Logistics. [ heavy on the gist ]

Hello again! I've been getting a lot of questions about where I will be and what I will be doing for these next 27 months. The honest answer to these questions is an unsatisfying "I don't really know." Even so, I do have some tentative details about my placement that I would love to share with you. I apologize for how dry this post is, but hopefully you find it informative and useful.

1. When are you leaving?

I will be leaving Minneapolis on July 9th. I fly to Philadelphia for 2 days of what are called staging. I will meet the other English teachers going to South Africa and have a brief orientation. At 2:30 am on July 11, I will leave Philly and head to NYC where I will officially depart from the US! I will land in Johannesburg, SA the morning of July 12!

2. What happens after you get to South Africa?

After we arrive, we will be doing about 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training (PST) where we will learn more about South African culture, education system and expectations (including a practicum) , our target language, and important health/safety information. During the first week we will be in Polokwane. From July 22- the end of PST we will move in with a homestay family and complete the remainder of our training including intensive language learning. This will be located in a village outside of Dennilton. After training is complete, which will be the end of September, I will officially be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (God willing!). Then, I will begin my job at my permanent placement for the remainder of my service. I know that I will be placed in the Limpopo province, but do not yet know where within this province I will be located. Of course, all of this is subject to change, but it gives you a general sense of my timeline during the first few months!

3. What language will you be learning?

I will either be learning Sepedi of TshiVenda. I will find out what my target language will be during the first week of PST.

4. What will you be doing as an English Teacher Specialist?

Exciting stuff. That's what!!! :) Again, I don't have many details, but I will be teaching fourth-sixth graders in a rural village/town in Limpopo, SA. My main objective while I am there is to be a classroom teacher (along with several specific goals within that job obviously). During my second year, I will hopefully have some opportunities to do some professional development at my school in addition to my own classroom teaching. I will also work on a secondary project of my choosing to fit the interests and needs of my community (e.g. starting a school library or after school club/program). You can see a document of the original and very general job posting that I received here if you'd like more information!

5. What is the best way to contact you while you are gone?

I will have very limited access to wifi, but when I do I will joyful respond to emails, whatsapp messages, facebook messages, or snaps. Just don't expect any sort of timely response. Just like I keep telling my mother, no news is good news! :)

If you REALLY want to make my day, write me a letter and direct message me to get my new address!!

6. What can I be praying for?

EVERYTHING! I will share more and more specific requests as I start up this awesome work!

If you have any more questions, please let me know. I am much more connected to the world wide web now than I will be in July, so don't hesitate. I'd also like to reiterate the "heavy of the gist" part of this post. Chances are I'll come back to this post in several months and laugh at how I thought everything would happen! I guess this is just a perfect opportunity to practice the life skill of flexibility!! I greatly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this adventure!

Peace,

Caitlin