So, I don't know much about my official placement yet. What I do know is that I will be teaching math/science at the secondary level where I will be paired with a counterpart assigned by the Ministry of Education. I will also help with teacher training programs, leadership/life skills education, and AIDs education. I will be living in a rural area, somewhere in the southern part of the country.
I leave on February 12th for 'staging' in Philadelphia. This will include signing forms, and a 4 hour welcome including:
• Background to Peace Corps history, mission & goals
• Anxieties and aspirations for service
• Managing Risk (personal responsibility for safety)
• Policies
• Reflection on commitment to service
• Logistics and departure/arrival information
• Background to Peace Corps history, mission & goals
• Anxieties and aspirations for service
• Managing Risk (personal responsibility for safety)
• Policies
• Reflection on commitment to service
• Logistics and departure/arrival information
We'll then have the rest of the evening to get to know each other before we begin the 36hr journey to Uganda at 10 the next morning. (we have a 6:15pm flight out of JFK, which I know is a ways from Philly, but I'm still puzzled by the 10am departure).
Once we arrive in Uganda, an intensive 9-10 week training program begins. I'm not sure what this will include, besides learning a whole new language.... I'm hoping for Ugandan history/politics/culture, teaching strategies, the Ugandan math/science curriculums I will be teaching, personal safety, and what ever else comes up.
During training I will be living with a host family, which I'm really looking forward to and should help with learning the language. I'm also hoping to pick up some good recipes. From what I've heard there are a lot of bananas, beans, rice, and a bread called chapati (sp?). Bananas are already one of my staple foods, but I rarely do more than put them on granola, or eat them with peanut butter. Learning how to cook them will add some needed variety.
Once we've been there a while they'll decide who's going where, so I'll get more details about my specific placement and job then.
I do not know whether I'll have water/electricity/internet. I do know that I will have limited access to any form of communication during training. (I think this is more due to the intensity of training then the actual lack of internet access)
