Hey, everyone. This post is directed to the incoming Peace Corps trainees of Group 11. One of my favorite blog posts from a G9-er last year was the one with tips for us newcomers (thanks, Rebecca!).
You have about a month left stateside, give or take, and I'm sure you're excited, nervous and uncertain about what to expect. Here are a few tips, tricks, do's and don'ts:
- Eat all the Mexican food you can fit in your belly. You won't get it here unless you make it yourself, and we're all chronically short on black beans. We do have some Chinese, sushi and Indian food, but it's not as good as what you're getting now. Eat all the ethnic food. All of it.
- If you want to mail yourself a package instead of packing everything in bags, go for it. It's not a bad idea. Things you could include in that: cooking spices, hot sauce, sharp knives, an extra book, summer clothes -- small stuff that you'll need eventually but not necessarily immediately. If you do this, however, you'll still have to haul all that stuff from your training village to site. You'll spend two months in a training village with your group before being moved to your permanent village.
- Bring paper, envelopes and/or cards if you want to write letters. You can get all that stuff here, but it's easier during pre-service training if you already have it. For those first two months, you won't have much freedom.
- Peace Corps will tell you to bring $50 in USD to exchange at the airport. Most of us exchanged more than that, and it's not a bad idea to have some extra cash on hand. They take U.S. dollars in Zimbabwe, for example, which might be helpful if you go to Victoria Falls.
- DO remember that you can get a lot of the clothes and toiletries you need over here. Yes, bring your favorite eyeliner if you want it (makeup is expensive here, too), but don't bring 12 skirts or three huge coats. You don't need as much as you think you do. You will probably overpack. Most of us did. You will have to haul those bags around, and it's pretty damn annoying.
- You will get sick of your clothes. Bring things you like, but remember that you'll be hand washing them for two years. They will probably get worn out and might not make it back home.
- Bring media with you! If you have the most recent season of a TV show you like, G10 PCVs will loooooove you. I'm sure we'll love you anyway. But we definitely watch a lot of TV and movies in our downtime. Download a VLC player if you don't have one (you can do that here, too).
- DON'T worry. Tell your family that Swaziland is a reasonably safe place, and Peace Corps is cautious. Once you get here, you'll realize it's not intimidating. Swaziland is a friendly country. Violence and theft occurs but isn't commonplace, especially for volunteers.
- DON'T expect to be out after dark much during the next two years. Volunteers are told to stay on their homesteads at night, and most of us are pretty careful about doing so. This is a key crime-avoidance strategy. Most of your time out in the dark will be spent with other volunteers when you're in town.
- DO bring an updated Africa travel book if you want one. There are a lot floating around the office, but things do change quickly around here. You can also have this mailed to you later. It's nice to have during integration, when you have a lot of hut time that you can spend planning future travel adventures. I didn't have one and wished I had.
- Consider linking up with a teacher friend to correspond with his or her class. Peace Corps has a program connecting volunteers to schools, but sometimes it takes months. Letter writing is a great hut activity, and it's especially fun in your first months, when you're processing everything as new.
- DO think about where you'll want to travel. You get 24 vacation days per year, and there are tons of possibilities. You won't have great Internet access here, so spend some time poking around to get to know the cool spots.
- DO encourage your family and friends to visit. And if you want or need to, you can go home during the next two years.
- If you have a hobby like knitting, bring supplies for that. You will probably have a lot of hut time in the beginning.
- DON'T be afraid to get in touch with current volunteers if there's anything you need to know. There are no stupid questions, I promise.
- DON'T look at Peace Corps as something that requires you to put your life on hold for two years. You'll be living your life for two years -- it will just be significantly more interesting than usual.
Be excited! We're excited to see your smiling faces at the end of June.
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