Officially a PCV!

Hi All,

I am now officially a PCV! We swore in today, and listented to a bunch of speeches at the Ambassador´s house (although the US is currently between ambassadors), and then had a nice reception on this very very hot day. We are now using our last free afternoon to walk around maputo and eat lots of ice cream.

Tomorrow is a BIG DAY ie. Moving Day. At 3:45 tomorrow morning we go to the airport and fly up to Nampula city. The plane isn´t big enough for everyone, so our supervisors will fly in a couple hours after us. Then we´ll rent chapas, or take school vehicles (which apparently my school has!), and head off to our new homes! We know a little bit more about site, since we´ve had two days to ask questions at the Supervisor´s Conference. We did discover that both water and electricity are a problem in our town, so there may not be a fan in my future....sad. Ah well, I´ll survive--I just have to think back to the mudhut that I had first imagined for my peace corps experience. How spoiled I have become.

Those of you who have been concerned about my safety will be happy to know that my school director is thinks security is very important, and has hired a guard for our house. This will be particularly nice when we go visit other volunteers for Christmas--it will give us a lot of peace of mind when leaving site. Another nice discovery is that we will only be around 2 hours from Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province, so we will be able to do internet-banking-post office there instead of in our province. Much closer. Once I get up there we will set up a post office box, and i´ll get that info to you. You can still send stuff to my old address in the peace corps office (tho PCV and not PCT now!), and it will be forwarded to me, but this will be significantly delayed.

I just gave a large stack of Christmas letters with US stamps to Josh, one of the Volunteers going home for Christmas. He goes the 21st, so my letters should be in domestic mail soon after than, and hopefully in your mailboxes between Christmas and New Years. If you didn´t send me your address, you´re probably not getting a letter. Sorry. Did the best I could. Find a friend who got a letter and share : )

Special thanks to my current letter writers: Trev, Laura, Uncle Jon and Aunty Marie
Package sender: Mummy, you are AMAZING--four packages with 17 new books! I will single handedly keep the North supplied with books! Am now set with books for a few months, so maybe a few edibles could meander my way, hint hint : )
Emailers: Ira, Marie, Uncle Jon, Mummy and Daddy, Penny and Emily

Should give someone else a chance to use the internet. Love and miss you all. Enjoy the lovely cold weather (whoever thought I would be longing to be COLD!?), and think of me sweating in Nampula surrounded by mangos and cashews!