Mozambique Day 2

So now that I've recovered a little from jetlag and had a bit of time to process what is going on so far, I thought I'd try to write a post with a little more information.  Here it goes.

The Group:
As I said earlier, there are about 50 of us.  I think there are 14 men and 36 women.  We are from all over the U.S., from Alaska to Florida to California to Wisconsin. There are no married couples in our group, but it is pretty diverse in terms of backgrounds and interests.  The ages range from 21 to 30ish, but most people are just out of college at 22.  We have people who will be teaching chemistry, biology, math, physics, english, and some people who will be training Mozambican teachers.  I just found out I am supposed to be teaching chemistry, but it's still a bit up in the air.  We don't get our site placements until almost the very end of training.

Maputo so far:
We are here in Maputo until tomorrow when we will go to Namaacha, the town in which we will do our training.  We will meet our host families tomorrow!  Namaacha is apparently a town of about 13,000.  We got our host family assignments yesterday and a map of where our houses are in the town.  I will be living with a family of 7 people.  I'm a little unclear how everyone is related, but I know there are two girls aged 6 and 7 and a boy age 10.  From what I've heard the host family experience is usually really positive.  I'm excited to meet them!

In Maputo we've been joined by two current Peace Corps volunteers, one who is in his first year of service and one who is in her second year of service.  They will be with us all of next week in Namaacha as well.  It's been really helpful to talk to them and hear what their experiences are. When they leave, other PCVs will come for a week at a time and help with training.

We were told before we got to this hotel not to get used to the luxury, but it is still going to be an adjustment going from this fancy place to our homestays.  The food here has been incredible.  Every meal is served buffet style with dozens of different dishes to choose from.  The back courtyard area of the hotel looks out onto the bay and there are lawn chairs and umbrellas around the two pools.  It almost doesn't feel like we're in Mozambique.  But soon that will change.  We were told today to enjoy the hot showers because they will be our last for 10 weeks.  Though it's been great staying here, I'm excited to see more of the real Mozambique tomorrow.

___

So far, I am really happy with my decision to join the Peace Corps.  It's been exhausting, but I think it is going to be an amazing experience.  The support network for volunteers here seems very strong and the sense of team spirit is already alive in our group.  Everyone has been telling us that Mozambique is the best country for Peace Corps and so far I believe them!