Bom Dia!

The official news: I will be teaching Biology in Mozambique while speaking Portuguese!

All things below are subject to change, so keep that in mind.....

Timeline:

Now-September 24th: Getting things ready--primarily seeing you lovely people who I will be so far way from in the next two + years!

September 25-28: Peace Corps staging at some currently undisclosed location in the US (probably Philly), where we will have general introductory stuff plus a whole hoard of shots.....

September 28-December ?: Pre-Service Training (PST) in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. This will consist of very intense language, subject area and culture training.

December ? 2006 - December ? 2008: Teaching Biology somewhere in Mozambique. Half-way through PST we (40ish new peace corps trainees, PCTs) will go on a tour of the open sights and we will bid on our top three. I'm told by returned volunteers (RPCVs) this means we get none of our top three ; ) There are pretty good odds that I will have neither internet nor electricity. I will probably be in a mid-sized town, and will most likely live in a concrete hut (no mud hut alas!) in a complex belonging to my school. In addition to teaching biology I will probably have secondary projects in health (HIV and malaria are BIG problems there), and biology (labs, clubs, adult ed., etc.).

Here are some of the frequent questions I've been getting:
Q: How can we keep in touch with you?
A: --I hope to update this blog on a semi-regular basis (whenever I get into a city, maybe once a week, maybe once every couple months). It will be difficult to read and answer a lot of emails, so I'm going to try to post to this blog instead of writing dozens of emails.
--Don't expect to talk to me on the phone. Phone calls are ridiculously expensive. Some PCVs get local cell phones and can then receive calls, but I'll keep you posted.
--Please write me letters! I'm guessing this will be my most accessible means of communication. My PST address will be:

Laura Belazis, PCT
Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo, Mozambique

Once I get my site I'll have a new address, so keep checking the blog for that!

Q: Fala Português? (Do you speak Portuguese?)
A: No! I bought myself a book, so I've learned a few smidges, but the majority of my language training will be in-country. During PST we will have classes every day and will be living with a host family, so we will be immersed. Exhausted, but immersed. They say that by the end of PST most PCVs score at around the intermediate level of foreign service language exams (pretty amazing, huh?). If you don't demonstrate your language proficiency at the end of training they send you home. If you do, you get to shed the title of PCT and become an official Volunteer with a capital V! Quite the incentive to study!

More to follow, but those are some of the key points. Let me know if you have questions or comments, and be sure to give me a call so that I can see all of you before I leave!

Hair today, gone tomorrow! (so very sorry for that.....)

Obviously not ready for Peace Corps

Much, much too unmanageable.....................


And now, the Peace Corps hair:
Ready for Africa!

Although I was rather shocked when my hairdresser cut it six inches shorter than I asked for (chin length), I'm getting used to it, and even really liking it (I no longer wonder who the stranger in the mirror is...). I know I'm going to appreciate the fact that it takes seconds to wash and minutes to dry--as opposed to the former minutes and hours :) Plus, there are now two children in the world who will be wearing my hair--strange thought.

Posting Comments

Just a quick note! By popular request I have changed the settings so you don't have to be a member to post a comment. Happy commenting :)

More info to follow shortly (I hope....)

I'm finally ready to begin my blogging experience. I've never kept a blog before, or any kind of journal really, but creating this really seemed to make sense for a number of reasons. First, when I was deciding whether Peace Corps was for me, blogs were my most valuable resource. They were an honest portrayal of the experience on a day-to-day basis, with both the hardships and the victories in equal measure. This way I can return the favor, and hopefully have as much of an impact on others as the blogs I read did on me. If you're interested, my favorite blog is by a former UVA student in Morocco. And second, it's a great way of letting all of my family and friends back home keep tabs on me while I'm away, and while I have potentially limited internet access.

Lots of people suggested names for this blog, and while I appreciated them all, I'm afraid that none really clicked, probably because they didn't have a deeper meaning for me. This blog is supposed to be a true reflection of myself, so the name had to be something that really meant something to me. If you don't know the Carbon Leaf song, What About Everything? listen to it, because it's great. It's related to why I want to do Peace Corps in the first place, so it really just felt right. Here are the lyrics so that you can see for yourself:

Holiday quiet on these streets, except for some stubborn leaves
That didn't fall with the fall, and now they clatter in vain
Holiday sky, midnight clear, wind is high, hard to steer
Old muffler rumbles like an old fighter plane
In search of some rest, in search of a break
From a life of tests where something's always at stake
Where something's always so far
What about my broken car?
What about my life so far?
What about my dream?
What about--

What about everything?
What about aeroplanes? And what about ships that drank the sea?
What about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars
And all the anger that they eat?
I am not in need.

Get away and come with me, come away with me and we'll see
If I was right on that night, that a future was made
Before time takes each year-- like a knife cuts it clear
It's school, then work and then life that just sharpens the blade
I think about time for fun, I think about time for play
Then I think about being done, with no resume
With no one left to blame
What about fortune and fame?
What about your love to obtain?
What about the ring?
What about--

What about everything?
What about aeroplanes? And what about ships that drank the sea?
What about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars
And all the anger that they eat?
I am not in need.

Holiday quiet on these streets, except for some reason me
The hometown harbor lights bright. The sailboats clatter in vain
Holiday sky, midnight clear, wind is high on this pier
I find it hard to complain when compared with what about--

What about everything?
What about aeroplanes? And what about ships that drank the sea?
What about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars
And all the anger that they eat?

What about aliens? What about you and me and
What about gold beneath the sea?
What about when buildings fall? What about that midnight phone call,
The one that wakes you from your peace?
Well, I am not in need.


Well, that's all for now.