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- February 1 We arrive at Johannesburg and head to the town of Mokopane. We stay in Mokopane for 9 days. During those 9 days we are living in barracks, getting interviewed, and assigned to a "language group" which is very important, and could be pretty arbitrary, since what language you're assigned to determines where you'll be working and who with. Right now the two language groups that I've been informed of are Sepedi and Afrikaans (though there are a couple of other languages that might be taught.) Sepedi is a Bantu language of Northern South Africa. Afrikaans is a Germanic language (bought over by the Boers who settled in South Africa in the 19th Century, and is the most wide spread "home language" in South Africa. It is now spoken by both whites and non-whites) and should be much easier to pick up, but I'm not sure which way I want it to go or which way it will go.
- Feburary 10 We go to the next part of training which is the "homestay" where we're trained while living with a family. The entire group will be living in the rural Bakenberg area which i guess is kind of far from urban areas. During the homestay we are supposed to become as immersed in the host families' routines as we can and participate in the communites' activities.
- April 3 is the end of my pre-service training, after which I'm assigned to my project. At some point afterwards I will probably be able to access the internet and purchase a cell phone. And of course I can start doing what I came over to do!
- South Africa is a big country and apparently the area in which I'll be working is the province of Limpopo on the Northeast border of the country. It's not too far from the capital Pretoria, but it's quite a ways from Cape Town which is sort of the big tourist destination and modern city. Like I said it's a big country so I won't be right on top of everything that's going on, or close to every landmark or place of interest.
- I will be learning at least one language that isn't English, South Africa is a country with 11 official languages, English has a strange status in that only a tiny minority speak it at home, but it is the language of media and government so most people understand it and can speak it.
- My"port of departure" is the city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is where I'll get staging done and a lot of the pesky paperwork that has yet to be filled out.
- I will be over in South Africa for two years and three months. I should mention that I will not actually be a "Peace Corps Volunteer" until I get through my in country training, which will get me enculturated, trained, and placed in an assignment, so it will be about three months of being a "trainee" in the village of Mokopane until I'm officially a volunteer. When that happens I'll be placed with an organization in South Africa that's trying to cope with the AIDS crisis, probably one with an emphasis on helping the youth of South Africa. There are a wide variety of organizations that fall under this umbrella as HIV/AIDS has had and continues to have a huge impact, so I won't have any idea as to what I'll be doing until I'm placed with an organization and even then my status could change as projects and needs shift.
