Peacing Out and the Training to be A PCV

My Peace Corps experience started in Philly, ironic right? I spent three days there where we were briefed on what was coming... it was super vague. But, to be fair, how can one describe a country to people that really don't know much about it? You basically can't do anything else except say, "Remember, be flexible and keep an open mind." Also, we we told about our itinerary to actually get to Mozambique. We left our hotel in Philly at 2 AM to take a bus JFK for our 11 AM flight. We got to JFK at around 5 AM. Apparently, we left SO early because they've had buses break down in-transit. I claim bull... but I was just a really tired dude at an airport WAY too early. Not that I was bias or anything...

The flight itself was 15 hours, non-stop to Johannesburg. It was long... But I did successfully read and write in my journal during the flight. Surprising since I usually am knocked out as soon as sit down on a plane. We get to Johannesburg and took another flight into Maputo (the capital city of Mozambique). We stayed there for a couple of days and then off to Namaacha!

Okay so here is a summary of my life so far in Namaacha. For those that aren't aware, I have been in training since I got to Moz. in the quasi-city of Namaacha (my definition of city has changed significantly since arriving in Moz). So what does training entail? Well, most importantly training covers the learning of portuguese because it is the official language of Mozambique. Fun fact: only about forty percent of Mozambique speaks portuguese! Most people speak local languages; there are about 20-ish local languages, and they are regionally dependent. So, why learn portuguese? Good question. Well, it is important for us because most official business is done in portuguese (ie. the work we will do with our organizations). Also, the training process is set up so that we are interviewed about the type of site we would like to be placed in, so we don't know what local language we will need to know until we find out our sites. Through training, we also learn more about the culture and provinces of Moz, so we are more informed to tell Peace Corps about what we want out of our site and work for the next two years.  For example, we learned about the division of Moz into north, central, and south. In general, the northern part of the country is more influenced by Muslim culture and is matrilineal. On the flip side, the southern part of the country is more Christian-based faith and patrilineal. Also, we have learned about the type of work we will be doing and how to serve our role in the communities in which we are placed. Let me explain in a little more detail. We can be working with a variety of organizations from CBOs (community-based organizations), GOs (governmental organizations), NGOs (non-GOs), INGOs (international NGOs) or a joint placement with a combination of these. We were able to visit current volunteers to observe what their life and work is like at there sites. I can only speak for myself, but that site visit changed what I thought I wanted out if my site and work. We have found out our sites, and I am going to be in a small, coastal town called Moma in the Nampula province. I will be the first volunteer there and working with an INGO called SCIP (Strengthening Communities ). It is funded by Pathfinder International (and World Vision in another province). I will be working with water sanitation, general hygiene, mother and child health, nutrition, and developing agriculture. So, it is a pretty huge job description which leaves me with a lot of flexibility! I don't know what to expect yet, so I haven't really been worrying about it. I'll find out what it's like when I get there. Ha. Now, I'm just waiting for training to end, so I can start my time as a sworn-in volunteer!