My Site Assignment

My access to internet is rather limited here so I have been unable to update the site for some time. Anyway, to very quickly recap Pre-Service Training, it feels like months have gone by since I left the States. So much information has been thrown my way that it is hard to remember everything. There are a lot of people to meet, is much knowledge to acquire, and are many emotions to sort through. But it has been a wonderful few weeks and I am doing very very well.

Today, we received our site placements (basic information about where we will live and what will be doing for the next two years!). The past few days have been very trying for me as I experienced some unexpected changes regarding my assignment. When I began training, I was placed in the Afrikaans language group but two days ago, my Placement Director informed me that I was being switched to Otjiherero. I was rather disappointed with this because it would mean significant changes to my site location – namely I would be leaving southern Namibia and heading to the northwest (over 8 hours away from the capital). Additionally, I would be switching jobs and would be further away from other volunteers as there are only 3 people in our group learning that language. Anyway, long story short – I got switched back to my original placement today and am absolutely ecstatic about it!

I will be living in Gobabis, a town about two and a half hours east of Windhoek. Another PCV from my group is stationed in the same town and I am going to live with a PCV from Group 25. I will be working for the Ministry of Youth educating young people about HIV/AIDS. I am not yet sure of all that the job will entail but I am thrilled to be able to use my love of kids and of leadership development to hopeful make an impact on the epidemic that is ravaging this country.

We all leave our Training site, Okahandja, tomorrow to head out to the various corners of Namibia for our visits to our permanent sites. We will be staying at our permanent sites for about four days, meeting our supervisors and colleagues, being introduced to community leaders, verifying our housing situations, and just getting acclimated to life in Namibia. After that, we have to hike (take taxis, trains, etc.) to our Community Based Training (CBT) sites. My site is in Tsumeb along with all the other Health Trainees. The Education Trainees have two sites located up in the north.

During CBT, we live with host families so that we can practice the local languages and adjust to the culture; we also acquire additional technical knowledge about our jobs (so for me, learning and teaching youth about HIV). CBT lasts for about three weeks and then everyone reassembles back here in Okahandja for a final week of language testing and further training.

Although I have only known my fellow PCTs for a few weeks, I really am going to miss seeing everyone over the next few weeks. I am incredibly excited about visiting my site and CBT and I am really looking forward to beginning my service!

Staging's Almost Over!

My Staging in D.C. is nearly complete. Tomorrow morning, I head off to clinic to get immunizations with my fellow PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees). Then, we head to the airport to begin our journey to Africa. I'm not really looking forward to the 15 and a half hour flight but am excited to know that soon enough, I will be on African soil.

Staging has actually been more informative and more fun than I had expected. Although we have not recieved much country-specific information, I am more aware of what issues I will likely face as a Volunteer and how best to address them. I have learned a bit more about Namibia and have also been greatly comforted by the knowledge that many of my fellow PCTs feel just as unprepared and perhaps, unqualified as I do. I have been reassured that the training we will recieve during our first 8 weeks in Namibia will provide us with all the information we need to succeed as Volunteers.

I have also learned that the flexibility PC stressed through my application process will have to be extended throughout my tour of service. Today, I asked one of our Staging directors when, as a Health Volunteer, I will find out what my job will be. [The situation for the Education Volunteers in our group is quite different as their roles are much more defined.] Her reply was, "You should know by year two." I have been anxiously awaiting word on what I will be asked to do as a Health Volunteer and was at first, somewhat dismayed by the answer. But I am also enthusiastic about the flexibility that such a position offers. I may be able to better meet the needs of the community I will serve if I do not have a strict job description to fill. I think the lack of definition will present a greater challenge to me as a Volunteer and I actually am rather looking forward to that.

As for my fellow PCTs, there are 67 trainees in my group (more than I had anticipated!). The majority of the trainees will be Education Volunteers -- there are only about 22 Health Volunteers including myself. We are a group with fairly diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. We also have a good percentage of older volunteers. Worldwide, only about 6% of PCVs are older, but in our group we have at least 10%. I am quite pleased to serve with such a variety of people and I look forward to getting to know everyone better. Having only been here for two days, I still have not mastered all 66 names but I am working on that!

Last Week at Home

This past week has been absolutely insane – registering items with US Customs, getting personal property insurance, packing and last-minute shopping trips, making good-bye phone calls, establishing power of attorney, filling out paperwork, applying for loan deferments, having a good-bye dinner with my former co-workers, buying Christmas and birthday presents for the next year, and so forth. It has been a very stressful week and I am glad that the preparations are now complete. However, I do wonder if I have prepared myself enough for such a huge change, I wish that I had more time. Logistically, I am prepared. But emotionally and professionally, I’m not so sure. As an HIV/AIDS volunteer, one would think that I have experience in medicine but I’m not a doctor or a nurse, I wasn’t even a biology major in college. I’m worried that I do not know enough about the disease to effectively educate people about it. I know that I will gain more knowledge in training, but part of me still cannot believe that the government is sending me to Africa to teach people about a disease I know very little about. Training is supposedly a very trying and grueling eight-week experience and I am slightly nervous about it. Hopefully, all will go well and I will be officially sworn-in as a PCV on January 5, 2007. Wish me luck! P.S. The next post will likely be from Africa and thus, it may be awhile before I get a chance to put one up. So please don't worry if you don't hear from me for awhile.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. What could possibly be better than a day dedicated to remembering what one has to be thankful for in life? I’ve always enjoyed being surrounded by family and sitting around the dining room table filling my belly with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and all the fixings. I find it refreshing to have a holiday where conversation trumps the giving of presents. So, I was rather sad to learn that I was going to miss Thanksgiving this year but fortunately, my mother had other plans. Today, the day before my departure for D.C., I sat at the dining room table surrounded by friends and family and I ate turkey and thought about everything I am thankful for. We had Thanksgiving three weeks early. Honestly, it is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me – to host an entire holiday in my honor. It was a wonderful day and I look forward to eating leftovers on my flight tomorrow.

The Packing List

A few people have asked me how one packs for a two-year stint in Africa. My shorthand answer would be: very carefully. Peace Corps provided me with some general guidelines as to what I ought to bring; however, I will not find out which region of Namibia my permanent site will be located in until a few weeks into training. Therefore, I do not know if I will be sweating it out in the 120 degree Southern Kalahari desert or if I will be a bit cooler up in the Northern elevated regions. I also do not know if I will have electricity or running water, if I will be living independently or with another volunteer or a host family, or if I will be located in a village or in a larger town. Since I know nothing about my permanent site, I’ve had to be a bit flexible with packing and I’ve tried to accommodate for as many scenarios as possible. Most likely, I have over-packed but in this particular instance I believe it is better to over-pack than to arrive without the necessities. Of course, I may regret this later when I have to lug over 100 pounds through the desert! My packing list was developed through extensive research into what former and current PCVs brought to Namibia. I would like to thank them for posting their packing lists on their blogs and for answering my group’s questions on our Yahoo support group. They have all been extremely helpful. I would also like to thank those individuals who helped me pack, went shopping with me, listened to me moan about my lack of concrete knowledge, or provided me with gift certificates or items to help me defray the costs of this expedition. Their assistance is more appreciated than they even know. So thank you to my mother, father, co-workers in San Diego, Stella and Joe, and bosses from Boston for their contributions; without them I would have spent a small fortune acquiring all this stuff! Clothing 2 pairs of pants 1 pair of jeans 2 skirts 4 long-sleeved shirts 10 shirts 2 undershirts 2 pairs of pajamas ~20 pairs of socks ~20 pairs of underwear 4 bras sweatshirt sweater fleece jacket scarf (handmade by Agnes!) gloves winter hat B.U. baseball cap belt swimsuit 3 bandanas (one is insect-repelling!) Tilley hat (early b-day gift from Mom) Shoes tennis shoes Chaco sandals hiking boots casual shoes flip flops extra shoe laces Toiletries feminine hygiene products camp towel (its like a shammy) toilet paper bath sponge Q-tips deodorant 4 toothbrushes 3 toothpastes 10 razors foot cream hand cream body lotion facial lotion sunscreen foot brush bar of soap pumice stone wash cloth shampoo conditioner body spray ‘Medical’ Supplies latex gloves 2 instant cold packs ~200 disinfecting handwipes aloe vera gel insect repellent Pepto Bismal Immodium Tums Airborne Nyquil gel caps Neosporin lip balm Icy Hot cream aspirin vitamins 7-day pill dispenser (for my malaria meds) mosquito headnet snake bite kit small first aid kit Electronics & Equipment SLR camera lots of film digital camera 2 memory cards extra camera batteries disposable cameras travel tripod laptop 2 zip drives a few blank CDs recorder and tapes batteries, batteries and more batteries Books Bible (a gift from Jess) Shakespeare’s sonnets (I can’t be completely deprived of the Bard!) The Little Prince Pride and Prejudice as many novels as my carry-on can hold! Personal Items stationary cushioned mailing envelopes regular envelopes 2 journals 3 wrapped Christmas presents from my mom! U.S. stamps (to send letters back w/ visitors) Everything Else 2 unfitted full sheets 1 pillowcase 4 decks of cards dice calculator gifts for local children (Hot Wheels, stickers, rings, etc.) gift for homestay family (San Diego calendar) mesh bag Ziploc bags Ziploc storage containers 2 rain ponchos Oxy Clean wipes stain-remover sticks world map atlases - US and world Peace Corps map (shows the countries where PCVs serve) scotch tape duct tape various sizes of spiral notebooks post-it notes 2 handkerchiefs 2 Nalgene bottles 3 carabineers extra pair of glasses 1 pair prescription sunglasses glasses cleaning solution glasses cleaning cloths lemonade, fruit punch, and iced tea mixes dried ice cream sewing kit emergency candles

My Contact Information

Mailing Address
My new mailing address!

Ministry of Health and Social Services
Kunene Regional Directorate
P/Bag 3003
Opuwo
Namibia

AFRICA

My PC-issued Welcome Book states, "Mail from the U.S. to Windhoek can take up to two weeks. From there, it could take two more weeks for mail to reach your village." So if it takes me awhile to respond to your letter, its most likely because of the slow postal system (please don’t think I’ve contracted malaria or anything!).

Recommendations on Sending Mail
For those wonderful people who decide to write me letters, please number your letters (i.e. Letter 1, Letter 2, etc.). Letters occasionally get lost in the mail so numbering them will assist me greatly in keeping up with your correspondence.

As for mailing packages, the cheapest method is via the M-Bag which I believe can only be used for publications (books, magazines, etc.) and is shipped on freight (it will take 2-3 months to arrive) . Unfortunately we have heard word out here that the M-Bag is being discontinued in the States. So if you were planning to send me an M-Bag, check with the post office and send it as soon as possible! I believe that the M-Bags will be discontinued as early as May 2007. For rates on the M-Mag and all other methods of mail, look at the USPS website (http://pe.usps.gov/text/Imm/immicl/immiclnr_001.html)

Some current PCVs serving in Namibia have a few unusual recommendations on sending mail. Supposedly, if you write a religious message on the outside of the letter/package (such as "Jesus is Watching," "May God Bless You," "Praise Be God," or "The Lord is my Shepherd"), the mail will be more likely to reach its destination as the postal workers may be less inclined to open it. Writing the address in red ink (which is religiously symbolic) and indicating that the items are "religious gifts" on the customs form may also have the same effect.

Other recommendations include listing all items mailed as "used" on the customs form; not listing any valuable items on the customs form; including a sealed envelope that lists of all items in the package so that I know if a postal worker has taken anything you sent; and using pads and tampons instead of packing peanuts (apparently this is a deterrent to postal theives).

Email
I have semi-regular access to the internet. So you are welcome to email me (kate.mclaugh@gmail.com) but please be patient with my responses as it can take awhile for me to get back to you. For those who prefer to send regular mail, that is most welcome and greatly appreciated (anyone who has ever lived abroad before understands how incredibly exciting it is to get mail!). That said, the response time on letters is surely longer than email as it can take a month or more for me to recieve the letter, a few days to respond, and awhile for my letter to reach you (but you would get a Namibian stamp so that's incentive for you!).