In the Beginning

Hello all!

Seeing as this is my first blog entry, I would like to thank you guys for checking this out. That means you are the hipsters of this blog. Which means, in a short while, you will have bragging rights. How great is that?!

Right, so on to the business at hand: my PC service. I'm sure you guys have questions about where I will be living, what my living conditions will be like, what I will be doing, how safe Malawi is, and why I chose to become a PCV (Peace Corps volunteer... the PC LOVES acronyms). I also have these questions. Below is my best attempt to answer them. I will certainly get more information once I arrive in country (on March 7th!!) but this is what I've got as of now.

It all started back in the 1980s when my dad was a PCV in Niger in west Africa. Of course, I wasn't around then, but bear with me. I have many memories of looking at a coffee table book of Niger and falling in love with the idea of learning another culture as only living in it will allow. When I was still a fresh graduate from first grade, my parents, sister, and I went to west Africa for three weeks during which time we visited the village my dad had been posted in. I don't remember a whole lot from that trip, but I remember that visit clearly.

Fast forward to the present, through several other short international trips as well as a few extended ones. These experiences made me determined to join the Peace Corps and underscored the importance of international experiences. As college graduation began to become a reality, I decided to apply to the PC. My thinking was that I was at a good spot in my life to apply. Sure, graduate school will happen someday, but that can wait. Plus, if I can act like my school loans don't exist for a few years longer, they'll go away right?

Student loans? Come at me bro!

As for what I will be doing as a PCV, I'm not exactly clear. Broadly, my "sector" is the environment. More specifically, I will be working in forestry management through the "community-based natural resource management" program (or CBNRM, because why wouldn't  you make that an acronym?). As far as I know, this means I will be working with communities that border protected areas (game preserves, protected forests, or forest reserves) in an effort to find ways for them to harvest natural resources in a sustainable manner. Sounds pretty neat! It also sounds pretty daunting. My degrees are in Marine Biology and Geography... So my knowledge of forestry management basically stops at knowing how to pronounce the words. And even that is shaky.

I don't have any idea where I will be living (called a "site" or a "post") for the next 27 months, though I have been told that a mud brick hut with a tin roof is upscale. Bring on the surprises! And then there are these little beauties:

Say hello to my little friend!

These guys may be my roommates for part of the next two years. Or not. TBD. But the possibility is there. Apparently my dreams of cockroaches crawling all over me while I sleep may be good training. But I'm taking heart in the thought that these guys may also be my roommates:

How could you say no to this?

Clearly the housing (and the roommate) situation is very different from in the States. I will also have limited internet access, so communication will mostly be via post. Check out my "Talk to me!!" page for the deats. 

The Peace Corps is a 27 month commitment, and I will fly off to Philly on March 3rd for staging along with my cohort (about 30 people all told). On March 6th we begin our journey, taking a bus to the Big Apple before flying to Johannesburg, South Africa and then to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. I will then begin three months of pre-service training (PST), including a home-stay, language classes, and cultural and professional training. During this time I will be sans internet, so letters would be best. Unless you're ok with a reply three months later.

After PST I will find out my site location and learn more specifics about my project and job description. Just to give you a flavor of where I might end up, here are some photos of Malawi:

As far as I know, any one of these photos could be similar to what I will be seeing for the next few years. Who knows? 

A final note on Malawi's stability and safety. The PC monitors safety risks and stability in all countries where PCVs are serving. If the PC determines the situation to be risky, all volunteers will be recalled and either brought back to the US or placed in a different site/country. So no worries. They've got my back. Some of you may have heard of the corruption scandal in Malawi (dubbed "cashgate"). This is a serious issue but poses no threat to me as a volunteer. Boo-ya!

Stay tuned for a few more updates before I go off the grid until June!