I made it to Africa!

I finally made it to Africa!! Greetings from Johannesburg, however by the time you probably read this I’ll be in Namibia. It has been a super long travel experience as I have only been asleep for a total of 6 or 7 hours since Sunday morning and it is now Wednesday. Combinations of nerves, excitement, early wake ups, and cramped airlines do not make for a restful experience. At least not for me, there are some lucky people who were able to sleep for a full 8 hours. So while sitting in an airport for the next few hours with no internet, phone, or energy for that matter, I figured I would let you all know what was up with what I will be doing over the next few weeks, months, and years.

            To begin with, for those that may not know I joined the Peace Corps after graduating from MSU with a degree in International Relations and Comparative Cultures and Politics. There are a number of reasons why I wanted to do this ranging from it being an item on the bucket list to not wanting to find a real life job to wanted to expand my experience and resume. What it boils down to is that it is something I have always wanted to do, knew I would eventually in my life, and now seems like the most perfect time. I don’t have a house, or a car, or a job, or a kid, or a pet, or a boyfriend to take care of so why not move half way around the world and live in a hut right? (We’ll get to the hut part.)

            I applied in November and now a short 8 months later here I am! My application process went pretty fast actually, there are many people who applied over a year or so ago so I got pretty lucky. After qualifying to be in the education sector teaching English I was placed in the country Namibia and here I am! I will be an secondary upper primary English teacher (English is their official language so I will not be teaching ABC’s per say) and that’s about all I know….. Seriously. When I arrive at the training center in Okahandja (an hour or so north of the capital Windhoek) I will be placed in an language group, taught the language, go through technical training, and briefing on health and security for the next three months. After that hopefully I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and my two year service begins.

            The tricky part of all this is that I am left in the dark about most of the conditions that I will be living in for the next two years. In other words, I know for the first week I will be staying in a hostel with the rest of the Peace Corps Trainees but after those first six nights I move in with host family number 1 and that could be anywhere. Well, it will be in the city but it could be in a traditional home (i.e. what you may call a hut) or a more modern home (i.e. concrete walls). Electricity and running water might be hit or miss and internet will most likely be a no. SO there are many surprises coming my way to say the least and I am sure you will all be on your toes jut as much as I am. J