in the house I will be living in and it is within walking distance from the training center. I forget my mother’s first name… but she just told me to call her mom or iba (which means mom in some language???). My youngest sister is named Abigail and she is 12. She accompanied her mom today. I also have a 16 year old sister named Memory, a 21 year old brother, and 22 year old cousin who has a 3 year old son. The only person who doesn’t live in the house is the 21 year old brother so it’ll be just us girls! Oh yeah, she’s a single mother. Everyone speaks English in the house which is nice. Unfortunately, no one speaks Rukwangali. They are, however, from the Caprivi strip which is right next to where I will probably be living.

Funny story… I asked my host mother if she spoke Rukwangali and of course she said no. Then I asked her if it was hard to learn and her response was… HA! She laughed! That doesn’t seem like a good sign to me! And it wasn’t a little HA like haha but a deep, from the gut HA. It made me laugh so hard. I asked her to explain and she just shook her head. She is really very nice though. I am her third trainee that she is hosting. I’m glad because she already knows what it’s like to host and American… so that calms a lot of my fears.

There is a big difference in culture between Namibia and America. Women must bend their knees when greeting someone and shaking their hand. Porridge is the staple meal here, also known as maize meal. I haven’t tried it yet but I told my host mother that I would be more than willing to try anything once. I found out that sheep is a very yummy meat. It’s kind of the meat we eat the most. I don’t think I have tried goat yet… but I’m sure I will soon. You never receive something (like a gift) with your left hand, always your right. You can’t hug friends that are guys when you greet them like you do in America. Women aren’t supposed to go to bars. It is a very conservative society. I always have to have my shoulders covered and skirts have to be below my knees. No shorts in public. There is more, but I think you get the idea.

I’m sure I will have more updates for you soon. Look up the Kavango region. It’s beautiful I hear!

My best to all!

UPDATES: 2/24/10

So we had our first language lesson today and I can say a few sentences!!! They all pretty much mean the same thing so I will only translate it once.



A: Ngapi? How are you?

B: Nawa, ove ngapi? Fine, and you?

A: Nawa. Fine.

A: Uzeti wami?

B:Nawa wami, ove ngapi wami?

A: Nawa.

A: Fera?

B: Nca, fera?

A: Nca.

Interesting thing… the letter C does not sound like a C. Instead it is a click with a sound after it. It is the only click in the Rukwangali language (that I know of). Also, the letters J, X, and Q don’t exist in the language either. The only places you will see them are in names.

A few more things I learned to say:

Na kara nepuro – I have a question

Uyungakuliworo – Speak slowly

Mbili – Sorry/Pardon/Excuse me

Kapi nayi zuvhu – I don’t understand

That’s all for now!

CALL ME AT 011-264-81-499-6821

Namibia is beautiful! I can't describe how wonderful it is here. The people are all so friendly, the food is great... it's hard to beat. I can't write long because there is a line to use the internet but I will give you a few quick updates...

I find out in about an hour what language I will be learning. There are 6 options. We have 8 weeks to get to an intermediate level. AHHH crazy!

The weather here is hot. But it has rained every evening to cool things down.

I have a cell phone but I forgot to bring the number with me. Call my dad he has it and can tell you how to reach me. Remember I am 7 hours ahead of you so please don't call me at 3am here :)

I move into my host family on Friday but I meet them today!!!! Actually tonight. SO I will update you (hopefully later this week) on how that goes and what my family is like.

Right now I have electricity and running water. The water is safe to drink here in Namibia so that's really nice.

I won't know where I am going to live until week 5 here so stay posted!

If you plan to send me letters, my parents also have the address. If you want to send me a package... email me and I will give to some tips to ensure they make it all in one piece to me.

kcwenar@yahoo.com

I miss you all and I am healthy and doing fine! I hope you are all doing well too!!!

After 17 hours on a flight to Johannesburg, I am pooped! I think I slept for 6 hours on the plane!

On Thursday night the 30 of us traveled from Washington D.C. (where staging was held on Wednesday) to Johannesburg, South Africa. We did have a short layover in Dakar, Senegal (maybe an hour or so) but the flying time was 17 hours total. Longest flight EVER!!!! But... we flew South African Airways and there was plenty of space for your bags (Lord knows my bags are huge) and leg room :) We each also got our own personal television! Melatonin is my new best friend for helping me go to sleep while sitting upright and with people on either side of me!

South Africa is beautiful (from what I saw from the plane and from Johannesburg). The weather here is great! Our APCD (Associate Peace Corps Director) told us that it's currenly about 90 degrees F in Namibia. I guess tomorrow I will find out. It was in the low 80's when we got to Johannesburg tonight.

I am 7 hours ahead of you all in the USA right now. Tomorrow, however, I will only be 6 hours ahead of you :) Very covenient for phone calls from home (as soon as I get my number)!!!

Just know that I miss you all and I really appreciate your support while I begin this wonderful journey with the Peace Corps. I will try and update you again as soon as I can when I reach Namibia. Our flight is at 9:50am and is about 2 hours long. When you are waking up tomorrow, I will already be in Namibia! YAY!!

I'm sure we will speak again soon! Also, if you wish to email me, my address is kcwenar@yahoo.com or skype me at kcwenar.

So... yesterday I found out that one of my friends/teachers (from when I studied abroad in Equatorial Guinea) had passed away... Claudio Posa Bohome. We all just called him Posa. He was on the Caldera expedition (the two weeks in the forest counting monkey's deal) but fell very ill. A boat was sent for him which took him back to Malabo to Guadalupe Hospital, but he was transferred again to La Paz in Bata on the mainland where he passed away on January 14th 2010.

Claudio Posa Bohome

Posa will be missed by many. He was a wonderful teacher at UNGE (Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial) and an employee of BBPP (Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program).

This sad event makes me realize that this could be just the start. I know that in the Peace Corps I will be working with some very sick people. I am going to see death many times before I return to the US. It's something that the Peace Corps has already warned me about, but it really didn't hit me until now. It's very sad to think about and reminds me of another friend who passed away last year... Dr. Isabel Wright. She was the doctor that I worked for at Clinica Esperanza. She was amazing with children at the clinic! Unfortunately, she passed away while visiting her children in the US. The final diagnosis was liver cancer.

Sorry for the sad post, but I wanted to let you know the realities that are setting in for me.

We Will All Miss You Posa!

It's official! I am going to Namibia! On Feb. 16th I will be attending staging (in Washington D.C. I think) which is like a few says of training in the US, and then I start my in-country training in Namibia on Feb. 19th. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! I will be working as a Health Extension Volunteer in Community Health and HIV/AIDS.

Here you can see where Namibia is located -- above South Africa and on the West coast. It is bordered by Angola to the North and Botswana to the East (in addition to South Africa to the South).



This is the flag of Namibia...



Here is a closer look at the country. It is mostly desert with some coastal weather. The seasons are opposite of what we have here in the States. From what I have read so far, winter is from May-September and summer is from October-April. I use the term "winter" loosely. The coldest it has ever gotten (so I've read) is around 45 degrees F. It can get up into the 90's during the summertime though! With the desert climate, it will be hot during the day and cool at night. Namibia shares the Kalahari Desert with Botswana and South Africa. It also has the coastal desert and Namib Desert.

The official language of Namibia is English, although Afrikaans and German used to be official languages. Oshiwambo is also a well known language. I will probably have to learn Afrikaans during my in country training (which is 9 weeks long).

I will officially start my service on April 23rd 2010 and end on April 23rd 2012.

I will update my page with a mailing address as soon as I know. Please write me!!! But know it will take a few weeks for a letter to reach me and a few weeks to return.

So... I received a phone call from the Peace Corps Placement Office yesterday. They asked me a few questions like: Why did I apply to the Peace Corps? What have I been doing to prepare for my service? And then some other questions based off of my answers. She was really nice and pleasant and I was so excited when she called. To my understanding... that was sort of the final step before placement. And I was RIGHT!!!!

This morning I woke up, I started my computer, checked my email, and there it was.... "The Peace Corps has updated your Application Status account." WAHOO!!!!

I HAVE AN INVITATION IN THE MAIL!!!!

In the next few days I will know where I am going and when I am leaving! FINALLY :) All of the setbacks and letdowns were so worth it. It's such a good feeling to know that I will be leaving soon and that they have placed me in a program. The trick is to just hold on a few more days until my invitation arrives in the mail. I PROMISE to update you all as soon as I know!

So, I just emailed my Placement Officer (PO) today and it looks as if I am not leaving in January as planned due to "programmatic requests." It was hard enough waiting for an invitation to leave in January... but it's really hard now not knowing anything! I don't even know if I will still be going to Africa. Everything is up in the air. However, I was told that I will probably be placed in a new program that leaves in February or March.

This whole process is so much more frustrating than I ever expected. I'm learning never to get my hopes up too high because the Peace Corps changes things all the time. I guess I should have seen this coming. I have been beaten over the head with the saying "nominations are not final so do not make any plans to go overseas until you receive an invitation." I've spent a good part of the day reading other Peace Corps blogs and the only glimmer of hope that I have right now is the fact that many other volunteers have been through this exact same situation. Many applicants have missed their nomination and were nominated for a later program. However, although initially disappointed, they seemed happier with their invitation. Additionally, there seems to be a quick turn-over time between missing your first nomination and getting a second one. That being said... I am keeping my expectations low.

I guess the other thing that is making me feel a bit better is the staging dates/countries posted on www.peacecorpswiki.com. The only country with a staging date in Africa in January is South Africa. Although I would be happy to be placed in any country in Africa, South Africa isn't at the top of my list. In February, there are 5 African countries with staging dates (Uganda, Namibia, Zambia, Rwanda, and Malawi) and in March there are 2 (Madagascar and Senegal). I guess it is a good thing in the long run that I'm not leaving in January. It's just a disappointment because ever since I received my nomination in February, I have been looking forward to this time when I would get my invitation. And now that it's that time... I have to wait longer... it's just hard. It's really true that in the Peace Corps the highs are really high and the lows are LOW. But that's just the nature of the Peace Corps. And I know that I am able to deal with it, but it's just disappointing... and it should be and I'm allowed to be.

I read a blog entry today from a current volunteer about everything being ok. It's ok for me to be anxious, obsessed, frustrated, etc. All of these feelings are normal. And it's ok for me to feel this way. I guess my biggest worry is actually getting into a program. There are 9 national offices for the Peace Corps and all of them have PO's trying to get their applicants into the same programs. It's very competitive. And I'm scared that I won't get into one anytime soon. It's all very stressful. I just have to keep my head up and keep thinking positive. All things happen for a reason. It will all work out in the end... I hope.

So I have been trying to be very patient while waiting for my placement/invitation to the Peace Corps. However, I am learning that waiting is so hard to do sometimes. Below is an outline of just how long I have been waiting:

Late September 2008: Sent in initial application

Early January 2009: Had my interview at Penn State on the way back to school

February 2nd 2009: Was nominated for a Healthcare Program working with HIV/AIDS in Africa scheduled to leave in January 2010. ***Note*** I had my choice between a nomination in Healthcare that was scheduled to leave in July but I wouldn't have been guaranteed to serve in Africa or the nomination that I ultimately received that would leave later but I would be nominated for Africa. This explains the enormous amount of time (almost a year) between when I received my nomination and when I was scheduled to leave. From what I have read, this amount of time isn't typical.

February 5th 2009: Peace Corps sent out my medical packet. I received it a few days later.

April 27th 2009: Peace Corps received my completed initial medical packet.

May 2009: Received a follow-up medical packet from Peace Corps.

Late July 2009: Sent Peace Corps my additional medical information.

Late August 2009: Sent Peace Corps and updated resume and official final transcript from Susquehanna University per their request. At this time I was informed that these were the last two pieces of information that they needed before placement.

September 2009: Waiting...

October 2009: And more waiting...

November 2009: You guessed it... WAITING!!!

December 2009: Waiting for placement (shocking!!!). The Peace Corps will notify me at least 6 weeks in advance of my departure date. So last week I whipped out my calculator and figured out that if I leave on the last day of January, I must be notified by December 20th. That's 4 days away!!!!

So I have been slightly Peace Corps obsessed lately since I am bursting with anticipation on discovering my placement. I have been looking at packing lists mostly that are available online. Oh, my new favorite website... www.peacecorpswiki.org! Has so much useful information and has answered most of my questions. AND it has packing lists for each country! I know that I will get an official packing list when I receive my invitation, but I can't help but think that it's never to early too start packing :) I feel as though I have a slight advantage on the packing issue since I have been to Africa before. I know what I used a lot of, and what I never touched and had even forget that I brought. So below is a packing list for Malawi (my preferred country... I'll get into that a little later). Things in black I already have, things in blue I need to buy or have asked for as Christmas presents, things in pink I don't intend on bringing with me because I know I won't use it, and my general comments are in green. This particular packing list is adapted from peacecorpswiki.org and the original can be found at http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/Packing_list_for_Malawi#Miscellaneous_But_Important_Items_For_Serious_Consideration.21

General Clothing

Lightweight, all-weather jacket Hooded sweatshirt or fleece Sleeveless dresses and shirts Swimsuit (one piece) Bandannas or handkerchiefs Sun hat (baseball cap) Good-quality raincoat Small umbrella - This just gets in the way. A raincoat is perfectly fine! Durable, easy-to-wash pants Shorts and other clothes like drawstring pajama pants for lounging around (doctor’s scrubs are ideal) Women can and do wear trousers for traveling and in the cities Teachers need lightweight dresses/skirts that go below the knee (no slits above the knee, and not tight-fitting) Cotton slips (waist to knee and waist to ankle) Very durable, practical clothes (not nice, dressy clothes) Some nicer clothes for in town (dancing, restaurants) Lots of underwear, bras, socks Heavy-duty sports bra Belt Money belt shorts (longer, knee-length shorts for women) for biking Sturdy work gloves (if you garden)- I never garden... so prob not gonna pack these.

For anyone that knows me, I have tons of clothes! So I'm pretty sure this department along with the shoe department are going to be the easiest to pack.

ShoesDurable shoes are an essential investment

Teva or Chaco sandals - I have Teva's... very comfy and practical.

Sneakers and/or hiking boots (Boots are handy for rainy season) Shoes (close-toed and good to stand in all day; for anyone who teaches) Flip-flops Dress shoes

Personal Hygiene and Toiletry Items Favorite brand of tampon Face/hand/body lotion- Nothing that smells to sweet though... it will attract the bugs!

Deodorant Shampoo A few toothbrushes Toothpaste Hand sanitizer Multivitamins Short supply of razors and blades Two pair eyeglasses if needed Hair-cutting scissors Tweezers Lip balm

Ok, so I am seriously lacking in this department. But it's just too early to buy these things.

Kitchen A sharp kitchen knife Rubber spatula French press Kitchen towels Send foodstuff to yourself before leaving: specialty/herbal teas; Kraft Mac & Cheese powder; Cliff,Lunaor other energy bars.

Again, just too early to buy these things.

Miscellaneous But Important Items For Serious Consideration! Sturdy water bottle (e.g., Nalgene) Lightweight, travel, waterproof tent w/ground cloth (Looking at the REI Bug Hut Pro 2. Comes highly recommended from other PCV's)

Leatherman/Swiss Army knife Compact sleeping bag for cold weather Laptop Bungee cords or backpack straps Fitted and flat twin sheets, or double if you need Flashlight or headlamp with extra bulbs Shortwave radio Solar-powered rechargeable batteries with recharger Duct tape Scissors Headlamp (very popular among PCVS!) and/or wind-up flash light Converter and adaptors (220V here. Small multi converters/adapters work well.) Good dictionary U.S. stamps (so you can send letters home with travelers) Flash drive!! Camera Field guide for flora and fauna of sub-Saharan Africa Seeds for herbs and vegetables Battery-powered alarm clock A couple of thirsty towels English dictionary, Thesaurus Sunglasses Some zip-lock baggies Watch - think cheap Jewelry - like the watch Personal money (you can keep it in the safe at the Peace Corps office) Games (Scrabble, cards, chess, Frisbee, etc.) iPod, mp3 player, Zune. Recordable audio function is great for capturing sounds of village life. Please note that erratic energy, heat, humidity, sand and dust will do a number on all electronic devices (computers, iPods and cameras). Musical instrument (harmonica, guitar, etc.) A few novels (to swap after reading) Hobby materials like sketching pads and pencils Day pack Luggage (should be tough, lightweight, lockable, and easy to carry) Hiking backpack Sharpies Crayons, markers, colored paper, colored pencils and cheap paint sets Children’s books GRE prep materials Unbreakable French Press Misc pictures from home and calendar showing scenes of the US Small non-stick frying pan

So, as you can see, there is a lot to pack and a lot to think about!!! I hope that once I am finally all packed, that my luggage is under the weight limit for the airlines.

As I mentioned above, I would love to go to Malawi! This is my first choice because my church has a partnership there and I think it would be really awesome to be in the same country.

Alright, so that's all of the updates I have for you right now. I hope that soon I will be able to tell you where I have been placed and when I will be leaving! Hopefully within the next 4 days!

So, as many of you know, last September I submitted my initial application for the Peace Corps. The decision came after I spent a semester abroad in Equatorial Guinea (the only Spanish speaking country in Africa). After spending two weeks in the forest conducting monkey census, three weeks on top of a mountain doing research on galagos (the smallest primates in the world), and seven weeks attending Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (the National University of Equatorial Guinea) and volunteering in a medical clinic, I knew I wanted to go back. The Peace Corps is a perfect fit for me. I will be working in the healthcare field helping those who are infected with HIV & Aids.

I wanted to include a few photos of my time in EG before I get into the whole Peace Corps thing. The first is of Clinica Esperanza (the clinic where I volunteered for seven weeks).

This is what the clinic looked like when you walked in the front door. To the immediate right was the check-in desk. The desk in the far right corner was the nurses desk, and to the left of that was an exam table. If you were to walk past the curtain in the middle of the picture and turn to the left, you would enter the lab. If you were to make a right past the curtain, you would enter a waiting area/immunization area.

This is a picture of the only bed we had in the clinic. It also doubled as Dr. King's office. You can barely see his desk in the bottom left corner. This is where we would treat our malaria patients and do patient exams. For being in the capital city of Malabo, this was a great clinic. It had the basic necessities and the capability of performing many tests, even though most came in a box. The doctors were great and helped me learn a lot about tropical diseases.

This is UNGE (Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial) where I spent 7 weeks studying. I took four classes while I was abroad but only three were taught here: Society and the Environment, Natural Resource Economics, and West African History and Culture. The last course, Field Research in Tropical Ecology, was taught in the village of Moka. There we conducted our own research and were taught by Dr. Tom Butynski.

This is a picture of the girls and I at a place called Lago Biao (also known as Crater Lake). It is a few hour hikes from Moka and it is a sacred place to Equatoguineans. It was so beautiful! We hiked all the way down the hill to the lake and the boys even swam in it.

This is a picture of my living accommodations for a month and a half. We slept in tents, bathed out of buckets or a lagoon, and did our wash in a freshwater stream. This picture happened to be taken on the Annual Caldera Expedition where we conducted monkey census for two weeks. We did a lot of hiking over those two weeks.

This was my main hike group. We were together over a two day hike. First we left in the afternoon and went on a three hour hike to Camp Peter. There we set up the tents and had dinner. The next day we got up really early and hiked all day long (at least 8 hours) up to Camp Hormiga. Camp Hormiga is at the top of the caldera and there are different population levels of monkey species up there than at the beach. I should mention that there are seven species of monkeys and all have dangerously low population levels. In addition, these species of monkey are endemic to the island, meaning that you can't find these specific subspecies anywhere else in the world! In the EG culture, eating monkey meat was considered normal. It is referred to as bushmeat. But with the extremely low population levels of monkey species, the president outlawed the killing of monkeys for consumption in October of 2007. Of course, a black market popped up for bushmeat, but the population levels have began to rise (thankfully).

Well now that you saw a small bit of what I experienced in EG, maybe you can understand my motivation for applying to the Peace Corps. I expected an in depth application, an interview, and a medical check-up... but what I didn't anticipate was the time it would take to finally be placed and leave! It's been over a year since I sent in my application (which was an ordeal by itself) and I still haven't received my placement even though I am scheduled to leave in January.

The basic outline for the application process seems pretty simple. First you submit an application online, then an interview, followed by a nomination. A nomination is meant to just give you an idea of where you will be going, when you will be leaving, and what you will be doing. It is always subject to change though. You are then sent a medical packet that is comprised of a physical exam, an eye exam, and an extremely thorough dental exam. If you are then medically cleared, you must then by financially and legally cleared as well. If all of that goes well, then you receive your invitation which includes you placement information. This is the step that I am at now, waiting for my invitation.

The application itself was about 15 pages long and included 2 essays and at least 3 references. Much thanks to Dr. Richard, Veronica Irvine, and Drew Cronin for taking the time to fill out the reference forms! The Peace Corps wanted to know everything about me and my family: parents schooling and occupations, my schooling, volunteer experience, etc. So... after that was completed, next was the interview.

The interview wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. My recruiter was located in Penn State so I stopped by for my interview on the way back to school from spring break. I felt confident after the interview and a month or so after it, I was nominated for a healthcare program in Africa that would leave in January of 2010. I had made it very clear in my interview that I only wanted to go to Africa and work in the healthcare field. By doing this, I can gain patient care hours for Physician's Assistant school applications (which I plan on attending after my return from the Peace Corps).

When the medical packet came, I was not expecting the time it would take to complete it. It had an in depth physical with my PCP (which included several blood tests, a detailed history, and a record of all of my immunizations), an eye appointment and a dental check-up that felt like it would never end. The one good thing is that the Peace Corps provides some money to help pay for your appointments. I was able to use the money for my copay's.

After I sent in my medical packet, I got a follow-up medical packet and had to go back to the doctors office for additional tests. The entire medical packet took about 4 months to complete.

Just a few months ago, I was contacted by a new recruiter who was passed on my application, asking for an updated resume and final transcript. I guess they wanted to make sure that I actually graduated and wanted to see if I had continued to volunteer throughout my senior year at school. Since then, I haven't heard anything. I have been waiting such a long time to hear when I am leaving and what country I am going to. Last Thursday I called the Peace Corps and they told me that my recruiter has just started to place her candidates so I should be hearing soon. As soon as I know I will post it here. Until then, all I can do it wait.