Liz's next adventure!
Rather than typing up all the info again, here's the e-mail I sent out to everyone, sans the personal info...
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Hi to all!
I hope all is well with all of you! Things are peachy by me -- I'm keeping myself busy between working at my dad's store and hanging out with friends, so all's good! Soooooo... many of you have been wondering if I heard from the Peace Corps, and I finally did! I just received an invitation to serve in Namibia! Okay, here's answers to some of the questions that you probably have...
Where on earth is Namibia?
You know where South Africa is, right? Well, it's one country up on its left (western) side. Go to my quasi-PC site to see a pic of where it is. I'll be placed in one of the four regions in the northern part of the country (the regions aren't on that map, though).
What will you be doing there?
The program is Secondary Education and the job title is IT Support - Computer Science Teacher. So basically, I'm helping to integrate computers into middle and/or high schools. Some schools have many teachers but are poorly equipped and some have the opposite. I don't know (nor do I get to choose) what situation I'll be in. There will also be opportunities to have secondary projects that link school and community resources.
When are you going? (dates are subject to change, though)
--> Oct. 19th-21st -- "Staging" (paperwork, intro stuff, getting the ticket to Namibia, etc.), which is where all the volunteers going to Namibia go to (and fly out to Namibia from) a particular US city -- I don't know where the staging is yet
--> **Due to time zones, it takes two days to fly to Namibia**
--> Oct. 23, 2004-Jan. 4, 2005 -- Pre-Service Training (in Namibia) -- technical, language/cross-culture, health maintenance, safety/security, and the role of the Voluneer in development
--> Jan. 5, 2005-Dec. 15, 2006 -- Actual service term (so it's not quite two full years and I'll be back in time for Christmas in 2006)
What language do they speak over there?
English is the official language, but only about 7% of the people there speak it! Afrikaans is spoken by 60% and German is spoken by 32% (and there are some indigenous languages spoken as well). So I'm guessing that whereas I'll teach in English, I'll learn Afrikaans as well (and maybe some German, finally!).
Where will you be living?
No, I most likely will not be in a mud hut. During training, I'll be living with an individual host family. During my term of service, the housing varies per volunteer and consequently, I might be living in a Western-style cement block house (w\ electricity and running water), an apartment attached to a student boarding facility (hostel), or in the case of a more rural school placement, I could have a room with a local family. Whatever the case, it's the Peace Corps' expectation that I'll have my own bedroom, but it's not guaranteed.
Do you have to get shots now or take medication?
Not that I know of -- I think that stuff will be covered during staging (or at least more info will probably be in the staging packet that I'll receive before then).
Is it safe over there?
In case you're wondering, Namibia gained their independence from South Africa on March 21, 1990. As with all Peace Corps placements, though, if the Peace Corps even suspects that there might be something unsafe brewing, they'll yank their volunteers out of there probably before the news gets over to the US. So rest assured, I'll be fine. :)
What's your address there?
I have no idea, but I'll make sure to send it out to all of you when I get it (along with some guidelines for sending mail). However, you can always send mail to my home in New Rochelle and it'll get to me... eventually! In case you're wondering, the postage for a typical 1 oz. letter is 80 cents. And unless you hear otherwise, you can always e-mail me at this address. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to access e-mail, but if I find that I can only access it rarely, I'll use one of those rare access times to let all of you know that!
How can I call you?
Ummm... I honestly don't know if you can. If there's an emergency, please call my home and tell my family and they'll call the emergency Peace Corps number. Or if it turns out that I can check my e-mail really often, then e-mail me. As of right now, I foresee myself communicating mainly via e-mail (and snail mail) and using phone cards when I can. But please do keep me in the loop!
Do you have any time off?
The school year goes from Jan-Dec (remember that the seasons are reversed) and follows a trimester cycle. There are breaks in between each trimester -- the breaks are two to five weeks in length and are in May, August, and December. Although I have 24 days off per year (so 48 days off for my whole time there), I'm not allowed to take time off during the school year unless it's and emergency situation. I can come back home to visit during the breaks, but I checked out airfare and the cheapest I found was for about $1700 or $1800 round-trip. Although it takes two days to get there, it only takes an "overnight" to get to the US (again due to time zones).
What time is it there?
They're GMT +2 now (daylight savings time started on Sunday 9/5 in Namibia), so they're 6 hours ahead of the US now (and I'm guessing that they'll be 7 hours ahead of us once we "fall back" and 5 hours when we "spring ahead"). Check out http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=266 to see what time it is there now.
What's the exchange rate?
$1 US = approx. $6.70 NAD
The currencies in Namibia are the Namibian dollar (NAD) and the South African rand (ZAR) -- they're pretty much equal to each other.
Can I come visit you?
Of course! I'd love to see any of you! I can't take time off except during the trimester breaks, but if you're thinking about visiting, let me know and hopefully by that point, I'll know when my breaks are! (We can't take any time off during our first six months in Namibia, so I'm guessing that my first available "break" time will be in May 2005.) And in case you're wondering, the airport code for Windhoek (the capital of Namibia) is WDH.
Where can I find out more info about Namibia?
http://www.namibian.org -- pretty good for basic travel info in Namibia
http://www.grnnet.gov.na -- the main website for Namibia
http://www.namibian.com.na -- The Namibian, which apparently the best paper in Namibia -- and yes, it's in English!
What are you going to do after you finish in Namibia?
That's all up in the air now, but a quasi-tentative plan is for me to get my Master's via the Peace Corps' Fellows USA program (it's a domestic program) -- go to http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.eduben.fellows to find out more info about it.
I think that's about it for now. For those of you who have e-mailed me, I will return your e-mail(s) before I leave -- I've been slacking in the e-mail reply department over the course of the past month or so. I'm not sure what's going to happen with my cell phone, but if you call it and it says that it's been disconnected (which might be the case in the last week that I'm home b/c my cycle starts/ends around the 14th of each month), then call my home number. I hope to see you before I go, but if not (esp. those of you not in my time zone), then I'll see ya when I get home! Keep in touch -- see ya!
Keep on smiling,
Liz :)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm really psyched about it all! Yesterday, I sent in my stuff for my visa and passport renewal, so yay for being productive! Now I gotta do my resume according to their format (I already have a resume, but they want it a specific way) and write my "aspiration statement" (whatever that may be). Less than 6 weeks from now, I'll be on my way! (okay, so I'll be at staging, which is either in Philly or DC, but still...)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hi to all!
I hope all is well with all of you! Things are peachy by me -- I'm keeping myself busy between working at my dad's store and hanging out with friends, so all's good! Soooooo... many of you have been wondering if I heard from the Peace Corps, and I finally did! I just received an invitation to serve in Namibia! Okay, here's answers to some of the questions that you probably have...
Where on earth is Namibia?
You know where South Africa is, right? Well, it's one country up on its left (western) side. Go to my quasi-PC site to see a pic of where it is. I'll be placed in one of the four regions in the northern part of the country (the regions aren't on that map, though).
What will you be doing there?
The program is Secondary Education and the job title is IT Support - Computer Science Teacher. So basically, I'm helping to integrate computers into middle and/or high schools. Some schools have many teachers but are poorly equipped and some have the opposite. I don't know (nor do I get to choose) what situation I'll be in. There will also be opportunities to have secondary projects that link school and community resources.
When are you going? (dates are subject to change, though)
--> Oct. 19th-21st -- "Staging" (paperwork, intro stuff, getting the ticket to Namibia, etc.), which is where all the volunteers going to Namibia go to (and fly out to Namibia from) a particular US city -- I don't know where the staging is yet
--> **Due to time zones, it takes two days to fly to Namibia**
--> Oct. 23, 2004-Jan. 4, 2005 -- Pre-Service Training (in Namibia) -- technical, language/cross-culture, health maintenance, safety/security, and the role of the Voluneer in development
--> Jan. 5, 2005-Dec. 15, 2006 -- Actual service term (so it's not quite two full years and I'll be back in time for Christmas in 2006)
What language do they speak over there?
English is the official language, but only about 7% of the people there speak it! Afrikaans is spoken by 60% and German is spoken by 32% (and there are some indigenous languages spoken as well). So I'm guessing that whereas I'll teach in English, I'll learn Afrikaans as well (and maybe some German, finally!).
Where will you be living?
No, I most likely will not be in a mud hut. During training, I'll be living with an individual host family. During my term of service, the housing varies per volunteer and consequently, I might be living in a Western-style cement block house (w\ electricity and running water), an apartment attached to a student boarding facility (hostel), or in the case of a more rural school placement, I could have a room with a local family. Whatever the case, it's the Peace Corps' expectation that I'll have my own bedroom, but it's not guaranteed.
Do you have to get shots now or take medication?
Not that I know of -- I think that stuff will be covered during staging (or at least more info will probably be in the staging packet that I'll receive before then).
Is it safe over there?
In case you're wondering, Namibia gained their independence from South Africa on March 21, 1990. As with all Peace Corps placements, though, if the Peace Corps even suspects that there might be something unsafe brewing, they'll yank their volunteers out of there probably before the news gets over to the US. So rest assured, I'll be fine. :)
What's your address there?
I have no idea, but I'll make sure to send it out to all of you when I get it (along with some guidelines for sending mail). However, you can always send mail to my home in New Rochelle and it'll get to me... eventually! In case you're wondering, the postage for a typical 1 oz. letter is 80 cents. And unless you hear otherwise, you can always e-mail me at this address. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to access e-mail, but if I find that I can only access it rarely, I'll use one of those rare access times to let all of you know that!
How can I call you?
Ummm... I honestly don't know if you can. If there's an emergency, please call my home and tell my family and they'll call the emergency Peace Corps number. Or if it turns out that I can check my e-mail really often, then e-mail me. As of right now, I foresee myself communicating mainly via e-mail (and snail mail) and using phone cards when I can. But please do keep me in the loop!
Do you have any time off?
The school year goes from Jan-Dec (remember that the seasons are reversed) and follows a trimester cycle. There are breaks in between each trimester -- the breaks are two to five weeks in length and are in May, August, and December. Although I have 24 days off per year (so 48 days off for my whole time there), I'm not allowed to take time off during the school year unless it's and emergency situation. I can come back home to visit during the breaks, but I checked out airfare and the cheapest I found was for about $1700 or $1800 round-trip. Although it takes two days to get there, it only takes an "overnight" to get to the US (again due to time zones).
What time is it there?
They're GMT +2 now (daylight savings time started on Sunday 9/5 in Namibia), so they're 6 hours ahead of the US now (and I'm guessing that they'll be 7 hours ahead of us once we "fall back" and 5 hours when we "spring ahead"). Check out http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=266 to see what time it is there now.
What's the exchange rate?
$1 US = approx. $6.70 NAD
The currencies in Namibia are the Namibian dollar (NAD) and the South African rand (ZAR) -- they're pretty much equal to each other.
Can I come visit you?
Of course! I'd love to see any of you! I can't take time off except during the trimester breaks, but if you're thinking about visiting, let me know and hopefully by that point, I'll know when my breaks are! (We can't take any time off during our first six months in Namibia, so I'm guessing that my first available "break" time will be in May 2005.) And in case you're wondering, the airport code for Windhoek (the capital of Namibia) is WDH.
Where can I find out more info about Namibia?
http://www.namibian.org -- pretty good for basic travel info in Namibia
http://www.grnnet.gov.na -- the main website for Namibia
http://www.namibian.com.na -- The Namibian, which apparently the best paper in Namibia -- and yes, it's in English!
What are you going to do after you finish in Namibia?
That's all up in the air now, but a quasi-tentative plan is for me to get my Master's via the Peace Corps' Fellows USA program (it's a domestic program) -- go to http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.eduben.fellows to find out more info about it.
I think that's about it for now. For those of you who have e-mailed me, I will return your e-mail(s) before I leave -- I've been slacking in the e-mail reply department over the course of the past month or so. I'm not sure what's going to happen with my cell phone, but if you call it and it says that it's been disconnected (which might be the case in the last week that I'm home b/c my cycle starts/ends around the 14th of each month), then call my home number. I hope to see you before I go, but if not (esp. those of you not in my time zone), then I'll see ya when I get home! Keep in touch -- see ya!
Keep on smiling,
Liz :)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm really psyched about it all! Yesterday, I sent in my stuff for my visa and passport renewal, so yay for being productive! Now I gotta do my resume according to their format (I already have a resume, but they want it a specific way) and write my "aspiration statement" (whatever that may be). Less than 6 weeks from now, I'll be on my way! (okay, so I'll be at staging, which is either in Philly or DC, but still...)