Thursday, May 14, 2009

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber

Hi everyone!

I will officially begin my journey with the Peace Corps on May 28, 2009. It has taken a long time to finally get here (I applied in November 2007) but it has been worth it. I received my invitation to serve in Malawi as a Community Health Adviser on January 21, 2009. My staging information arrived in the end of April: I am scheduled to fly in to Washington D.C. on May 28th at 9:10am. I will be meeting the rest my fellow volunteers at registration at 2:00pm where an intense afternoon of training will follow. We will fly out of D.C. Friday evening; arriving in Johannesburg, SA Saturday evening. I am not looking forward to the 18 hour flight. We will spend Saturday night in Johannesburg and fly into Lilongwe on Sunday afternoon. From the Lilongwe airport we will bus to Dedza where our nine weeks of training will begin. The seasons are opposite in Malawi so I will be able to enjoy two winters in a row.

I am currently trying to think of everything that I need to pack...I have lists galore! I have put a pad of paper in my purse so that when I am walking down the street and it starts to rain; I can write down that I need to pack an umbrella. I wish that I could just throw some stuff in and go, like I usually do, but I am packing for 27 months! It is a bit overwhelming, so at times I have to remind myself that if the people in Malawi can live without it so can I.

I cannot wait to discover each secret destination that this journey has in store for me; I am so excited about the change of pace and experiancing the different culture. I will do my best to keep you all updated, whether it be writing blogs or having my family post letters that I send by snailmail.

2 comments:

  1. Best of luck as you finish your time in the US. I am an RPCV who served in Malawi. You don't really have to pack for 27 months. Most of what you need can be found locally. In fact, if I could do it over, I'd probably pack very, very lightly. You really can essentially just throw some things in a bag and go, and then adapt as you find you need things. You can get an umbrella in Malawi if you need one, along with everything else. No need to pack two years worth of anything. Bring enough clothes to get you through training and then adapt as you go.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're packed and off! I'm going to be missing you so much. I pray that all will go well with the trip over:) I look forward to keeping up with your time over there on this blog. Hope you get to write on it every once in awhile. Love you! Your Sis

    ReplyDelete